BEAUTY: Mixed Media--Uri Shapira

Quartz material manufacturer Caesarstone commissioned Israeli artist Uri Shapira to create Crystallizing Philippe, a Louis Ghost chair designed by Philippe Starck covered in artificially cultured and grown quartz crystals.

For those unfamiliar, Starck, an interior, product, industrial and architectural designer created the Louis Ghost chair in 2002. It is an injection-molded transparent polycarbonate version of the historic neo-classical Louis XVI chair. Here is what the chair looks like without an encrustation of quartz.

Shapira tweaked Philippe's tweak by bathing a Louis Ghost chair in a chemical solution which quickly grows quartz crystals.

Here are some photos of the process with the chair resting in the chemical solution to promote rapid crystal growth.

http://urishapira.com/
http://www.dwr.com/product/louis-ghost-armchair.do
http://www.starck.com/en/

BEAUTY: Sculpture--Livio Scarpella

Italian artist Livio Scarpella works in many mediums but perhaps his most startling works are done in marble. He created a series of classical busts but each figure is embedded with a quartz crystal or mineral "heart" as it were...an interesting confluence of two natural textures, but also an arresting metaphor that links us to something much older and more visceral. These ghostly, veiled figures are clearly still moving, but are not quite of our world anymore...

There are many examples of his work on the net but I can't find a dedicated site for him. If anyone finds one, let me know: I'd love to post the link.