Super Lambanana, 1998, by Taro Chiezo, Liverpool, UK, as featured in Destination Art

Destination Art that looks like a LOT of fun!

Find art difficult sometimes? Don't fret. Take a look at these works in Destination Art and you'll soon by smiling

A degree in art history doesn’t always enhance your appreciation of contemporary art. There are plenty of works listed in our new book, Destination Art, which require viewers to possess little more than a sense of humour.

This new book features 500 artworks in different locations around the world worth taking a trip to see. Continuing on from our highly successful global architecture guide, Destination Architecture, the editors of Destination Art have searched from Seoul to Sicily, Liverpool to Las Vegas, to pick out beautiful, moving works in unique and unexpected corners of the globe. Some are challenging and sombre, but plenty of others are light-hearted and fun, such as this selection.

Super Lambanana, 1998, by Taro Chiezo, Liverpool, UK (above) This comical chimera is a fun symbol for Liverpool, and its famous docks. “This hybrid creature has the head and body of a lamb, but its tail appears to have been transformed into a banana - a notion reinforced by its vivid yellow colour,” says our new book. “Chiezo’s sculpture combines the formalism of modernist abstraction and the cuteness of a Japanese cartoon character. A well-known icon of the city, it references Liverpool’s historic role as a major port for import and export.”

 

The Flying Bus, 2011, by Sudarshan Shetty, Mumbai, India
The Flying Bus, 2011, by Sudarshan Shetty, Mumbai, India

The Flying Bus, 2011, by Sudarshan Shetty, Mumbai, India ____ You might think of London as the home of the red double-decker bus. However, India’s largest urban centre also uses this distinctive form of public transport, which inspired the contemporary Indian artist Sudarshan Shetty to create this work. “The heroic-looking vehicle offers a visual metaphor for the preservation and transformation of the indomitable Indian city, where motorized double-decker buses have been operating since the 1930s,” explains our new book.

 

L’ange Protecteur (Guardian Angel) 1997, by Niki De Saint Phalle, Zurich Central Station, Switzerland
L’ange Protecteur (Guardian Angel) 1997, by Niki De Saint Phalle, Zurich Central Station, Switzerland

L’ange Protecteur (Guardian Angel) 1997, by Niki De Saint Phalle, Zurich Central Station, Switzerland She might not look like your most conventional angelic presence, but De Saint Phalle’s curvy, highly pigmented heavenly presence certainly livens up Swiss travellers’ journeys. “A voluptuous, brightly colored angel dangles gracefully from the ceiling of Zurich’s main railway station,” says our book. “Whether commuters are guarded by this opulent sculpture is second to her undimmed energy, which steers their gazes upward.”

 

Our of Order, 1989, by David Mach, Kingston Upon Thames, UK
Our of Order, 1989, by David Mach, Kingston Upon Thames, UK

 

Out of Order, 1989, by David Mach, Kingston Upon Thames, UK Though this sculpture has a childlike simplicity to it, it might be easier to appreciate this work, and its title, if you have an adult memory of these, once-common public phone boxes, and how frustrating it was to find one that is broken, or ‘out of order’. “The work is typical of Mach’s signature style, in which he employs large quantities of ordinary items to create new forms and meanings,” says our book. “The materials he has used in other artworks have included teddy bears, tires, coat hangers, magazines, and matchsticks galore.”

 

Untitled, 2001, by Maurizo Cattelan, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands
Untitled, 2001, by Maurizo Cattelan, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands

Untitled, 2001, by Maurizo Cattelan, Museum Boijmans Van Beuningen, Rotterdam, The Netherlands Oh, what are you doing down there, Maurizio? Messing around, as usual. “Cattelan, known for his humorous and often provocative art, shifts the gaze of visitors to this museum from the paintings on the walls to a gaping hole in the floor, from which an inquisitive man emerges,” explains the book. “The figure is a life-size sculptural self-portrait, which acts as an irreverent counterpoint to the more traditional works that surround it.”

 

Run, 2012, by Monica Bonvicini, London, UK
Run, 2012, by Monica Bonvicini, London, UK

 

Run, 2012, by Monica Bonvicini, London, UK Is that an order, Monica? This light, bright work, came to London with the 2012 Games, though its bold, near-hysterical message can be interpreted in a number of ways. “Bonvicini’s 30-foot-tall (9.1 m) Run is a mirror to the surrounding environment during the day, and at night it projects an illuminated glow, thanks to LED lights installed inside the giant letters,” explains our book. “Created as part of the 2012 Olympics Art in the Park program, the sculpture alludes to not only an Olympic event but a common park activity.”

 

Destination Art
Destination Art

Feel like taking a trip to see any of these soon? Then order a copy of Destination Art, our excellent new art travel guide, which lists 500 works by 340 artists in 300 different cities and 60 different countries, all worth a trip. You can buy your copy here. And look out for the next story from it in our phaidon.com series.