GaHee Park Unsettles Still Life Traditions with Surreal, Soured Temptations
In a brief email exchange about her work, GaHee Park references freedom several times. The Seoul-born, Montréal-based artist wants to liberate herself from realism and infuse her paintings with the expressive, simplified qualities of abstraction, creating decadent scenes with recurring motifs like eyes and fish. “I like to think about every subject of my work, including animals and human figures, as part of a still life. That gives me more freedom to make images,” she shares. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article GaHee Park Unsettles Still Life Traditions with Surreal, Soured Temptations appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/gahee-park-still-lifes/
Elias Sime Weaves Connections Between Ancient Ethiopian Craft Traditions and Today’s Technology
Thousands of microchips, terminals, nails, letter keys, and lengths of wire transform into spectacular, monumental sculptures by acclaimed Ethiopian artist Elias Sime. In his exhibition Eregata እርጋታ at Arnolfini in Bristol, he highlights assemblages made from everyday materials, especially discarded technological detritus like computer keys, circuit boards, wires, and other electronic objects.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Elias Sime Weaves Connections Between Ancient Ethiopian Craft Traditions and Today’s Technology appeared first on Colossal.
In Magical Cut Paper Works, Barbara Earl Thomas Alchemizes Light and Shadow
Barbara Earl Thomas reminds us that darkness—and the absences and omissions it conceals—are part of the stories we’ve adopted as truth. Her pieces gravitate toward the inextricable relationship between light and dark, with warm colors and soft glows emanating from floral motifs.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In Magical Cut Paper Works, Barbara Earl Thomas Alchemizes Light and Shadow appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/barbara-earl-thomas-illuminated-body/
In ‘Speculative Hummus,’ Reddish Studio Explores the Plating Potential of a Traditional Middle Eastern Dish
A staple of tables across the Middle East and western Asia, a hummus plate is itself an art form. Traditionally made from pureed chickpeas mixed with tahini, a condiment made from toasted sesame, hummus achieves a depth of flavor from garlic, lemon juice, salt. Topped with olive oil, garnished with herbs, and sprinkled with spices, each presentation is as much a feast for the eyes as it is a comforting, nourishing dish.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In ‘Speculative Hummus,’ Reddish Studio Explores the Plating Potential of a Traditional Middle Eastern Dish appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/reddish-studio-speculative-hummus/
Found and Natural Materials Prevail in This Year’s Shortlist for the Loewe Craft Prize
The prestigious Loewe Craft Prize announced 30 finalists for its 2024 competition, showcasing an impressive array of pieces spanning ceramics and glass to textiles and metals.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Found and Natural Materials Prevail in This Year’s Shortlist for the Loewe Craft Prize appeared first on Colossal.
Spanning Seven Centuries, ‘Judging a Book by its Cover’ Celebrates an Enduring Art
Critics have been lamenting the conformity of contemporary book coves for more than a decade, railing against the same abstract blobs and bland stock imagery gracing many titles. The designs are often chosen for their marketability and ease of mass production, two unavoidable, economic factors in today’s literary landscape.
The Grolier Club in New York, though, veers in the opposite direction, countering the monotonous, machine-printed images we’re all too familiar with for bespoke designs. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Spanning Seven Centuries, ‘Judging a Book by its Cover’ Celebrates an Enduring Art appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/judging-a-book-by-its-cover/
Ian Mwesiga’s Imagined Figures Hover on the Threshold of an Uncanny World
In his metaphysical novel Kafka on the Shore, Haruki Murakami offers a particularly heady description: “Beyond the edge of the world there’s a space where emptiness and substance neatly overlap, where past and future form a continuous, endless loop. And hovering about there are signs no one has ever read, chords no one has ever heard.”
Ian Mwesiga sets his paintings. For his first institutional exhibition in the United States titled Beyond the Edge of the World, the Ugandan artist translates Murakami’s quiet uncanniness onto the canvas, envisioning subtly strange scenarios in which figures partake in curious acts. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Ian Mwesiga’s Imagined Figures Hover on the Threshold of an Uncanny World appeared first on Colossal.
Humans and Animals Commune with Nature and the Cosmos in the Multidisciplinary Work of Kiki Smith
If you’ve traveled via the Long Island Rail Road service in Manhattan and traversed the MTA’s brand new Grand Central Madison station, you may have noticed a slice of nature indoors in a monumental, wall-spanning mosaic of a woodland deer. Acclaimed artist Kiki Smith completed the piece in 2022, and it’s one of the most recent works in which she honors the natural world and humanity’s role within it.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Humans and Animals Commune with Nature and the Cosmos in the Multidisciplinary Work of Kiki Smith appeared first on Colossal.
Eriko Kobayashi Casts Extraordinarily Lifelike Foods From Glass in Her Hyperrealistic Sculptures
Eriko Kobayashi’s incredibly lifelike sculptures of fried eggs, bacon, and gummy bears are made from the last thing you’d want to take a bite out of. Formed entirely of glass, the Seattle-based artist’s hyperrealistic works explore our relationship with routine meal times, comfort foods, and the nostalgia of brands like Pop Tarts.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Eriko Kobayashi Casts Extraordinarily Lifelike Foods From Glass in Her Hyperrealistic Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/eriko-kobayashi-glass-sculptures/
Debbie Lawson Tames the Wild by Cloaking Life-Sized Animals in Ornate Rugs
Rising from the plush motifs of woven rugs, the wildlife that emerge from Debbie Lawson’s Kent studio are camouflaged by domesticity. The artist (previously) is known for her sculptures cloaked in ornate carpets, the latest of which are on view now at Sargents Daughters for her solo exhibition Hidden Territories.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Debbie Lawson Tames the Wild by Cloaking Life-Sized Animals in Ornate Rugs appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/debbie-lawson-hidden-territories/
Yulia Iosilzon’s Paintings Transform an Ancient Flood Narrative Into an Elegant Observance of Renewal
The Book of Genesis, which is thought to have been written around the 5th century B.C.E. and influenced by much earlier Mesopotamian myths, contains four chapters that chronicle an earthshaking deluge. The story goes that God destroyed what he saw as a world that had become violent and corrupt, singling out one man, Noah, and instructing him to build an ark. Bringing animals to safety and a new existence, the vessel protected the chosen few from masses of water that eliminated all other living creatures on Earth. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Yulia Iosilzon’s Paintings Transform an Ancient Flood Narrative Into an Elegant Observance of Renewal appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/yulia-iosilzon-heavens-chambers/
Aurélie Hoegy’s Surging Rattan Forms Oscillate Between Interior Design and Sculpture
Paris-based artist Aurélie Hoegy expertly conjures a seamless vacillation between movement, material, and environment within her dynamic rattan sculptures. Unrelenting ebbs and flows emanate through each form, akin to the beguiling dance of ocean waves. Wild Fibers is a series in which Hoegy harnesses the strength and malleability of the material, inviting a dialogue between gesture and object.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Aurélie Hoegy’s Surging Rattan Forms Oscillate Between Interior Design and Sculpture appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/aurelie-hoegy-wild-fibers/
Tavares Strachan Reimagines ‘The Last Supper’ in a Monumental Tribute to Black Historical Figures
From a satellite orbiting Earth for seven years in celebration of Robert Henry Lawrence, Jr., the first Black astronaut, to a pulsing neon human skeleton that illuminates Rosalind Franklin’s contributions to the field of science, Tavares Strachan embraces technology and experimental processes to reframe historic narratives.
Royal Academy of Arts opened Entangled Pasts 1768-now. Art, Colonialism and Change, a large-scale survey of works by British art historical giants like J.M.W. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Tavares Strachan Reimagines ‘The Last Supper’ in a Monumental Tribute to Black Historical Figures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/tavares-strachan-the-first-supper/
Sydnie Jimenez’s Striking Ceramic Sculptures Celebrate Individual Expression and Diverse Communities
In museums or galleries, artist Sydnie Jimenez never saw figurative sculpture that looked like her or that felt relatable. Taking inspiration from her surroundings where she grew up in north Georgia, then Chicago where she attended the School of the Art Institute, she discovered a love for ceramics as a way to celebrate Black and brown bodies and express individuality, agency, and empathy in a way she didn’t see in art history.
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Sydnie Jimenez’s Striking Ceramic Sculptures Celebrate Individual Expression and Diverse Communities appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/sydnie-jimenez-sculptures/
Grace Gillespie’s Vibrant Linocut Prints of Flowers and Foliage Tap Into Her Artistic Roots
Grace Gillespie grew up in an artistic household, but she resisted pursuing visual art at first, especially printmaking, because it was something both of her parents excelled at. “I guess I wanted my own ‘thing,’” she tells Colossal, which for most of her twenties was music. Then, during the pandemic, she found herself furloughed, disillusioned with the music industry, and back at her parents’ home in Devon, England.
Sarah Gillespie. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Grace Gillespie’s Vibrant Linocut Prints of Flowers and Foliage Tap Into Her Artistic Roots appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/grace-gillespie-prints/
‘Contemporary Art Underground’ Celebrates How MTA Art & Design Builds a Modern Museum for New York City
British artist David Hockney famously quipped, “Art has to move you and design does not, unless it’s a good design for a bus.” Contemporary Art Underground, a forthcoming book from Phaidon posits that these two facets of visual culture are a match made to move us indeed.
MTA Art & Design for over 30 years, along with deputy director Cheryl Hageman, the volume showcases more than 100 permanent installations undertaken between 2015 and 2023. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article ‘Contemporary Art Underground’ Celebrates How MTA Art & Design Builds a Modern Museum for New York City appeared first on Colossal.
Colossal + Domestika: Develop Your Skills and Learn New Ceramic Techniques through Online Courses
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/wp-content/uploads/2024/02/domestika-2.webp
Does anyone else miss art school? The sweet smell of invasive ceramic dust, the satisfying scrape of fresh charcoal across a giant sheet of Strathmore, the mortifying class-wide critique of your meager attempt at drawing a poorly-lit vase that you really should have spent more time on but you were partying all night at Avery’s “performative art sequence” at that creepy abandoned carwash. Except for that last part, which definitely never happened to anyone on our staff, we love art education. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Colossal + Domestika: Develop Your Skills and Learn New Ceramic Techniques through Online Courses appeared first on Colossal.
Bring a Dish to Pass: ‘Potluck’ at Hashimoto Contemporary Relishes the Joy of Gathering
At Hashimoto Contemporary’s Los Angeles gallery, there’s more than enough to go around. Nearly 50 artists have contributed to Potluck, a group exhibition opening this week that celebrates the joys, comforts, and disgusts of sharing a meal.
Lou Benesch, Liz Flores, Sara Hagale, Seonna Hong, and Kate Jenkins. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Bring a Dish to Pass: ‘Potluck’ at Hashimoto Contemporary Relishes the Joy of Gathering appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/potluck-hashimoto-contemporary/
Site-Specific Kinetic Installations by Pinaffo & Pluvinage Channel Modest Materials Into Ephemeral Experiences
Marion Pinaffo and Raphaël Pluvinage, a.k.a. Pinaffo & Pluvinage, have worked together since 2015, fascinated by the physics, mechanics, and even pyrotechnics of our ever-evolving technologies. During 2023, the pair produced three major projects exploring ephemeral interactions and shifting textures. “If we were to find a common thread among the three major projects… it would be soft, blurry, and challenging-to-control materials: smoke, sand, fabric,” the duo tells Colossal. “Each time, there is a play in mastering and manipulating these materials.”
More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Site-Specific Kinetic Installations by Pinaffo & Pluvinage Channel Modest Materials Into Ephemeral Experiences appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/pinaffo-pluvinage-installations/
Follow Colossal on Bluesky for Daily Art and Visual Culture Updates
Although we’re not the biggest fans of social media and prefer to connect with our lovely and talented audience directly on this website, via newsletters, or in person, we’ve discovered meaningful engagement in a few of the newer social platforms like Mastodon and Threads where we can reach readers with little or no algorithmic filters.
Bluesky than any other platform created in the last few years. More
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Follow Colossal on Bluesky for Daily Art and Visual Culture Updates appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/follow-colossal-on-bluesky/