Salman Khoshroo’s Busts Challenge the Conventions of Polymer
In a recent progression of work, Iranian artist Salman Khoshroo (previously) pushes the boundaries of polymer. Thick globs of the industrial material are mixed into a gummy consistency in hues of tinted primary colors mixed with black and white. In an impressively captivating balance of tousled dabs and methodical dollops, Khoshroo sculpts gestural busts, evoking human essence with a minimal number of strokes.
The Polymer Series came into existence from an ongoing investigation of different materials and their artistic potential. 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 Salman Khoshroo’s Busts Challenge the Conventions of Polymer appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/salman-khoshroo-polymer/
Matthew Ronay Explores the Internal Workings of the Body in Abstract Basswood Sculptures
The skin of the human body might be interpreted as a kind of soft container for everything on the inside: the skeleton and the organs or health and disease. We know our internal anatomy exists, but we can’t see it; we rely on signs that appear on the outside—bruising, a cough, lumps, a change in color—to indicate what might be going on inside.
Matthew Ronay’s abstract sculptures, pieces of basswood are transformed into large-scale, undulating forms that evoke biological systems. 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 Matthew Ronay Explores the Internal Workings of the Body in Abstract Basswood Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/matthew-ronay-sculptures/
In Leonardo Ulian’s Techno Assemblages, Electrical Wire and Found Objects Form Precise Geometric Systems
During the past several decades, digital technology has impacted—and in many cases completely transformed—just about everything. From medicine to sports to the supply chain, myriad facets of our lives are organized and determined by computers. For London-based artist Leonardo Ulian (previously), the networks and connections of today’s technologies provide an unending well of inspiration.
Technological Mandalas, Techno Atlas, or Contrived Objects, Ulian draws on varying themes like the body, global maps, and analog objects to create a dialogue between electronic systems, philosophy, and the human condition. 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 Leonardo Ulian’s Techno Assemblages, Electrical Wire and Found Objects Form Precise Geometric Systems appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/leonardo-ulian-mandalas/
The Nooks and Crannies of Amsterdam Are a Canvas for Frankey’s Playful Interventions
Each week, Amsterdam-based artist Frank “Frankey” de Ruwe finds a new location to inspire playful, often ironic installations around the city. From a bridge support transformed into a rhinoceros to a police car leaping over a portico to a miniature surfer riding an awning, his pieces both celebrate and find humor in locations throughout the city.
Banksy’s Wall and Piece, a collection of many of the famed graffiti artist and political activist’s interventions in cities around the world. 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 The Nooks and Crannies of Amsterdam Are a Canvas for Frankey’s Playful Interventions appeared first on Colossal.
A Colossal Conversation: Nadya Tolokonnikova on Pussy Riot, Life as Performance Art, and How Anonymity is Her Strength
Nadya Tolokonnikova created Pussy Riot in 2011 partly in response to Vladimir Putin’s declaration that he would continue his reign over Russia. In 2012, when she and her collaborators undertook their now-famous performance at the Cathedral of Christ the Saviour, she was infamously sentenced to two years in prison, vaulting the art collective to international fame.
a conversation one Saturday in February 2024, more than a decade since Pussy Riot’s founding. 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 A Colossal Conversation: Nadya Tolokonnikova on Pussy Riot, Life as Performance Art, and How Anonymity is Her Strength appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/nadya-tolokonnikova-interview/
Communal Art-Making Is at the Core of Sanaa Gateja’s Monumental Paper Bead Tapestries
For Sanaa Gateja, the pan-African philosophy of ubuntu—translating to “I am because we are,” the idea that society is what gives people humanity—is one of the most profound manifestations of art. Living and working in Kampala, Uganda, Gateja heads the Kwetu Africa Art and Development Centre, an organization he founded in the early 1990s. The center trains and employs about 15 people, who create small beads from post-consumer paper that the artist then stitches into large-scale tapestries. 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 Communal Art-Making Is at the Core of Sanaa Gateja’s Monumental Paper Bead Tapestries appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/sanaa-gateja-paper-tapestries/
Wander Through the Joyous ‘Elysian Arcs,’ a New Prismatic Inflatable Installation by Atelier Sisu
Through a vibrant expression of joy, Atelier Sisu’s newest installation at the Leadenhall Building in central London counters feelings of anxiety and the tribulations of upheaval. “The world is at the precipice of change,” say Renzo B. Larriviere and Zara Pasfield of the Sydney-based studio. “This change can be felt from all directions, from climatic influences, political feuds, economic fluctuations, and social pressures.”
RECHARGE 2024, an initiative responding to concerning trends in the mental health of London’s young professionals. 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 Wander Through the Joyous ‘Elysian Arcs,’ a New Prismatic Inflatable Installation by Atelier Sisu appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/atelier-sisu-elysian-arcs/
Recasting the Melting Pot: Hugh Hayden’s Iron Sculptures Examine How Culture Is Duplicated and Dispersed
Hugh Hayden says in a new short film. “I do think that cooking, as an act of making something, is a metaphor for many aspects of life.”
monumental sculptures and installations that scrutinize our perceptions of ourselves, our stories, and our environment. Often using wood, the artist draws on tenets of colonialism and its impacts on socioeconomic dynamics, education, and historical narratives. 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 Recasting the Melting Pot: Hugh Hayden’s Iron Sculptures Examine How Culture Is Duplicated and Dispersed appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/hugh-hayden-skillet-sculptures/
Working from Memory, Peter Uka Paints Vibrant Portraits of 1970s Nigeria
“I see painting as a process, the finished work merely resembling the initial sketch and ideas stretching over multiple canvases. I like my figures to influence each other in some form of dialogue,” says Peter Uka.
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 Working from Memory, Peter Uka Paints Vibrant Portraits of 1970s Nigeria appeared first on Colossal.
From Recycled Motors and Discarded Metals, Edouard Martinet Imagines Meticulously Detailed Wildlife
With a body made from a motorcycle fender, wings from bike chain guards, and legs from tapestry staples and spectacle case parts, a beady-eyed owl comes to life from discarded metal.
Edouard Martinet (previously) has a knack for revitalizing materials like motor components, medical implements, bicycle parts, and other accessories into meticulously detailed animals. While one fish takes shape from fan blades, cake molds, spatulas, and oil lamp badges, another’s teeth and bones are composed of upholstery staples and tablespoons. 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 From Recycled Motors and Discarded Metals, Edouard Martinet Imagines Meticulously Detailed Wildlife appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/edouard-martinet-metal-animals/
In a New Milky Chance Music Video, GMUNK Pushes the Envelope of CG Artistry and Digital Creative Tools
Over the past year, AI-powered creative tools have radically transformed art. Designed for content creators, visual effects artists, designers, and animators, these resources have the potential to generate stunning visuals, and many professional artists embrace AI for everything from automating mundane tasks to concept inspiration and quickly iterating visual references. These tools take repetitive tasks off of artists’ plates, enabling them to focus on elevating their creative outputs and achieving projects on a grander scale.
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 a New Milky Chance Music Video, GMUNK Pushes the Envelope of CG Artistry and Digital Creative Tools appeared first on Colossal.
‘Eight Seconds’ Is Photographer Ivan McClellan’s Love Letter to Black Rodeo Culture
In 1982, Charles Sampson became the first Black man to win the world championship bull-riding competition. Becoming a cowboy was his childhood dream, and despite breaking nearly every bone in his body during his relatively long career, Sampson continued to climb atop the ornery animals and bolt into the arena. Even after an incredibly tough ride, he was known to vault himself off of the bull and land on his feet. He feels, to be cliché, that he was born to ride. 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 ‘Eight Seconds’ Is Photographer Ivan McClellan’s Love Letter to Black Rodeo Culture appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/ivan-mcclellan-eight-seconds/
A Colorful Pin Collection Celebrates the Unique Cultures and Exports of Japan’s 47 Prefectures
Geography meets local pride in a collection of enamel pins from Map Design Gallery. Trimmed with gold details, the tiny, cartographic wearables recreate Japan’s 47 prefectures, their matte color palettes reflecting the crops, landscapes, and cultures of each region. According to Spoon & Tamago, Kagawa is beige, ochre, and green to represent the area’s love for udon, while “Tokyo’s colors are greys and blues, inspired (by) the Tokyo Metropolitan Government Building.”
the gallery or collect them all as you chart your travels across the country. 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 A Colorful Pin Collection Celebrates the Unique Cultures and Exports of Japan’s 47 Prefectures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/japan-47-prefectures/
Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand
When you log onto any social media platform, it’s hard to deny AI’s pervasiveness. This occurs in both subtle forms like advertisements, or more blatant ways, like the explosion of images on your Instagram Explore page that don’t look quite right. Whatever the case, it’s clear that artificial intelligence is here to stay, and with tech giants running amok, an air of skepticism ceaselessly clouds social networks.
Tomas Mayer’s “Handmade Miniature Library” can send you into a spiral of questioning how—and who— brought it into existence. 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 Wander into This Miraculous Miniature Library with Thousands of Books Made Entirely by Hand appeared first on Colossal.
In Paris, Jean Jullien’s Two Cheery Bookworms Take Over a Shopping Center for ‘Mise En Page’
The renowned editor Sarah Andelman, of Just an Idea Books, and artist Jean Jullien (previously) have teamed up to celebrate the joy of reading and publishing. Taking over Le Bon Marché Rive Gauche, Mise En Page is an exuberant literary exhibition and pop-up shop that sees Jullien’s Paper People series spring to life. Two enormous figures loom over the multi-story department store on Paris’s left bank, interrupting the typical shopping experience with their playful love for print. 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 Paris, Jean Jullien’s Two Cheery Bookworms Take Over a Shopping Center for ‘Mise En Page’ appeared first on Colossal.
March 2024 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists
Every month, Colossal shares a selection of opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. If you’d like to list an opportunity here, please get in touch at hello@colossal.art. You can also join our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.
$1,800 Innovate Grants for Art + PhotoFeatured
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 March 2024 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/03/march-2024-opportunities/
Esoteric Forms Emerge from Wood in Aleph Geddis’s Enchanting Geometric Sculptures
Carving out a niche where traditional woodworking, modernism, and esoterica meet, Aleph Geddis crafts intricate geometric sculptures from solid pieces of timber. Each abstract piece has a personality of its own, some elusively figurative while others appear like glyphs or ancient symbols transformed into three-dimensional shapes.
Platonic solids, a category of convex polyhedra that have been investigated by mathematicians and philosophers for millennia, prominent in their namesake Plato’s research. 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 Esoteric Forms Emerge from Wood in Aleph Geddis’s Enchanting Geometric Sculptures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/aleph-geddis-wood-sculptures/
In Meticulous Detail, Antonio Santín’s Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings Undulate with Vibrant Textures
Akin to the way textile weavers rely on intricate looms to support warps and wefts, Antonio Santín (previously) employs another kind of machine. Precisely calibrated for the various densities of different oil pigments, a pneumatic compressor allows the artist to carefully control the speed and volume of paint onto the canvas, creating a rhythmic, textured, hyperrealistic depiction of ornamental rugs.
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 Meticulous Detail, Antonio Santín’s Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings Undulate with Vibrant Textures appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/antonio-santin-hyperrealistic-rugs/
Colossal + Domestika: Learn to Draw, Animate, and Paint with Four Classic Courses
In our next installment of courses with Domestika, we’ve got all your bases covered. Our Classic Colossal Bundle includes four classes hand-picked by our editors with more than 10 hours of instructional information to round out your creative skills. Taught by artists from our very own Colossal archive, you’re sure to be in good hands.
Mattias Adolfsson, explore the possibilities of watercolor and gouache on unique surfaces with Ruby Silvious, draw fantastical beings with Vorja Sánchez, and learn the ins and outs of needle felting while creating your very own stop motion animation with Andrea Love. 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: Learn to Draw, Animate, and Paint with Four Classic Courses appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/domestika-classic-courses/
At More Than 800 Pages, ‘The Book of Colour Concepts’ Revels in Four Centuries of Chromatic Wonders
We perceive color everywhere. Although it’s omnipresent, the concept is challenging to describe, in part because color itself is not an inherent property of matter. Our brains perceive hues through photoreceptor cells in our eyes, often called cones, that allow us to discern the visible light spectrum—think of a rainbow or a prism.
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 At More Than 800 Pages, ‘The Book of Colour Concepts’ Revels in Four Centuries of Chromatic Wonders appeared first on Colossal.
https://www.thisiscolossal.com/2024/02/book-of-colour-concepts/