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Since 2019, the festival has been transforming Georgia’s capital city into a giant public art gallery.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Tbilisi Mural Fest’s Dynamic Murals Brighten the Sides of Buildings Throughout the City appeared first on Colossal. More“I hear you in my head” (2023), oil on canvas, 72 x 84 inches. Photos by Owen Conway. All images © Titus Kaphar, courtesy of Gagosian, shared with permission
Titus Kaphar Paints Memories, Family, and Grief into ‘Exhibiting Forgiveness’
October 1, 2024
Art Film
Kate Mothes
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From a makeshift bike ramp to an uphill struggle with a lawn mower, the scenes in Titus Kaphar’s oil paintings are simultaneously familiar and personal. Drawing on memories, he contemplates the meaning of family, community, loss, grief, and everyday life in working-class America.
These works, shown in a gallery setting for the first time at Gagosian, were made for the artist’s semi-autobiographical, debut film, Exhibiting Forgiveness, which screened at Sundance earlier this year and comprises the centerpiece of the presentation.
“Some things can’t be worked out on canvas” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 108 inches
Featuring André Holland (Moonlight and Passing) alongside Andra Day and Aunjanue Ellis-Taylor, the film was written and directed by Kaphar and follows the story of an accomplished painter whose life is upended by an unexpected reunion with his estranged father.
Springing “from the same personal, emotional and psychological well” that provides the source for all of his work, Kaphar portrays neighborhood houses, figures, and personal objects that transport us to both the artist’s childhood and the universal experiences associated with coming of age.
In “So vulnerable,” for example, two of the three figures scaling a fence have been rubbed out, as if time or unknown events have erased all but their ghostly impressions. In “I hear you in my head,” a figure cutting the lawn has been removed from the canvas altogether, leaving only a void.
Exhibiting Forgiveness continues through November 2 at Gagosian Beverly Hills, and the film is slated for release in theaters nationwide on October 18. Find more on the artist’s website.
“La’Ron” (2023), oil on canvas, 91 x 75 1/2 inches
Installation view of Exhibiting Forgiveness
“So vulnerable” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 108 inches
“Smoldering embers” (2023), oil on canvas, 72 x 83 inches
Actor Andre Holland in Exhibiting Forgiveness. Image courtesy of Roadside Attractions
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“Aislarse” (2001), acrylic on linen. All images © Tomás Sánchez For nearly three decades, Cuban painter Tomás Sánchez has been painting serene landscapes of clam waters and verdant forests full of towering palms and dense shrubs. Now part of a lengthy series, his realistic works focus on nature’s immensity as they contrast massive waterfalls […] More
“Dream Backpack 1” (2023), volcanic rock and objects collected from a ritual of
retracing the artist’s original migration route, 16 1/4 x 12 1/4 x 4 1/2 inches. All photos by JSP Art Photography, courtesy of Guadalupe Maravilla and P·P·O·W, shared with permissionGuadalupe Maravilla’s Volcanic Rock Sculptures Invoke Resilience and Regeneration
December 13, 2024
Art
Grace Ebert
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With the region’s smallest geographic footprint, El Salvador boasts the second-highest number of volcanos in Central America. The country is located on the Ring of Fire, a tectonic band that encircles the Pacific Ocean and houses about two-thirds of all volcanos worldwide. Given its eruptive landscape, much of the soil is rich in ash.
In a series of sculptures, Guadalupe Maravilla (previously) draws on his home country as he sculpts backpacks and enlarged hands from volcanic rock. The works reference the artist’s migration from civil war-era El Salvador as an unaccompanied minor, a traumatic journey that remains a central theme in his practice.
“Luz y Fuerza” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 14 x 14 x 4 inches
A trio of pieces, titled Dream Backpacks, refers to “how we immigrate to the U.S. by land and carry everything we own in a backpack in search of the American Dream,” Maravilla writes in a statement. Embellished with pink, purple, and blue paints, the poignant works display a variety of charms—feathers, a small cat figure, and metal details like a spigot—the artist collected while retracing his childhood route.
Other works take the form of a burly hand cradling smooth shapes featuring pieces redolent of retablos, small devotional paintings often invoking protection during times of hardship. Lightning bolts, stars, and snakes recur throughout the compositions, along with references to the artist’s colon cancer diagnosis, which he has long linked to the trauma he suffered as a child.
December 12 is special to Maravilla and titles one recent work featuring linked wishbones, crystals, and the children’s rhyme “Sana, sana, colita de rana,” which translates to “heal, heal, little frog’s tail.” As Maravilla shares on Instagram, “On 12/12/12 I found out I had cancer. 12/12/13 I overcame cancer. Today, I am starting a new chapter 12/12/24 with a special meditation.” Similarly, a cake with a “0” candle appears in “Luz y Fuerza,” which resembles a pastry the artist once used to celebrate both his birthday and what he considers his rebirth as cancer-free.
Citing resilience amid struggle, Maravilla’s sculptures call on healing and regeneration. Volcanic ash, after all, is one of the most potent natural fertilizers and a key factor in sparking new growth.
Maravilla is represented by P·P·O·W Gallery in New York, where you can find more of his work.
“12/12/24” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 13 3/8 x 13 3/8 x 4 1/8 inches
“Dream Backpack 3” (2023), volcanic rock and objects collected from a ritual ofretracing the artist’s original migration route, 16 1/4 x 12 x 4 3/4 inches
“Self Love” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 13 3/8 x 13 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches
“Heal Seven Years Back” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 13 3/8 x 13 3/4 x 5 1/2 inches
“Dream Backpack 2” (2023), volcanic rock and objects collected from a ritual of retracing the artist’s original migration route, 16 1/2 x 12 1/4 x 4 1/4 inches
“Sana 7 Años Atras” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 14 1/8 x 14 x 4 3/4 inches
“Si No Sanas Hoy Sanarás Mañana” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 13 3/8 x 14 1/8 x 4 3/8 inches
“Sana Sana Colita de Rana” (2024), oil on volcanic rock, 14 1/8 x 13 3/4 x 4 7/8 inches
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