HOTTEST
Art
Illustration#animals
#birds
#humor
#plants
#watercolorSeptember 15, 2020
Grace EbertAll images courtesy of Mark Brooks, shared with permission
Full of extraordinary creatures, the illustrated series The Creative Specimens seamlessly combines species into unusual hybrids. Similar in color, each organism is bizarre in form. The feathered head of a bird is placed on a tortoise’s body, octopus tentacles sprout from the bottom of a cactus, and speckled coral comprises a deer’s antlers.
Adobe’s 99U Conference spurred the collaborative project as a way to offer a visual language encompassing various creative careers and passions. Inspired by the biological classifications of Charles Darwin and his contemporaries, New York-based art director and graphic designer Mark Brooks digitally rendered the organisms by referencing vintage illustrations. He then passed the project to Joanmiquel Bennasar, an illustrator living and working in the Balearic Islands, who recreated the creatures in watercolor.
Explore more of Brooks’s and Bennasar’s illustrated projects on Behance.#animals
#birds
#humor
#plants
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Art#ceramics
#porcelain
#sculpture
#weaponsAugust 15, 2020
Grace EbertAll images © Helena Hauss, shared with permission
Paris-based artist Helena Hauss juxtaposes the domestic feminity synonymous with delft-style porcelain and the brute force of barbed weaponry. Her sculptural series, titled Hell Hath no Fury, is composed of an axe, grenade, spiked bat, and morning star, each of which is ornamented with floral motifs.
Hauss shares with Colossal that she hopes to disrupt notions that women are the “weaker sex” and opts instead for a message of empowerment. “Too often portrayed as fragile and delicate, this project is an expression of the contrasting subtleties that come with femininity, as well as an attempt at vindication from a feeling of constant vulnerability that’s been forced upon us,” she says. “Contrary to what you might think, we’re not made of glass, porcelain, or crystal. We’re not gonna break, we’re wearing full metal jackets, and we’re ready to fight back.”
To view more of the Hauss’s subversive sculptural works, head to Instagram and Behance.#ceramics
#porcelain
#sculpture
#weaponsDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
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Art#activism
#black and white
#charcoal
#graphite
#hyperrealism
#portraitsSeptember 19, 2020
Grace Ebert“Mindless #3.” All images © Arinze Stanley, courtesy of Corey Helford Gallery, shared with permission
Arinze Stanley describes his hyperrealistic drawings as “a simple language of my feelings.” In a statement about his new series titled Paranormal Portraits, the Nigerian artist (previously) says he uses his art as a form of political activism and as a way to amplify the voices of those who are unheard. Stanley noes that the relationships he fosters with his subjects are complicated and more often a reflection of himself:
In my opinion, artists are custodians of time and reality, hence why I try to inform the future about the reality of today, and through these surreal portraits seen in my new body of work, Paranormal Portraits, navigate my viewers into what is almost a psychedelic and uncertain experience of being Black in the 21st Century.
Using graphite and charcoal pencils, Stanley draws with such detail, capturing a stray hair or glimmer of beading sweat. Whether featuring a subject wrapped in hands or dripping in paint, the monochromatic portraits are intimate, expressive, and “born out of the zeal for perfection both in skill, expression, and devotion to create positive changes in the world. I draw inspiration from life experiences and basically everything that sparks a feeling of necessity,” Stanley says.
If you’re in Los Angeles, Stanley’s work will be on view at Corey Helford Gallery starting October 3. Otherwise, head to Instagram and check out this video from Great Big Story capturing his deftly rendered artworks.“The Machine Man #7”
Left: “People and Paper #1.” Right: “The Machine Man #6″
“Paranormal Portrait #3”#activism
#black and white
#charcoal
#graphite
#hyperrealism
#portraitsDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!
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More All images © threadstories, shared with permission Covered in full-face masks of fringe and knotted details, threadstories (previously) explores the tension between contemporary portrayals of public and private life. The Irish artist poses in front of gray backdrops for her self-portraits that obscure her face and only sometimes reveal a set of eyes or […] More
Art
Photography#miniature
#models
#surrealJuly 31, 2020
Anna MarksAll images © Frank Kunert, shared with permission
Frank Kunert (previously) is a Germany-based photographer and modelmaker who creates mind-stretching scenes that, from afar, appear like everyday urban environments with the same beige color palette and concrete walls that are common across the world. On closer inspection, though, Kunert’s work reveals itself to be a series of surreal scenarios—he takes viewers on a fantastical journey in which mundane objects are transformed and merged into unusual architectural scenes that explore the “absurdity of life.”
In one work, a cot is sandwiched in the middle of a desk and bookcases, while in another, two old stools sitting on a small carpet face a large window that resides high in the sky, with two minuscule glasses of rosy wine positioned beside them. Each piece of Kunert’s tiny, perception-twisting models takes him weeks to months to create, and afterward, he photographs them with a large-format, analog camera.
Kunert turns common objects into pieces of admiration, giving viewers the chance to reflect on redesigning old collectibles or waste items for new uses. Throughout this period, social distancing has influenced Kunert’s work and many of his designs reflect a new normal. For example, he redesigned an old wooden table, which he divided into individual booths for diners.
You can view more of the artist’s projects on Instagram and in his book, Frank Kunert: Lifestyle, which is available on Bookshop.#miniature
#models
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Photography
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