Aurelia Butler

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    Industrial Materials and Rugged Topographies Converge in Jacqueline Surdell’s Knotted Tapestries

    
    Art

    #chains
    #ribbon
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #tapestry
    #textiles

    July 29, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “We Will Win: Our Banner in the Sky (after Frederic Edwin Church)” (2020), cotton cord, nylon, paracord, fabric, and ribbons, 84 x 108 x 12 inches, 120-inch bar. Photo by Ian Vecchiotti. Images courtesy of Jacqueline Surdell and Patricia Sweetow Gallery, shared with permission
    Chicago-based artist Jacqueline Surdell sutures lengths of rope, fabric, and silky ribbons into sprawling abstract tapestries that hang from walls and standalone armatures in textured, colorful masses. Swelling clusters of knots and ties, loose weaves, braided tunnels, and dangling strands compose her three-dimensional compositions that are disrupted by sporadically used items like steel chains, volleyballs, and polyester shower curtains. Because of the scale of the pieces and the hefty materials, the artist often uses her body as a shuttle to weave the brightly colored fibers together on massive hand-built looms.
    Surdell embeds parts of her Chicago upbringing in her wall sculptures, especially childhood memories of her grandmother’s landscape paintings and her grandfather’s job in South Side steel mills. These two experiences converge in her textured works by evoking vast terrains and the city’s industrial history through her use of commercial materials. Each piece offers further reflections on today’s world, with energetic and chaotic pieces like “We Will Win: Our Banner in the Sky” (shown above) responding to the fraught political landscape in the U.S. and destructive events like wildfires and loss of coral reefs sparked by the climate crisis.
    You can find more of Surdell’s large-scale tapestries on her site, and head to Instagram to see her latest work-in-progress.

    Detail of “We Will Win: Our Banner in the Sky (after Frederic Edwin Church)” (2020), cotton cord, nylon, paracord, fabric, and ribbons, 84 x 108 x 12 inches, 120-inch bar. Photo by Ian Vecchiotti
    “Sacrifice of Columbia: Destruction (after Thomas Cole)” (2020), cotton cord, nylon cord, fabric, printed polyester shower curtain, American flag jacket, steel battle rope anchor, steel chain, canvas tarp, acrylic paint drips, and wood armature, 84 x 96 x 12 inches. Image courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery
    Left: “Neon Hymn” (2020), braided cotton cord, paracord, enamel, and oil stick, 80 x 26 x 12 inches. Right: “Scylla III: The Pastoral State (after Thomas Cole)” (2020), cotton cord, nylon cord, paracord, printed cotton towel, steel frame, and volleyball, 27 x 27 x 1.5 inches (frame), 33 x 85 x 9.5 inches (floor extension). Images courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery
    “Straight-laced: The Consummation of Empire (after Thomas Cole)” (2020/21), cotton cord, nylon cord, paracord, printed polyester shower curtain, and steel, 96 x 64 x 14 inches. Photo by Ian Vecchiotti
    Left: “Purging: Desolation (after Thomas Cole)” (2021), cotton cord, nylon cord, fabric, printed polyester shower curtain, and steel, 86 x 71 x 12 inches. Image courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery. Right: “Untitled II” (2015), braided cotton cord, steel rod, and steel armatures, 60 x 60 inches. Image courtesy of Jacqueline Surdell
    Detail of “Sacrifice of Columbia: Destruction (after Thomas Cole)” (2020), cotton cord, nylon cord, fabric, printed polyester shower curtain, American flag jacket, steel battle rope anchor, steel chain, canvas tarp, acrylic paint drips, and wood armature, 84 x 96 x 12 inches. Image courtesy of Patricia Sweetow Gallery
    “Untitled XII (reflections on the water)” (2020), braided cotton cord, and steel, 60 x 144 x 12 inches. Image courtesy of Jacqueline Surdell

    #chains
    #ribbon
    #rope
    #sculpture
    #tapestry
    #textiles

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    Posed Women Rendered in Vibrant Gradients by Hanna Lee Joshi Embody Loss and Acceptance

    
    Art

    #body
    #colored pencil
    #gouache
    #gradients
    #self-portrait

    July 28, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Alignment of Virtue.” All images © Hanna Lee Joshi, shared with permission
    Twisting into subtle backends or hunching into a cross-legged crouch, the faceless women that find themselves at the center of Hanna Lee Joshi’s practice all personify an aspect of the artist herself. Conveyed through vibrant gradients in gouache and colored pencil, the figures shown here are companions to those the Korean-Canadian artist created last year, although they plunge deeper into themes of loss, acceptance, and inclusivity. “The magic and mystery of life can seem very fleeting when you’re in the pits of depression. I wanted to reconnect with that spark of fire within,” she says, explaining:
    I’m working on pieces that explore finding my identity and the nature of the self. Reconnecting with my Korean heritage and accepting all the things that make up who I am. In the end, I am just a piece of this earth having an experience of the self, and I’m trying to make a visual representation of some of it.
    The introspective subjects have signature features like elongated torsos and limbs, dark, glossy locks, and large hands gesturing yogic mudras that further visualize emotion and feeling. The women are subversive in color and form, deviating from the skin tones and body shapes typically associated with nude figures.
    Joshi, who’s based in Vancouver, is preparing for upcoming exhibitions at Spoke Art SF on August 7, at Thinkspace Projects in October, and later in fall at Hashimoto Contemporary. Prints are available in her shop, and you can see a few works-in-progress on Instagram.

    “Wheel of Desire”
    “Liberation”
    “Pursuit of Prosperity”
    “I’m a Little Shy But That’s Okay”
    “Sun, Moon, and Fire”

    #body
    #colored pencil
    #gouache
    #gradients
    #self-portrait

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    Interlocking Cable Ties Form Undulating Water and Biomorphic Sculptures by Sui Park

    
    Art

    #installation
    #sculpture
    #site-specific
    #waves

    July 28, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Undulating Beauty” (2018), black cable ties, 21 x 7.5 x 2.5 fee. All images © Sui Park, shared with permission
    Artist Sui Park (previously) zips together simple nylon cable ties to create sprawling biomorphic sculptures and site-specific installations that resemble heaving nighttime seas, prickly moss, and vibrant amorphous creatures. Park, who was born in Seoul and currently lives in New York, started hand-dying the uniform fasteners a few years ago to deepen the contrast between the mass-produced material and her spiky organic masses. “Each has a subtle difference in shape and angle, and when grouped and connected together to develop into a larger form, the subtlety creates a dynamic and a characteristic of my work,” she says.
    Whether suspended in a gallery or staked into a patch of grass, Park’s abstract pieces are porous, each revealing the surrounding environment through its body. This focus on permeability “opens the inner space of my work and makes the inside visible. At the same time, I think it opens and creates a moment to pause, reflect, and ponder personal imageries surrounding nature. Different shapes and angles of modules provide various perspectives of the inner space,” she shares.
    Park has multiple upcoming exhibitions, including shows running August 11 to November 27 at Cahoon Museum of American Art, September 7 to December 11 at Suwon Museum of Art, September 2021 to August 2023 at the Site-Responsive Art Biennale at I-Park Foundation, and another at Poikilo Museot starting in September. Until then, explore more of her sprawling installations and standalone pieces on Behance and Instagram.

    “Summer Vibe” (2021), hand-dyed cable ties and tent stakes, 
78th Street at Riverside Park, New York
    “Summer Vibe” (2021), hand-dyed cable ties and tent stakes, 
78th Street at Riverside Park, New York
    Detail of “Undulating Beauty” (2018), black cable ties, 21 x 7.5 x 2.5 feet
    “Experiment (Untitled)” (2021), monofilament
    “Experiment (Untitled)” (2021), monofilament
    Detail of “Where the Wind Stays” (2021), cable ties and monofilament
, I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, Connecticut
    “Where the Wind Stays” (2021), cable ties and monofilament
, I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, Connecticut
    Detail of “Moss” (2018), hand-dyed cable ties and tent stakes
    “Moss” (2018), hand-dyed cable ties and tent stakes
    “Where the Wind Stays” (2021), cable ties and monofilament
, I-Park Foundation, East Haddam, Connecticut

    #installation
    #sculpture
    #site-specific
    #waves

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  • 188 Shares109 Views

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    Takeout Containers and Worn Sketchbooks by Artist Yoonmi Nam Explore the Permanence of Everyday Disposables

    
    Art
    Food

    #ceramics
    #lithographs
    #notebooks
    #sculpture
    #vases

    July 27, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Sketchbook (small #10)” (2019), porcelain, cobalt slip inlay, and glaze, .75 x 8.5 x 6.25 inches. All images courtesy of Paradigm Gallery, shared with permission
    A kitchen table, countertop, or cluttered desk are all likely spots to encounter a piece by South Korean artist Yoonmi Nam. Encompassing ceramic sculptures and sparse lithographs, Nam’s body of work evokes “an ever-present, yet always changing still life,” one that displays the ubiquitous objects of her everyday in more permanent forms. A deep well to hold a bouquet carves out a stack of porcelain take-out containers, minimal prints depict a leafy branch resting in a fast-food cup, and splayed sketchbooks are covered with graph paper-style inlays that appear punctured, leaving frayed ends and stray lines.
    Nam’s subject matter, whether a disposable container or notebook with a cracked cover, always has a limited lifespan, a recurring theme that tethers each of the works to questions about ephemerality and value. The artist elaborates in a statement:
    I am drawn to man-made spaces and objects that we surround ourselves with, especially when they subtly suggest a contradicting sense of time that seems both temporary and lasting. In the arranged flower imagery, the flowers, once cut from their roots, have only a short remaining time to live. They will quickly wither and die, but before they do, they are elegantly and elaborately arranged, as if time will stand still for them. The containers that hold them are disposable objects, such as a yogurt cup, a Styrofoam take-out box, and an instant noodle bowl. These throwaway objects and cut flowers engage in a dialogue that speaks about impermanence and persistence.
    Nam has a few ceramic pieces and lithographs available from Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia, and some of her new delivery box-inspired sculptures are on view as part of 2021 Kansas City Flatfile + Digitalfile, which runs through October 14 at the Kansas City Art Institute. You also can explore a larger selection of her works on Instagram.

    “Cairn Vase (large #2) ” (2019), porcelain and white glaze, 10.5 x 4.5 x 4.75 inches
    Left: “Cairn Vase (small #1)” (2019), porcelain and clear glaze, 6.75 x 4.5 x 4.75 inches. Right: “Cairn Vase (large #2) ” (2019), porcelain and white glaze, 10.5 x 4.5 x 4.75 inches
    “Cairn Vase (small #1)” (2019), porcelain and clear glaze, 6.75 x 4.5 x 4.75 inches
    Detail of “Sketchbook (small #9)” (2019), porcelain, cobalt slip inlay, and glaze, .75 x 8.5 x 6.25 inches
    “Sketchbook (small #4)” (2019), porcelain, underglaze inlay, and glaze, .75 x 8.5 x 6.25
    Left: “Winstead’s” (2018), lithograph, 33 x 18 inches. Right: “M” (2018), lithograph, 33 x 18 inches
    Detail of “Sketchbook (small #3)” (2019), porcelain, underglaze inlay, and glaze, .75 x 8.5 x 6.25 inches
    “Sketchbook (small #3)” (2019), porcelain, underglaze inlay, and glaze, .75 x 8.5 x 6.25 inches

    #ceramics
    #lithographs
    #notebooks
    #sculpture
    #vases

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  • 150 Shares129 Views

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    Vintage Cross-Stitch Motifs Conceal Common Household Objects in Sculptures by Ulla-Stina Wikander

    
    Art
    Craft

    #cross-stitch
    #needlepoint
    #textiles
    #tools

    July 27, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Ulla-Stina Wikander, shared with permission
    Pastoral landscapes and quiet domestic scenes stitched into vintage textiles envelop Ulla-Stina Wikander’s needlepoint sculptures. Using rotary phones, kitchen appliances, or an antique gramophone as her foundation, Wikander (previously) molds the cross-stitch works around her chosen object, cloaking it in a blanket of color and texture while preserving its original shape. Multiple facets of domestic life intersect in the revitalized pieces, which bring the age-old craft traditionally associated with home decoration and items commonly found in kitchens and garages together into reinterpreted forms.
    Splitting her time between Stockholm and Kullavik, Wikander shares that she’s started to work with sports equipment and more elaborate tools, which you can see on Instagram. You can browse her available works at Philadelphia’s Paradigm Gallery, and see her pieces in person through August 6 at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York and at M Contemporary Gallery in Sydney in the coming months.

    #cross-stitch
    #needlepoint
    #textiles
    #tools

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  • 163 Shares169 Views

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    Massive Human Faces Loom Over Japanese Cities in Uncanny Balloon Works by Mé

    
    Art

    #faces
    #hot air balloons
    #installation

    July 27, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Masayume” (2019-2021), Tokyo Tokyo Festival Special 13. Photo by Kaneda Kozo. All images courtesy of Mé, shared with permission
    An unlikely sight was spotted hovering over Tokyo earlier this month in a disorienting installation by the Japanese collective 目 (Mé). Titled “Masayume” or “dream come true,” the eerie artwork featured a giant human face printed on a hot air balloon, which launched above the city on July 16 as part of the Tokyo Tokyo Festival, an event organized to coincide with the start of the Olympics.
    Bizarre and unexpected for most passersby, the single-day piece was derived from a dream Mé artist Kojin Haruka had as a teen. “‘Masayume’ will be carried out suddenly and without prior notice nor a clear reason, just like an image a 14-year-old Japanese girl saw in a dream, momentarily disabling the ordinary,” a statement reads. “The face will be gazing back at us from the sky in the midst of this pandemic. It is as though we are a part of the spectacle.”
    “Masayume” is a follow-up to a 2013-2014 project titled “Day with a Man’s Face Floating in the Sky” (shown below) that floated a similar black-and-white balloon over Utsunomiya City, Tochigi. Each of the anonymous figures depicts a real person, and about 1,400 people applied to have their faces loom over Tokyo this round.
    Mé’s work is on view at the Towada Art Center in a three-part group exhibition that runs through May 29, 2022. Check out the collective’s Instagram for more of its large-scale projects, including a massive wave sculpture rippling through a museum. (via Spoon & Tamago)

    “Masayume” (2019-2021), Tokyo Tokyo Festival Special 13. Photo by Tsushima Takahiro
    “Day with a Man’s Face Floating in the Sky” (2013-2014), Utsunomiya City, Tochigi. Photo by Takao Sasanuma
    “Masayume” (2019-2021), Tokyo Tokyo Festival Special 13. Photo by Kaneda Kozo
    “Masayume” (2019-2021), Tokyo Tokyo Festival Special 13. Photo by Igarashi Tomoyuki

    #faces
    #hot air balloons
    #installation

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  • 150 Shares139 Views

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    Clusters of Bright Balloons Envelop Photographer Fares Micue in Her Expressive Self-Portraits

    
    Art
    Photography

    #balloons
    #portraits
    #self-portrait

    July 26, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Contagious energy.” All images © Fares Micue, shared with permission
    In her ongoing series of self-portraits, Spain-based photographer and artist Fares Micue (previously) trades her usual monarchs and lush, leafy botanicals for bright airborne balloons. The perfectly round vessels appear suspended in motion as they encircle Micue’s torso, conceal her face, or lead her up a painted stairway. The amorphous clusters follow the artist’s distinct use of color, adding either a stark contrast to her clothing and the backdrop or blending with the existing architectural palette.
    In a note to Colossal, Micue shares that while she brings in organic elements like flowers and leaves to evoke the earth’s seasonal patterns, the ballons are derived from the universe’s more foundational and constant elements, like the sun, the moon, and the planets. She explains:
    For me, the round shape represents perfection, feelings, energy, and the natural flowing of things…(It) has the ability to move easily like a ball and helps us to move forward like a wheel. They are delicate and soft. Nothing can be hidden around a circle cause it has no edges or pointy corners, and that’s what they represent in my work: the pureness and naturality of our feelings and how they help us to move forward, the energy we share with the world, and how they are always surrounding us shaping our everyday life
    Limited-edition prints of many of the pieces shown here are available from Saatchi Art, and you can explore an extensive archive of Micue’s exquisitely composed portraits on Instagram.

    “Chasing illusions”
    “Endless options,” in collaboration with Artstar
    “Winter blues,” in collaboration with Artstar
    “Too many expectations”
    “The happiness source”
    “Revive your curiosity”
    “I choose you”

    #balloons
    #portraits
    #self-portrait

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    Silky Flowers Spring from CJ Hendry’s Enormous Hyperrealistic Drawings in Colored Pencil

    
    Art
    Illustration

    #colored pencil
    #drawing
    #flowers
    #hyperrealism

    July 26, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Red Poppy,” 45 x 45 inches. All images © CJ Hendry, shared with permission
    Previously drawing giant strokes of oil paint and fruits, fish, and other edibles with remarkable depth and detail, Australian artist CJ Hendry shifts her focus to the soft, silky petals of peonies, roses, and tulips. She uses colored pencils to render individual florals and small bunches at an immense scale, magnifying their thin layers and sticky inner organs. The hyperrealistic drawings enhance the dimension and delicacy of each flower as they appear to blossom from the paper with exquisite detail.
    Hendry lives in Brooklyn and is working on similar botanical pieces for an upcoming exhibition in a dilapidated church in Mile End. Until that London show, follow her works and keep an eye out for limited-edition releases on her Instagram.

    “Peony Peeping,” 65 x 65 inches
    Detail of “Red Poppy,” 45 x 45 inches
    “Pink Fluffy Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “Pink Fluffy Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “Light Peach Rose,” 41 x 41 inches
    “Light Peach Rose,” 41 x 41 inches
    “White Peeping Peony,” 45 x 45 inches
    Detail of “White Poking Peony,” 41 x 41 inches

    #colored pencil
    #drawing
    #flowers
    #hyperrealism

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