Aurelia Butler

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    Dozens of Contemporary Artists Collaborate with Puzzles with Purpose to Create Limited-Edition Jigsaws

    
    Art
    Photography

    #games
    #puzzles

    February 5, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “My soul ain’t for sale” by Nicole Rafiki
    The team at Puzzles with Purpose launched a multi-pronged initiative last fall that directly supports artists and charities around the globe while giving the rest of us a much-needed distraction. Art X Puzzles tasked more than 80 creatives—the list includes Louise Lawler, Nicole Rafiki, Spencer Tunick (previously), and Pixy Liao—with producing a unique work for a limited-edition jigsaw and choosing a social-justice or COVID-relief organization to share proceeds with. The paper, wood, or magnetic puzzles vary in size and difficulty and are accompanied by an engraved USB drive with a certificate of authentication, the original image, and information about the artist. We’ve gathered some of our favorite works below, but you can shop the entire collection on Puzzles with Purpose’s site.

    “WHATS COOLER THAN BEING COOL?” by Mario Moore
    “Big Color” by Spencer Tunick
    “Rendetore #16” by Alessandro Belgiojoso
    “Things We Talk About” by Pixy Liao
    “Woman with Goat and Surgical Mask” by Kharis Kennedy

    #games
    #puzzles

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    Abstract Masses of Porcelain Consume Embracing Figures in Sculptures by Artist Claudia Fontes

    
    Art

    #body
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

    February 5, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Claudia Fontes, shared with permission
    Argentina-born artist Claudia Fontes (previously) continues her Foreigners series with small sculptures of figures enveloped by plumes of porcelain. Recent additions to the expanding collection are more abstract than previous iterations, which often revealed the body’s curves and gestures, although all of the works feature limbs embracing within or attempting to escape from the textured clouds. The pocked surface resembles organic matter, like sea sponges or coral, and seamlessly merges life forms into a cohesive structure.
    Fontes tells Colossal that this shift in focus was inspired by a desire to see “the material as the main protagonist of the piece, steering away from representation.” She explains that by “piercing the porcelain in different ways and exploring the possibilities that come with grouping the figures, I have realized that I am paying more attention to the material as a fictional membrane, which mediates between figure and background.”
    Currently, Fontes is incorporating two colors into her otherwise white porcelain in order to create new works that evoke sedimentary rock. She’s also preparing for a solo show at Cecilia Brunson Projects in London and a group exhibition at Stuk in Leuven, Belgium, and some pieces from the Foreigners series will be part of Simbiologías at Centro Cultural Kirchner in Buenos Aires this April. Until then, follow the artist on Instagram or head to her site to see more of her sculptural work.

    #body
    #porcelain
    #sculpture

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    Fantastical Atmospheres Are Rendered with Dark Impasto Strokes in Digital Paintings by RHADS

    
    Art

    #digital
    #impasto
    #surreal

    February 4, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Continuation of the Dream.” All images © Artem Chebokha, shared with permission
    Impasto strokes in deep shades of blue and gray form the volatile environments that backdrop Artem Chebokha’s surreal works. The Saint Petersburg-based artist, who uses the moniker RHADS, mimics the texture of oil paint in his digital pieces. Situated within heavy clouds and pockets of lightning, elements of unusual scale, like minuscule airplanes or an oversized octopus, create otherworldly atmospheres filled with unpredictable weather and open expanses.
    Prints of Chebokha’s dreamy paintings are available on Society6. Head to Instagram to see a larger collection of his pieces, including a 3D shot of the work above, and keep an eye out for his upcoming project that merges art and music. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

    “A Great Storm Approaching”
    “City of Love”
    “Floating in the Dark”
    “Octosoup”
    “The Longing to Air Trips”

    #digital
    #impasto
    #surreal

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    Delightful Nighttime Landscapes Nestle into Stacked Wooden Boxes in Allison May Kiphuth’s Dioramas

    
    Art

    #animals
    #dioramas
    #found objects
    #miniature
    #mixed media
    #nature
    #sculpture
    #watercolor

    February 3, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Allison May Kiphuth, shared with permission
    Allison May Kiphuth (previously) shrinks the expansive landscapes found throughout the eastern United States into picturesque dioramas brimming with natural life. Through layered watercolor and ink renderings, the Maine-based artist creates a mix of quiet forest scenes and ocean habitats often under a dark, nighttime sky. She then stacks the outfitted wooden boxes, blending the marine and land-based pieces in varying positions that create new ecosystems with every combination.
    Although Kiphuth derives much of her subject matter from the area around her home, she shares that experiencing new scenes is essential to her practice. “I haven’t been outside of Maine in over a year, and while this landscape is usually so expansively beautiful to me, without the contrast of other landscapes for perspective, it’s been feeling incredibly small,” a feeling that’s amplified by her living and working from a tiny home that’s just 8 x 20 feet.
    The artist has a solo show slated for August at Antler Gallery in Portland, and limited edition prints of the piece above are available from Nahcotta. Get a glimpse into Kiphuth’s process and views of the scenery she references in her works on Instagram.

    “Bond,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4 x 6 x 2 inches
    “Defense,” watercolor, paper, and pins in antique box, 4.625 x 7 x 3.75 inches
    Left: “Den” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6.5 x .5 inches
    “Nightlight 2,” Watercolor, paper, thread, and pins in antique box, 6.25 x 4.875 x 3.25 inches
    “Observation” (2019), watercolor on layers of hand-cut paper, sealed with encaustic, 6 x 6 x .5 inches
    “Defense” in progress

    #animals
    #dioramas
    #found objects
    #miniature
    #mixed media
    #nature
    #sculpture
    #watercolor

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    Demented Toys by Obvious Plant Confront Harsh Realities and the Mundanity of Life

    
    Art
    Design

    #games
    #humor
    #pop culture
    #satire
    #toys

    February 2, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Obvious Plant
    Unless you want a distraught child, double-check the packaging of your next purchase in case you accidentally snag a one-off toy by Jeff Wysaski, aka Obvious Plant. For years, he’s been littering supermarket and drugstore shelves with his action figures and small games that cleverly comment on capitalism and the harsh realities we all experience, from a birthday for one—it “includes one party blower because that is all you will need”—to a “childless couple” riding matching jet skis. Sometimes parodying pop culture, the elaborate designs are paired with witty copy and a slew of intentional spelling errors, including warnings that “everybody dies, even bird.”
    Many of the subversive products, shirts, and other goods are available in the Obvious Plant shop, although they sell out quickly. To stay up-to-date on the latest designs, follow Wysaski on Instagram.

    #games
    #humor
    #pop culture
    #satire
    #toys

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    Lush Florals Sprout from Corsets and Dresses in Enchanting Paintings by Artist Amy Laskin

    
    Art

    #fashion
    #flowers
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #plants

    February 2, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Blouse an Skirt!,” oil on linen, 40 x 50 inches. All images © Amy Laskin, shared with permission
    Through ethereal oil paintings, artist Amy Laskin juxtaposes decorative fashions and organic beauty. Thick bunches of hydrangeas, lilies, and wispy ferns spring from elaborate, beaded dresses and corsets, which swell into fully formed garments and shroud the works with an unearthly and enchanting aura. Each piece is figurative but non-representational, a decision Laskin shares stems from the idea that “nature is anonymous. She needs no name. She is everything.” 
    The artist’s studio is located in the Blue Mountains in Jamaica, the place she’s drawn inspiration from since moving to the island as a Peace Corps volunteer years ago. You can find more of Laskin’s work that’s brimming with the flora native to the region on her site and Artsy.

    “Grand Stand,” oil on linen, 19.5 X 15.5 inches
    “Haute Couture and Mother Nature Marry,” oil on board, 24 X 21 inches
    Left: “Up Rooted,” oil on linen, 17 X 14 inches. Right: “Rooted in Her Story,” oil on linen, 17 X 14 inches
    “Flora and Furbelow,” oil on linen, 45.5 X 45.5 inches
    Left: “Red and Green,” oil on linen, 12 x 12 inches. Right: “Flora’s Duppy,” oil on linen, 40 x 30 inches
    “Bodice and Botany,” oil on linen, 40 X 50 inches

    #fashion
    #flowers
    #oil painting
    #painting
    #plants

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    A Monumental Collection of Slouching Figures Considers the Effects of Aging on the Body

    
    Art

    #aging
    #body
    #felt
    #sculpture
    #thread

    February 1, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images courtesy of the Minneapolis Institute of Art
    Nicole Havekost describes her towering figures as exhibiting the contradiction of “sublime embarrassment… Bodies are magical and glorious and gross and bewildering. Bodies are civilized and feral.” Through hand-sewn sculptures, the Rochester-based artist explores the ways aging affects peoples’ figures and the emotional process of adjusting to a new reality.
    She stitches large anthropomorphic works from industrial felt, shaping bodies that are bulging and covered with knots and uneven seams that serve as a reminder of restoration. Havekost explains:
    These are the visible representations of the making and mending, repairing and refinishing, we are engaged in as human beings on a daily basis. It shows where we have been and marks where we are going. My figures show their imperfect repairs outwardly, unlike most of us who put on our best public faces. As I have aged, I have become more of a partner to my body. To have a body and accept its imperfections is a privilege and that is what I continue to explore in my work.
    Coupled with the varying stitches are the figures’ loping movements and gestures: they lean against the wall, slouch on the floor, and stretch stiff limbs, exposing their “lived-in bodies. They are soft but hold their shape and are in poses open to nurturing and comfort though they have already given so much. They are protectors that need protection,” the artist says.
    Although much of Havekost’s work centers on smaller creatures, this collection is monumental in scale and a natural progression from the doll-sized pieces she’s made previously. The nondescript works loom within the 18-foot gallery at the Minneapolis Institute of Art, where they’re currently on view through June 26, 2021. “The idea of these figures really owning the space, of the audience having to adjust to their size and presence is what really drove the increased scale and bulk of the pieces. I owed it to the figures to let them be as big as they needed to be,” she says.
    Explore Havekost’s larger body of work on her site, and follow her latest projects on Instagram.

    #aging
    #body
    #felt
    #sculpture
    #thread

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    Fragmented Garments and Body Parts Drift Away From Steel Sculptures by Regardt Van Der Meulen

    
    Art

    #body
    #sculpture
    #steel

    January 28, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Untitled” (2018), mild steel, 1900 x 1850 x 900 millimeters. All images © Regardt Van Der Meulen, shared with permission
    Regardt Van Der Meulen is concerned with the ephemerality of human life, a fascination that manifests in his sweeping steel sculptures. Fragmented and oversized, the works juxtapose the unyielding material with the movement inherent in the figures’ poses and the shapes of their garments. Each of their bodies is incomplete, whether through a bisected limb or torso gaping with negative space.
    Based in Johannesburg, Van Der Meulen shares that much of his work exposes the vulnerability of the body and how both minute and drastic changes alter its presentation. Branches, geometric pieces, and erosion interrupt the nondescript figures, serving as a metaphor for their mental and physical instability, as well as the precarious state of the natural world and civilization. The artist writes:
    I am fascinated by human mortality and the fleeting moments we spend here. One often forgets how fragile life and our environment is. We think we are part of a binary relationship with nature when in fact we are one. Sudden changes in our environment or experiences can instantly shift our perspective on how we view life and our role in it.
    Find more of Van Der Meulen’s fractured sculptures on Instagram. (via Cross Connect Magazine)

    “Twigs” (2017), mild steel, 2,300 x 1,600 x 1,200 millimeters
    Detail o f“Twigs” (2017), mild steel, 2,300 x 1,600 x 1,200 millimeters
    Detail of “Shadow,” steel, 2.8 x 1 meter
    “Shadow,” steel, 2.8 x 1 meter
    “Unravel,” steel, 2,200 x 1,600 x 600 milimeters
    Detail of “”Untitled” (2018), mild steel, 1900 x 1850 x 900 millimeters
    Detail of “Deteriorated” (2020), steel, 2,020 x 520 x 520 milimeters
    “Dematerialising” (2020), steel, 2050 milimeters

    #body
    #sculpture
    #steel

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