Aurelia Butler

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    Overflowing with Flora and Fauna, Collaged Paper Installations Comment on Earth’s Dwindling Biodiversity

    
    Art

    #animals
    #found photographs
    #installation
    #nature
    #paper
    #plants

    October 21, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Intimate Immensity” (2016). Photograph by Trevor Good. All images © Clare Börsch, shared with permission
    Sprawling across paint-chipped walls and tiny alcoves, the collaged installations of artist Clare Börsch mimic overgrown jungles and whimsical forest scenes. Layers of flora, fauna, and the occasional gemstone or human figure comprise the amorphous paper artworks as they transform spaces into fantastical ecosystems.
    In a note to Colossal, Börsch shares that she began her artistic practice as a way to translate her dreams, which are often lucid and informed by memories and a strong tie to nature, into physical objects that others could immerse themselves in. “Growing up in Brazil, I had the ocean, rivers, and jungles that always existed in stark contrast to the industrial cities (I lived in Sao Paulo). So my earliest and most formative memories are of lush, humming tropical ecosystems —and the encroaching industrial landscapes of Brazil’s cities,” she says.
    The Berlin-based American artist sources her many of the vintage photographs from open source archives, including the Biodiversity Heritage Library (previously), Pixabay, and Unsplash. Some of the botanical elements she draws or photographs herself before cutting around the organic elements and assembling them in new, sometimes bizarre, compositions.

    Jungle installation commissioned by Book A Street Artist Berlin for Riem Arcaden in Munich. Photograph by the artist
    Despite the vibrancy and lively qualities of the three-dimensional collages, Börsch uses her artworks to reflect on the ongoing climate crisis and destruction of biodiversity, commentary that’s laced with themes of decay and death. She explains:
    This came into focus for me when I made a series of collages and then later realized that many of the species in the vintage illustrations had already gone extinct. Humanity has wiped out 68% of all our planet’s biodiversity since 1970, so working with vintage illustrations can be very heartbreaking as much of the diversity in these gorgeous old naturalist prints has been wiped out by human activity.
    Since then, Börsch has been collaborating with scientist Louisa Durkin, of the Nordic Academy of Biodiversity and Systematics Studies, to identify ways the artworks can spark awareness and dialogue about environmental issues. “I often say that I do not want my art to be a funerary dirge for everything we could have saved,” she says.
    In recent months, Börsch has been working on a commissioned series that will culminate in a forthcoming book, titled Why Do Tigers Have Whiskers? And Other Cool Things About Animals, which is scheduled for release by Thames & Hudson in May 2021. Follow the artist on Instagram to see her latest projects, including an immersive installation commenting on regenerative approaches to tackling problems of biodiversity, which she plans to unveil in early November. (thnx, Elsie!)

    “Intimate Immensity” (2016)
    “Intimate Immensity” (2016)
    Jungle installation commissioned by Book A Street Artist Berlin for Riem Arcaden in Munich
    Photograph by Kolja Raschke
    “Intimate Immensity” (2016). Photograph by Trevor Good
    Photograph by Kolja Raschke
    Photograph by Kolja Raschke

    #animals
    #found photographs
    #installation
    #nature
    #paper
    #plants

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    Bright Floral Knitting Wraps an Iconic Stratocaster Guitar in a Psychedelic Layer of Color

    
    Art
    Craft
    Music

    #flowers
    #guitars
    #knitting

    October 20, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Flower Power” (2020), knitted wool and Fender Stratocaster, 106.7 x 12.7 x 38.1 centimeters. All images courtesy of The Big Art Auction, shared with permission
    A new piece by Portuguese artist Joana Vasconcelos (previously) envelops one of Fender’s Stratocaster guitars in a vibrant sheath of wool. Titled “Flower Power,” loosely knit petals cover the entirety of the instrument, wrapping the body, neck, and head in a kaleidoscopic bouquet. The fibrous webbing evokes the aesthetic of the 1960s when Fender’s model secured its legendary status.
    Along with a diverse series of artist-customized Strats, “Flower Power” will be auctioned on Nov. 4 through The Big Art Auction, a collaborative event hosted by The Big Issue Group and Creative Giants. Proceeds from the sales will be donated to The Big Issue, a United Kingdom-based organization that creates economic opportunities for folks who are marginalized and in need. To follow Vasconcelos’s knitted interventions, head to Instagram.

    “Flower Power” (2020), knitted wool and Fender Stratocaster, 106.7 x 12.7 x 38.1 centimeters
    “Flower Power” (2020), knitted wool and Fender Stratocaster, 106.7 x 12.7 x 38.1 centimeters

    #flowers
    #guitars
    #knitting

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    Archaeologists Unearth a Nearly 2,000-Year-Old Cat Geoglyph Lounging on a Peruvian Hillside

    
    Art
    History

    #archaeology
    #cats

    October 20, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    A new discovery on the side of the Mirador Natural Hill in Peru reveals that common feline activities—namely sprawling out in the most comfortable position—have remained relatively stable throughout the last 2,000 years. This week, archaeologists unearthed a 120-foot-wide etching of a cat at the Nazca Lines site in Peru, which is home to a series of geoglyphs depicting a spider, monkey, hummingbird, whale, and fish. The feline rendering dates back to the Late Paracas period between 200-100 BC, making it the oldest in the area.
    With bulbous eyes and a striped tail, the now-faded creature was created by stripping the top layers of soil to reveal the lighter-colored bedrock beneath, with lines ranging from 12 to 16 inches thick. “The figure was barely visible and was about to disappear due to its location on a fairly steep slope and the effects of natural erosion,” the Peruvian Ministry of Culture said in a release.
    The area is located in the Nazca Desert, which is about 250 miles south of Lima, and is recognized as a UNESCO World Heritage site. Although the cat predates Nazca culture—according to the ministry, feline renderings were common in Paracus society and found on textiles, ceramics, and other iconographic objects—similar prehistoric drawings influenced many of the geoglyphs found at the Nazca Lines site. (via Gizmodo)

    #archaeology
    #cats

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    Monochromatic Illustrations Personify the Power of the Sun and Moon through Fictional Deities

    
    Art
    Illustration

    #drawing
    #portraits

    October 18, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Sara Golish, shared with permission
    In her ethereal portraits, Toronto-based artist Sara Golish (previously) renders lavishly adorned goddesses and gods that exude a sense of power and wisdom. The charcoal, conté, and ink drawings are part of two ongoing collections, titled Sundust and Moondust, that imagine a series of fictional deities. Each figure belongs to one of the celestial bodies, a correlation that the artist visualizes through the paper’s color, with a warmer beige for the sun and a cool gray for the moon. “I chose to keep them monochromatic so they could be imagined in any skin tone to each individual viewer’s liking—an ease to envision themselves,” the artist says.
    In recent months, Golish has been working on commissions and new bodies of work across mediums, which you can follow on Instagram. To add one of the mythical portraits to your collection, see what’s available in her shop.

    #drawing
    #portraits

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    Circular Paintings Expose the Fleshy Innards of Halved Oranges, Pomegranates, and Other Fruits

    
    Art
    Food

    #fruit
    #painting

    October 16, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “#65 (orange)” (2017), oil on canvas, 20 inches. All images © Alonsa Guevara, shared with permission
    Using round canvases with a range of diameters, Alonsa Guevara deftly paints the plump, juicy insides of oranges, watermelon, and other fruits. Each circular piece depicts a seemingly perfect slice down the middle, capturing the fibrous veins and central seeds found within fresh produce.
    Guevara spent her childhood in the Ecuadorian rainforests surrounded by tropical landscapes and nearby agriculture, an experience of nature that influences her artistic practice. The Chilean artist, who lives in New York City, began fruit portraits in 2014 as she reflected on her adolescence and thought of creating a body of work that felt universal.
    “Immediately I thought of fruits; they are everywhere and have been present as an essential part of evolution and as symbols throughout human history,” Guevara shares with Colossal. “I decided to paint the fruits cut open, revealing their insides, recreating and depicting all the incredible patterns, seeds, and infinite information they carry, which many people take for granted.”
    Now an extensive series with dozens of paintings—the artist creates both miniatures that are as little as 1.5 inches and larger works spanning 30 inches—Guevara considers the collection a representation of desire and fertility, in addition to death and decay. “These fruits of the earth can be delicious/poisoning, juicy/rotten, real/imaginary,” she says. No matter the type, though, every work is painted to elicit a sensory response.
    A limited print series of Guevara’s orange, kiwi, and pomegranate will go on sale on October 21 on Her Clique, a new platform dedicated to promoting women’s art, with a portion of the proceeds donated to a program for low-income international students at The New York Academy of Art. Explore the full series of fleshy fruits on Guevara’s site, and stay up to date with her work on Instagram and Artsy.

    Left: “#27 (kiwi)” (2015), oil on canvas, 12 inches. Right: “#55 (pomegranate)” (2016), oil on canvas, 20 inches
    “#47 (apricot)” (2015), oil on canvas, 10 inches
    “#48 (cactus pair)” (2015), oil on canvas, 5 inches
    Left: “#51 (imagined fruit)” (2015), oil on canvas, 8 inches. Right: “#52 (watermelon)” (2015), oil on canvas, 20 inches
    Installation view
    Upper left: Mini Fruit Portrait Lemon. Upper right: Mini Fruit Portrait Avocado. Lower left: Mini Fruit Portrait Watermelon. Lower right: Mini Fruit Portrait Orange
    “#42 (pineapple)” (2015), oil on canvas, 8 inches

    #fruit
    #painting

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    Lustrous Strips of Glass Bisect Debris, Bricks, and Semi-Precious Stones in Ramon Todo’s Sculptures

    
    Art

    #found objects
    #gemstones
    #glass
    #installation
    #sculpture
    #stone

    October 16, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Debris” (2016), debris and layered glass. All images courtesy of Art Front Gallery, shared with permission
    Between gnarly chunks of concrete, basalt pillars, and smooth rounds of lapis lazuli, Ramon Todo (previously) positions sleek segments of layered glass. The Tokyo-born artist splices fragments of found objects that otherwise would be regarded as refuse, like a crumbling brick from Iizuka City or coal waste, to repurpose the existing material with a lustrous embellishment.
    Whether volcanic rock or chunks of demolished architecture, the resulting juxtapositions carry the original history, although they’re presented anew. “The characteristics of the place. The uniqueness of the place. Like the memories of the place and time,” the artist says in an interview about a recent solo show at Art Front Gallery in Tokyo. “I use the rocks, debris, Bota (stone similar to coal) for my works believing they have such memories inside. I used the glasses as material in the middle to peek into the time and the history of inside the rocks.”
    Find more of Todo’s textured sculptures on Artsy, and see where his work is headed next on Art Front’s site.

    (2015), basalt and glass
    (2015), basalt and glass
    “Debris 267703” (2016), debris and glass, 23 4/5 × 7 7/10 × 5 3/5 inches
    Top: “Debris – 267411” (2014), debris and glass, 8 1/10 × 23 3/5 × 7 1/10 inches. Left: “o.T-GS” (2018) stone and layered glass, 11 × 16 1/2 × 8 3/10 inches. Right: “o.T. -dtk267801″ (2016), stone from Datekan and glass, 7 1/5 × 7 1/5 × 7 inches
    (2015), basalt and glass
    “Afghanistan” (2017), Lapis lazuli and glass, 7/10 × 2 1/2 × 1 3/5 inches
    “Chikuho Coal waste #15” (2020), coal waste from Chikuho and glass, 12 3/5 × 12 1/10 × 5 3/5 inches
    “Chikuho Red Brick” (2020), brick pieces collected from Iizuka City and glass, 7 1/5 × 4 2/5 × 2 2/5 inches

    #found objects
    #gemstones
    #glass
    #installation
    #sculpture
    #stone

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    Strength: Pejac Honors Spain’s Health Workers with a Moving Trio of Interventions

    
    Art

    #COVID-19
    #painting
    #public art
    #trompe l’oeil

    October 16, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Overcoming.” All images © Pejac, shared with permission
    On the campus of University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain, a trio of interventions by street artist Pejac (previously) simultaneously responds to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and offers potential paths for healing. The new series, titled Strength, is Pejac’s direct response to the 50,000 people who have died from the virus in his home country. “The idea of the Strength project arises as a gesture of gratitude to the health workers of Valdecilla, for their work in general and during this Covid crisis in particular. Offering them what I do best, which is painting,” the artist says.
    In “Social Distancing” (shown below), a horde of people escape from a crevice in the building’s facade. The trompe l’oei artwork is a multi-layered metaphor for the ways the virus has ruptured society and the necessity of community care and compassion. “Caress” features two silhouettes standing six-feet apart, with Monet-style reflections on the ground nearby. The figures, which represent a patient and doctor, stretch their hands toward each other.
    Pejac worked in collaboration with young oncology patients to complete the third piece, titled “Overcoming” (shown below), in which a child perched on a wheelchair recreates Van Gogh’s “Wheat Field with Cypresses.” “This is something that we, as a society could do—take this crisis and use it to propel us forward,” he says.
    Watch the heartwarming video below that captures the works-in-progress, and find more about the tribute on Pejac’s Instagram.

    “Social Distancing”
    “Social Distancing”
    “Caress”
    “Caress”
    “Social Distancing”
    “Social Distancing”
    “Overcoming”
    “Overcoming”

    “Overcoming”
    “Social Distancing”
    

    #COVID-19
    #painting
    #public art
    #trompe l’oeil

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    Mantra’s Trompe L’oeil Murals Encase Enormous Butterflies in Vintage-Style Boxes

    
    Art

    #butterflies
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art
    #trompe l’oeil

    October 15, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    Torino, Italy. All images © Mantra, shared with permission
    Working with entomologists around the globe, the French street artist known as Mantra (previously) transforms brick facades and concrete walls into massive studies of local butterfly specimens. With framed outer edges that mimic a wooden box, the trompe l’oeil murals render the winged insects in detail, depicting their richly hued scales and delicate antennae. Each artwork features species native to the area, making it possible that a live specimen might flutter by its enormous counterpart.
    In a conversation with Colossal, Mantra said he’s harbored a lifelong fascination with entomology that stems from spending hours in French gardens and bucolic areas as a kid. “As a child, I was interested, curious, and focused on the small life forms in those places,” he says. His current practice hearkens back to those carefree hours and connects with an adolescent desire to become a naturalist. “My approach is as a scientist,” the artist says, noting that education about environmental care and issues is part of the goal.
    Although Mantra considers all insects and natural life beautiful and crucial to maintaining biodiversity, the focus on butterflies revolves around his artistic ambitions because the vivid creatures allow him to experiment with color, shape, and texture. Each specimen is rendered freehand before the artist adds detail and the illusory shadows that make them appear three-dimensional. By painting various Lepidoptera species again and again, the artist is “repeating a mantra,” a detail of his practice that informs the moniker he works under.
    In recent months, Mantra has traveled to Belgium, Denmark, and Sweden, in addition to various locations throughout France, to complete public artworks, and he’ll be in Arkansas this month for two projects curated by Just Kids. Follow all of the artist’s entomological murals on Instagram.

    Rombas, France
    Cancún, Mexico. Image by Gino Caballero
    Silkeborg, Denmark
    Las Vegas, Nevada
    Dijon, France
    Jacksonville, Florida
    Brooklyn, New York
    Dallas, Texas. Image by Chop’ em Down
    Overum, Sweden
    Indianapolis, Indiana
    Cancún, Mexico. Image by Gino Caballero
    Torino, Italy. Image by Martha Cooper

    #butterflies
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art
    #trompe l’oeil

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