Aurelia Butler

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    Color and Repetition Form Optical Rhythms in Daniel Mullen’s Geometric Paintings

    “Helix No. 2.” All images courtesy of Daniel Mullen, shared with permission

    Color and Repetition Form Optical Rhythms in Daniel Mullen’s Geometric Paintings

    November 6, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Transparent, glass-like planes sweep across Daniel Mullen’s canvases, dancing across the color spectrum and layering or rotating with mathematical precision. The Amsterdam-based artist (previously) has long been fascinated by the way pigments relate to one another and invite depth or contrast through opacity and tonal shifts.

    “At the moment, my work is taking shape in three forms: paintings on linen, wooden cut-outs that directly interact with their surrounding space, and sculptural pieces that play with illusion, light, and form,” Mullen tells Colossal. “Across these three mediums, the rectangle serves as a primal anchor, creating a framework for color and abstract illusion.”

    “Untitled Interaction No. 15”

    The artist is currently working on a series called Helix, in which he’s focused on capturing movement and rhythm through a pared-down palette. Quinacridone magenta, primary yellow, and turquoise phthalo—a family of blue and green pigments—form the basis of these explorations, allowing him to delve into their interactions and nuances.

    As if layering individual, tinted panes over one another in a twisting arrangement, the three hues interact to produce vibrant oranges, violets, and blues that appear to glow from within.

    Earlier this year, Mullen released his first book, Transfigurations, which showcases more than 40 works resulting from his investigations into form, color, and optical vibrations. “I consider it more an art object than a traditional book, reflecting my ongoing investigation into geometry and perception.

    Mullen is currently preparing for two solo exhibitions in Lima and São Paulo next spring. Find more on his website, where you can purchase Transfigurations, and follow updates on Instagram.

    Photo courtesy of Enlace Gallery

    “Vortex No. 9”

    “Spatial Drift No. 7”

    “Light Works”

    From the ‘Helix’ series

    Photo courtesy of Enlace Gallery

    ‘Transfigurations.’ Photo by The Book Photographer

    “Arising.” Photo courtesy of Enlace Gallery

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    A Sprawling Garden Opening Next Spring Embodies Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

    Photos by Almin Tabak. All images courtesy of Starry Night Retreat, shared with permission

    A Sprawling Garden Opening Next Spring Embodies Van Gogh’s ‘Starry Night’

    November 4, 2024

    ArtDesignNature

    Kate Mothes

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    Two decades ago, Halim Zukic purchased a 173-acre plot of land in a verdant valley near his hometown of Visoko, Bosnia and Herzegovina. He conceived of a retreat, where his love of nature and landscape design could open to the public. But it wasn’t until 2018 that the businessman and art enthusiast began replicating details of one of the world’s most recognizable paintings on an enormous scale.

    While working on the property one day, Zukic observed some tractor tracks that reminded him the swirls and waves of Vincent van Gogh’s seminal work from 1889, “The Starry Night.” With plenty of motivation but less of a clear plan, he and an amateur team intuitively followed the contours of the land and made numerous adjustments over time to achieve visual and spatial harmony.

    The elaborate design for Starry Night Retreat, which employs lavender and a variety of other herbs as its medium, is characterized primarily by the absence of straight lines. The estate encompasses a 25-acre park within its overall footprint, which includes meeting places like a natural amphitheater.

    The project “honors Vincent van Gogh and those who bravely pursue their passions despite the sacrifices required,” says hospitality manager Merjem Zukić. “Mr. Zukic views the retreat as a unique space where nature and art blend, enabling visitors to reconnect with essential elements of their being and engage their senses.”

    Starry Night Retreat is slated to open to the public next May. Find more on its website.

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    In ‘Keep the Kid Alive,’ Arielle Bobb-Willis Reaches for Exuberance

    New Jersey (2017). All images © Arielle Bobb-Willis, shared with permission

    In ‘Keep the Kid Alive,’ Arielle Bobb-Willis Reaches for Exuberance

    November 1, 2024

    ArtBooksPhotography

    Grace Ebert

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    Color, movement, and sweeping, expertly choreographed gestures permeate the works of Arielle Bobb-Willis. The Los Angeles-based photographer blurs the boundaries between art and fashion imagery, rejecting “the notion that Black expression is limited—or limiting.”

    A slim monograph collects 90 of Bobb-Willis’s photos, highlighting her distinctive eye and bold, conceptual compositions. Published by Aperture, Keep the Kid Alive positions observation and imagination as useful tools to inspire awe for the overlooked. Models dressed in bright, color-blocked garments pose in parks or alleyways, their joyful dances and chromatic clothing enriching the nondescript spaces.

    New Jersey (2017)

    Bobb-Willis first picked up a camera at 14 and through moves from New York to Aiken, South Carolina, to New Orleans, found the medium was both cathartic through chronic depression and loss and also an essential tool for developing her taste and confidence.

    “Photography is how I keep my inner child alive. Photography has taught me to fall in love with life,” she shares with Nicole Acheampong in an interview in the book, adding:

    I love finding unexpected rainbows, and sunshine and a beautiful green park and kids’ chalk drawings on the sidewalk and melted ice cream and butterflies and flowers and Black girls with bright-blue braids and sweet graffiti poetry! I keep my inner child alive by taking pictures of my every day. I’m always finding things that I’m so in love with. …Photography is, and will always be, a daily practice of falling in love with as many things as I can.

    Whether captured in a Los Angeles parking lot or against a purple wall in New Jersey, Bobb-Willis’s images are dynamic and vivid, drawing beauty and exuberance from unassuming spaces.

    Keep the Kid Alive is available on Bookshop, and you can find more from Bobb-Willis on her website and Instagram.

    New Orleans (2021)

    Los Angeles (2020)

    Williamsburg (2016)

    New Jersey (2018)

    New Orleans (2017)

    New Jersey (2019)

    New Jersey (2022)

    New Orleans (2016)

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    Dreamlike Creatures and Spiritual Symbols Merge in Lou Benesch’s Watercolors

    All images courtesy of the artist and Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission

    Dreamlike Creatures and Spiritual Symbols Merge in Lou Benesch’s Watercolors

    October 31, 2024

    ArtIllustration

    Kate Mothes

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    Cosmic phenomena, spiritual symbolism, and the stuff of dreams embellish Lou Benesch’s mystical watercolor paintings. From a trio of blackbirds hovering over a giant bed on a ragged coastline or a many-faced ram bearing bells and birds, the Paris-based artist (previously) draws on the iconography of folklore, fairytales, Greek myths, and symbols of spirituality.

    A Comforting Invisible, opening soon at Hashimoto Contemporary, marks the artist’s first solo show with the gallery and brings together a collection of otherworldly illustrations that begin with reality but morph into unearthly, imaginary beings.

    In often semi-symmetric compositions, hybrid animals and unique interactions nod to metamorphosis and metaphysical experiences in surreal landscapes. The edges of each piece of paper have also darkened or faded with age, emphasizing the element of time or—as in dreams—timelessness.

    Benesch explores what the gallery describes as the “existence of a second, invisible realm accessed only through the portal of dreams.” Stage-like settings, archways, and niches reveal emblems like eyes, a miniature labyrinth, the sun and moon, eggs, and a range of geometric shapes.

    Eggs, for example, represent hope, fertility, and rebirth. People have revered the sun and moon since time immemorial, symbolizing duality, balance, and transition. Benesch adds that the addition of a maze provides a way to “access this universe of contemplation… with an invisible hand guiding us along the paths that we forget to see.” 

    A Comforting Invisible runs from November 9 to 30 in Los Angeles. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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    In the Mood for Food, Soeun Lee Solders Vibrant Stained Glass Visions of Comfort

    All images courtesy of Soeun Lee, shared with permission

    In the Mood for Food, Soeun Lee Solders Vibrant Stained Glass Visions of Comfort

    October 31, 2024

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Drawing on her background in illustration, Soeun Lee captures atmospheric tableaux of sunny breakfasts and relaxing reading spots in stained glass. A fried egg in a pan, an open book left on a table, or a full cup of coffee next to a plate of toast suggest someone is nearby, just out of the frame.

    “I play around with things that hint at a personal presence, like an empty chair, a book, or a mug,” Lee tells Colossal. “I want the viewer to be able to sense the lingering traces of a conversation or thought that occurred just moments before.”

    Nodding to the deep shadows of Edward Hopper’s “Chop Suey” or Wayne Thiebaud’s baked confections, Lee’s compositions draw on similar themes and emphasize contrast to create each interior’s mood. “Many of my pieces draw inspiration from classic American diners, which evoke a sense of familiarity and warmth for everyone,” she says, “whether they are newcomers or lifelong residents.”

    The notion of comfort runs through much of Lee’s work, especially through the subtopic of food. Stacks of pancakes or toast are lit by the morning sun through nearby windows or an open refrigerator illuminates its contents. This play on light continues by way of the medium itself, activated by the sun shining through the panes to brighten vibrant colors.

    “Many of my designs cast long shadows, evoking the time of day, whether it’s the very early morning light or the warm glow of sunset,” she says. “I choose the colors to reflect that mood. Early mornings evoke a sense of hope and the promise of a new day, while shadows from a sunset remind me to find down, reflect, and find rest.”

    Lee is currently working on new pieces, which she will make available on her website. Follow Instagram for updates.

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    Magic and Whimsy Abound from Shannon Taylor’s Fantastic Watercolor Dioramas

    All images courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission

    Magic and Whimsy Abound from Shannon Taylor’s Fantastic Watercolor Dioramas

    October 29, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    Tucked inside vintage compacts are magical worlds of whimsy and mischief carefully concocted by Shannon Taylor. The Oakland-based artist (previously) transforms antique vessels into lush breeding grounds for fantastic creatures, spirited gatherings, and the occasional vampiric character.

    Taylor’s solo exhibition Night Market opens at Hashimoto Contemporary next month with a stunning collection of works that peek into the strange happenings occurring after darkness.

    Meticulously cut with a precision knife from watercolor paintings, each miniature scene lures the viewer into an enchanting environment that appears much more robust than its inches-wide frame. Taylor’s recent works conjure intricately layered narratives of supernatural rituals and a moon passionate about her own likeness, which, at the right angle, is reflected in the mirrored pond below.

    Night Market runs from November 9 to 30 in Los Angeles. Until then, find more from Taylor on Instagram.

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    Mingle with Maurice Sendak’s ‘Wild Things’ at the Denver Art Museum

    Installation view of ‘Wild Things.’ All images courtesy of the Denver Art Museum and the Maurice Sendak Foundation, shared with permission

    Mingle with Maurice Sendak’s ‘Wild Things’ at the Denver Art Museum

    October 29, 2024

    ArtIllustration

    Kate Mothes

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    This holiday season, immerse yourself in the dynamic, theatrical world of Maurice Sendak at the Denver Art Museum in Wild Things. Organized in cooperation with the Columbus Art Museum, where a sibling exhibition was presented two years ago, Wild Things celebrates the characters that have accompanied millions during story time since the mid-20th century.

    The author and illustrator of perennial classics like In the Night Kitchen (1970), Outside Over There (1981), and, of course, Where the Wild Things Are (1963), Sendak was born in Brooklyn in 1928 and began illustrating children’s titles in 1947. He was largely self-taught and illustrated hundreds of books throughout his six-decade career.

    ‘The Magic Flute’ (1980), poster, 24 x 17 1/2 inches. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation

    Sendak produced an astounding array of drawings, paintings, mockups, and set designs and costumes for his books, along with their adaptations to stage and screen. He was also an avid collector of other renowned illustrators’ works, and viewers can see pieces from Sendak’s personal collection by the likes of William Blake, Beatrix Potter, Walt Disney, and more.

    Wild Things continues through February 17. Plan your visit on the Denver Art Museum’s website.

    ‘Where the Wild Things Are’ (1963), watercolor, ink, and graphite on paper, 9 3/4 x 11 inches. © TheMaurice Sendak Foundation

    Sketch for ‘The Griffin and the Minor Canon (1963), graphite on tracing paper, 11 13/16 x 8 15/16 inches. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation

    ‘Outside Over There’ (1981), watercolor and graphite on paper, page: 15 x 26 inches; image: 6 1/8 x 93/16 inches. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation

    ‘Pierre’ (1961-2), ink on paper, 4 1/4 x 3 1/2 inches. © The Maurice Sendak Foundation

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    Jean Jullien’s Immersive ‘Paper Society’ Mirrors Our Cultures, Customs, and Daily Lives

    Installation view of ‘Paper Society.’ All images courtesy of the artist and PUBLIK GASAN, shared with permission

    Jean Jullien’s Immersive ‘Paper Society’ Mirrors Our Cultures, Customs, and Daily Lives

    October 28, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    From the Parco Museum in Tokyo to the storied Le Bon Marché in Paris and beyond, Jean Jullien’s Paper People (previously) cheerfully express the world we live in through large-scale installations. The prosperous population have now taken over the expansive PUBLIK GASAN in Seoul, welcoming us to reflect on universally relatable daily activities, customs, emotions, and social issues.

    In the artist’s latest immersive presentation, minimalist figures check their phones, visit cafes, and work on a production line in a lighthearted and sympathetic vision of everyday life.

    Titled Paper Society, Jullien’s exhibition is organized into three parts. First, visitors encounter the “Factory,” where the paper people are born and work together, sorting through a variety of patterns and sizes available for replication on a conveyor belt.

    “Paper Town” is encountered next, modeled after our own urban landscapes, with city blocks, businesses, and institutions. Finally, the “Snake Room” leads viewers along the curves of a giant serpent covered on both sides in hand-drawn timelines detailing the histories of both humanity and its playful, parallel civilization.

    Paper Society marks the final iteration of the Paper People installations. Explore more work on Jullien’s website and Instagram.

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