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    in Art

    Katrine Hildebrandt Embraces Symmetry in Paper, Wire, and Reed

    “EQUILIBRIUM” (2023), hand-burnt lines, indigo-dyed reed, and wire on paper, 30 1/4 x 44 inches. All images © Katrina Hildebrandt, shared with permission

    Katrine Hildebrandt Embraces Symmetry in Paper, Wire, and Reed

    September 4, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Katrine Hildebrandt is captivated by geometry and symmetry, drawing on mathematical or scientific diagrams as a starting point for her precise mixed-media compositions. “At the same time, I find beauty in imperfect, non-tangible, and fleeting moments,” she says. “I think my work blends the relationship between the controlled and wild.”

    The Boston-based artist employs natural materials like indigo dye, rattan, and pigmented fabrics. She also uses a wood-burning tool that sears lines into the surface, referencing the duality of permanence and impermanence. The work is “symmetrical yet not perfect,” she says.

    “REFLECTED RIPPLES” (2023), hand-burnt lines, reed, and wire on indigo-dyed paper,30 1/4 x 44 inches

    Hildebrandt creates color from natural sources, and while the dyes are as lightfast as possible, she embraces the inevitable changes due to time and the elements. “Nothing is permanent, nothing is perfect” she says, “life and the work is in constant flux.”

    Beginning each piece by loosely sketching compositions on paper, Hildebrandt intuitively selects the materials based on the color or texture she’d like to achieve. “I always leave room for play and interpretation throughout the entire process,” she says. With meticulous and methodical attention to detail, the artist starts in the center of the paper and works outward to map the composition, using repetition to create a sense of visual rhythm and harmony.

    With the help of her studio assistant, artist Ciara Scales, Hildebrandt is working toward a number of projects, including an exhibition with Uprise Art scheduled to open in June next year and SCOPE Art Fair in Miami this December with Soapbox Arts. If you’re in New York, you can also find her work presented by Uprise Art at Art on Paper this weekend.

    Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “MIRRORED RIPPLE” (2023), hand-burnt lines, reed, and wire on paper, 21 x 30 1/4 inches

    Detail of “MIRRORED RIPPLE”

    “DISTORT” (2023), hand-burnt lines and indigo ink on paper, 12 x 10 inches

    Detail of “EQUILIBRIUM”

    “DOUBLE VISION” (2023), hand-burnt lines, indigo ink, reed, and wire on paper, 12 x 10 inches

    Detail of “REFLECTED RIPPLES”

    “MIRROR” (2023), hand-burnt lines, indigo ink, reed, wire, and oak on paper, 10 x 12 inches

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  • 125 Shares119 Views

    in Art

    Andrew Hem’s Ethereal Paintings Reflect a Sense of Endless Wonder

    All images @ Andrew Hem, shared with permission

    Andrew Hem’s Ethereal Paintings Reflect a Sense of Endless Wonder

    September 4, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    Occupying vibrant, unearthly environments, Andrew Hem’s characters exude a sense of wonder and openness toward the world. The Los Angeles-based artist (previously) continues his fantastic, gravity-defying works that see figures float upside down or amid a sea of jellyfish. 

    Now a father of two, Hem frequently reflects on his Cambodian heritage and how he’s sharing it with his children. The artist translates his pride for his homeland into each painting, rendering figures who are re-orienting themselves in novel, dreamlike situations. The largely introspective subjects gravitate toward calm and finding joy in the simple and mundane.

    Follow Hem’s work on Instagram.

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  • 100 Shares99 Views

    in Art

    Angela Fang Zirbes Evokes Midwest Memories in Black-and-White

    “White Christmas Revised” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 40 inches. All images © Angela Fang Zirbes, shared with permission

    Angela Fang Zirbes Evokes Midwest Memories in Black-and-White

    September 3, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    While preparing her undergraduate thesis exhibition at Parsons School of Design in 2022, Angela Fang Zirbes craved something different. She was working with traditional brushwork on canvas but was dissatisfied with the technique’s ability to achieve heightened contrast. Incidentally, her pet rabbit of 13 years also died that autumn.

    “She had been with me through some of my most formative years, and her death had a deep impact on me,” Fang Zirbes says. “I began thinking a lot about my upbringing and family history in Iowa, and I started working from a lot of old black-and-white family photographs as well as found imagery from around my hometown.”

    “Summer Birthday Revised” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

    Drawing on the monochrome snapshots, Fang Zirbes began to employ graphite, then later dabbling in airbrush. She says, “The black-and-white style enabled me to reference the aged photographs and learn how to portray light and shadow in a new way.”

    The paint clings to the texture of raw canvas, creating a velvety texture of deep blacks juxtaposed with highly defined, masked edges. “It mirrors the content of my work,” the artist says, “where my compositions are sharp with fear and nervousness but the subjects and settings firstly appear strangely friendly.”

    Fang Zirbes’s process revolves around world-building, connecting references in every composition to her personal history or recurring dreams. “I believe this recurrence has a meaning that is rooted in my childhood memories or calls back to my past and how it impacts me today,” she says. “For example, I was always around rabbits and formed a special affection for them, which explains why I find myself painting rabbits over and over again when thinking about my upbringing.”

    Domestic items like Chinese pickle jars, lamps, couches, or sewing scissors appear within wallpapered rooms that tap into the artist’s home or her grandparents’ house in rural Iowa. “They are a combination of influences from both my American family and my Chinese family, as well as the Midwest which has its own unique culture that has had an effect on me,” she says.

    “Thorns” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    Fang Zirbes is working toward a solo exhibition scheduled to open in March at Hashimoto Contemporary, which represents in the artist, in New York. “I’m continuing my monochromatic work about my upbringing in Iowa, but I’m introducing a new focus around the supernatural and American theories surrounding ghosts and hauntings. It’s a concept I’ve been researching over this last year and I can’t wait to see it through.”

    Find more on the artist’s Instagram.

    “Goodnight Moon” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Vanity” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches

    “Dog on Couch” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Mama’s PaoCai Jar” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Rabbit Vase with Flowers” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 18 inches

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month.

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  • 100 Shares179 Views

    in Art

    Angela Fan Zirbes Evokes Midwest Memories in Black-and-White

    “White Christmas Revised” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 40 inches. All images © Angela Fang Zirbes, shared with permission

    Angela Fan Zirbes Evokes Midwest Memories in Black-and-White

    September 3, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    While preparing her undergraduate thesis exhibition at Parsons School of Design in 2022, Angela Fang Zirbes craved something different. She was working with traditional brushwork on canvas but was dissatisfied with the technique’s ability to achieve heightened contrast. Incidentally, her pet rabbit of 13 years also died that autumn.

    “She had been with me through some of my most formative years, and her death had a deep impact on me,” Fang Zirbes says. “I began thinking a lot about my upbringing and family history in Iowa, and I started working from a lot of old black-and-white family photographs as well as found imagery from around my hometown.”

    “Summer Birthday Revised” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 30 x 30 inches

    Drawing on the monochrome snapshots, Fang Zirbes began to employ graphite, then later dabbling in airbrush. She says, “The black-and-white style enabled me to reference the aged photographs and learn how to portray light and shadow in a new way.”

    The paint clings to the texture of raw canvas, creating a velvety texture of deep blacks juxtaposed with highly defined, masked edges. “It mirrors the content of my work,” the artist says, “where my compositions are sharp with fear and nervousness but the subjects and settings firstly appear strangely friendly.”

    Fang Zirbes’s process revolves around world-building, connecting references in every composition to her personal history or recurring dreams. “I believe this recurrence has a meaning that is rooted in my childhood memories or calls back to my past and how it impacts me today,” she says. “For example, I was always around rabbits and formed a special affection for them, which explains why I find myself painting rabbits over and over again when thinking about my upbringing.”

    Domestic items like Chinese pickle jars, lamps, couches, or sewing scissors appear within wallpapered rooms that tap into the artist’s home or her grandparents’ house in rural Iowa. “They are a combination of influences from both my American family and my Chinese family, as well as the Midwest which has its own unique culture that has had an effect on me,” she says.

    “Thorns” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    Fan Zirbes is working toward a solo exhibition scheduled to open in March at Hashimoto Contemporary in New York. “I’m continuing my monochromatic work about my upbringing in Iowa, but I’m introducing a new focus around the supernatural and American theories surrounding ghosts and hauntings. It’s a concept I’ve been researching over this last year and I can’t wait to see it through.”

    Find more on the artist’s Instagram.

    “Goodnight Moon” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Vanity” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 20 inches

    “Dog on Couch” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Mama’s PaoCai Jar” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

    “Rabbit Vase with Flowers” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 20 x 18 inches

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month.

    Hide ads on website and newsletters

    Save your favorite articles

    Get 10% off in the Colossal Shop

    Members-only newsletter

    1% for art supplies in classrooms

    Join us today!

    $7/Month

    $75/Year

    Explore Membership Options More