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    From Porcelain Buttercream to Bruises, Jessica Stoller Examines the Gendered Body

    Detail of “Seeing Red” (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and P·P·O·W, shared with permission

    From Porcelain Buttercream to Bruises, Jessica Stoller Examines the Gendered Body

    March 5, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    The early 1780s produced a medical training tool that today seems unusually macabre and unsettling: the Anatomical Venus. A waxen model with real human hair and strings of pearls around her neck, the reclined figure appeared incredibly realistic, although pulling back the plate on its abdomen or chest revealed a series of internal organs and systems.

    As Ian Shank writes, modern viewers see the Anatomical Venus as discordant given the tension between the figure’s idealized beauty—and its inherent sensuality—and its function as an educational model.

    “Untitled (crown)” (2021), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 24 x 16 x 2 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

    Jessica Stoller takes this dissonance as a starting point in “Seeing Red,” a floor-based sculpture of more than 150 individual ceramic objects. Atop the square tableaux are oversized white orbs that overshadow the mottled pink base. Fragmented body parts, seashells, leaves, a bent coat hanger, snakes, pottery shards, and more spread throughout.

    Reflecting on the continued push to strip protections for bodily autonomy in the U.S., “Seeing Red” separates the female form into distinctive parts and places them at the lowest position possible. As the oppressive pearls loom over the rest of the components, the unnerving work directly challenges who has a right to self-determination and control over their body.

    The grotesque and disturbing play an important role throughout Stoller’s practice as she frequently incorporates human anatomy with porcelain and ceramic traditions. “Untitled (close up #3),” for example, features delicate pink and purple blossoms that frame what appears to be a series of large, purple bruises.

    Similarly, “Untitled (sugar still life)” comprises a sweet spread that stretches across an elaborate display. Tucked in the seemingly saccharine work, though, are unsavory elements like a skeletal hand reaching from piped ribbons and medical devices stabbed into various confections.

    “Seeing Red” (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inches

    Rebelling against patriarchal priorities, Stoller continually confronts romanticized notions of the body through surreal, even monstrous compositions. Instead, her works are bold and unabashed as they examine the feminine figure, rooting out stereotypes and historical injustices while emphasizing the potency of the unseemly.

    Many of the works shown here are on view in New York for Stoller’s solo show Split, which continues through April 5 at P·P·O·W. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

    Detail of “Seeing Red” (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 9 x 92 1/4 x 92 1/4 inches

    “Skin to Scale” (2023), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 22 1/2 x 14 1/2 x 2 1/2 inches

    “Untitled (close up #3)” (2020), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, wood, 19 x 15 x 2 inches

    “Silphium” (2024), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, 19 x 8 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches

    “Yellow Wallpaper” (2025), porcelain, glaze, china paint, wood, 23 x 17 1/2 x 3 inches

    “Untitled (sugar still life)” (2018), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, enamel, and wood, 60 x 36 x 22 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

    Detail of “Untitled (sugar still life)” (2018), porcelain, glaze, china paint, lustre, enamel, and wood, 60 x 36 x 22 inches. Photo by JSP Art Photography

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    Fleckled Offers 150+ Hand-Printed Letterpress Fonts for Digital Download

    All images courtesy of Fleckled, shared with permission

    Fleckled Offers 150+ Hand-Printed Letterpress Fonts for Digital Download

    March 4, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    As AI infiltrates every part of the creative process, those committed to human expression have found innovative ways to make craft and artistry endlessly appealing. Creative director Jason Pattinson is one such person. He’s behind Fleckled, a new online shop of hand-printed letterpress typefaces that have been digitized and are available as high-resolution downloads.

    Currently, Fleckled contains more than 150 fonts printed on an 1860s-era Columbian press, with more on the way. All are available in either uppercase, lowercase, or numeral sets with additional ornaments and borders across myriad styles. Retaining the signature graininess and warmth of the wood, each also comes in two versions: one with a thicker, more saturated ink and another with a lighter, more distressed feel.

    “The small flaws in the hand-carved wooden blocks are what give letterpress its distinctive character and enduring appeal,” Pattinson says. “Visible defects, woodgrain, planing patterns, and wear effects have been balanced through various levels of inking and pressure to achieve the optimal dense and distressed versions.”

    Pattinson and his team have been working on digitizing letterpress for more than two decades. He’s collaborated with printers and dealers across Italy, Sweden, Germany, Argentina, the U.S., and the U.K., where he’s based.

    “We’re in discussions with a few retired printers who own some truly remarkable private collections, exploring opportunities to digitise and sublicense their fonts and various assets to expand our online resource,” Pattinson told Design Week.

    As Fleckled grows, it makes the medium more widely available and offers an alternative to AI generation for those who might be interested in the letterpress aesthetic without access to a press.

    Pattison launched the shop because he wanted “to make these timeless assets available to a new generation of creatives.” He shares with Colossal, “It fills me with a great confidence that in a world being overwhelmed with AI, the design community is resolute in authenticity!”

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  • 200 Shares138 Views

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    Buried for Nearly 2,000 Years, a Monumental Dionysian Fresco Sees the Light of Day in Pompeii

    Overview of a large fresco inside an excavated banquet gall in Pompeii. Image courtesy of Parco Archeologico di Pompei

    Buried for Nearly 2,000 Years, a Monumental Dionysian Fresco Sees the Light of Day in Pompeii

    March 4, 2025

    ArtHistoryScience

    Kate Mothes

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    When Mount Vesuvius erupted in 79 C.E., the enormous explosion buried the city of Pompeii in an astonishing 19 meters of ash and debris. (A recent study concludes that in the neighboring town of Herculaneum, the blast was so intense that it vitrified a young man’s brain.) Since excavations of the area began in 1748, discovery after discovery has revealed lavish, poignant, and complex details about what life was like nearly 2,000 years ago in the Roman port town.

    When Vesuvius buried everything, the ash provided an extraordinarily protective covering for delicate frescos and structures, like an expansive fresco recently excavated in a banquet hall that “sheds light on the mysteries of Dionysus in the classical world,” says a statement from Italy’s Ministry of Culture.

    Image courtesy of Parco Archeologico di Pompei

    The large-scale painted frieze archaeologists are calling “house of Thiasos” shows the procession of Dionysus, god of wine, along with satyrs and bacchantes—also known as maenads—who are portrayed simultaneously as dancers and hunters.

    In the center of the composition, a woman is accompanied by Silenus, an elderly companion and tutor to Dionysus, holding a torch. The woman “indicates that she is an initiand,” the Ministry of Culture says, “a mortal woman who through a nocturnal ritual is about to be initiated into the mysteries of Dionysus, the god who dies and is reborn and who promises the same to his followers.”

    Spanning three walls of a building—the fourth had been open to a garden—in the so-called Regio IX district, the painting depicts a frieze known as a “megalography,” derived from the Greek for “large painting” and comprising a cycle of paintings with nearly life-size figures. Archaeologists date the fresco to around 40 to 30 B.C.E., nearly 100 years old already by the time Vesuvius erupted.

    Archaeologies typically categorize Roman and Pompeiian painting into four chronological periods or styles: incrustation (structural), architectural, ornamental, and intricate. Each style adapted elements of the previous period to generate new motifs and trends.

    Photo by Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva, courtesy of Ministero della Cultura

    The new banquet hall example is thought to be indicative of the second style in which figures or tableaux are framed within faux architectural niches and trompe-l’œil compositions. Curiously for art historians, all of the figures are depicted on pedestals “as if they were statues,” the Ministry of Culture says, “while at the same time their movements, complexion, and clothing make them appear very alive.”

    Investigations into the Regio IX district, which covers approximately 3,200 square meters, began two years ago. So far, the excavation of the entirely buried block has revealed two atrium houses—already partially explored in the 19th century—plus two workshop houses, some residential rooms of a large domus, a black hall with scenes from the Trojan saga, and a shrine with a rare blue background. More than 50 new rooms have been identified, and there is plenty more yet to uncover.

    As archaeologists gradually chip away at the ancient pile of volcanic detritus, new finds like a food stand and a primitive pizza continue to awe and inspire our understanding of ancient Roman life. The site is open for public visits, and you can explore more on the Archaeological Park of Pompeii’s website.

    Image courtesy of Parco Archeologico di Pompei

    Photo by Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva, courtesy of Ministero della Cultura

    Photo by Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva, courtesy of Ministero della Cultura

    Photo by Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva, courtesy of Ministero della Cultura

    Photo by Agnese Sbaffi and Emanuele Antonio Minerva, courtesy of Ministero della Cultura

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    Watch the Brilliant Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus Movement

    From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet

    Watch the Brilliant Ballet that Brought Dance to the Bauhaus Movement

    March 3, 2025

    ArtDesignFilmHistory

    Grace Ebert

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    Given the emphasis on functionality and design for industrial production, the Bauhaus movement is rarely associated with disciplines like dance. But for Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943), translating its principles into movement and performance was as compelling as a well-conceived chair or building.

    In the last century, the Bauhaus has indelibly shaped our modern built environments and the ways we think of the relationship between form and function (it even inspired conceptual cookbooks). German architect Walter Gropius founded the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, with the intention of uniting architecture, fine arts, and crafts. The school focused on minimalism and creating for the social good and involved artists and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Anni and Josef Albers.

    Costume designs for the ‘Triadic Ballet.’ Courtesy of Harvard Art Museums

    The Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, Schlemmer was a painter, sculptor, and choreographer responsible for the under-known Triadic Ballet, a striking, playful dance structured around groups of three. Debuted in 1922, the avant-garde production comprises three colors—yellow, pink or white, and black—and three costume shapes—the square, circle, and triangle.

    “Building on multiples of three,” says an explanation from MoMA, “transcended the egotism of the individual and dualism of the couple, emphasizing the collective.”

    In true Bauhaus form, the idea was to eliminate the decorative frills associated with ballet, including tutus that allow bodies to bend, twist, and explore a full range of mobility. Instead, Schlemmer’s costumes restrict movement and add a modern quality as dancers appear stifled and almost mechanical, a nod to the movement’s focus on accessibility through mass production and turning “art into industry.”

    Several of Schlemmer’s illustrations for the ballet are available online, including his bizarre sculptural costume designs with wide, bubbly skirts and vibrantly striped sleeves. MoMA’s collections contain a print titled “Figures in Space,” which reveals one of the performance’s foremost preoccupations: how bodies move and interact in space.

    As seen in a fully colorized film of the dance from the 1970s, the dancers are incredibly deliberate as they navigate sparse sets with clean lines. Open Culture notes that they appear almost like pantomimes or puppets “with figures in awkward costumes tracing various shapes around the stage and each other.”

    A few years back, Great Big Story created a video visiting the Bavarian Junior Ballet as it prepared for a performance. The costumes are faithful to Schlemmer’s vision and retain the rigid geometries and bright palettes. As noted by director Ivan Liška, the strange attire combined with the jilted, robotic choreography often leaves the audience laughing. “It’s very successful because the audience can’t believe this is 100 years old,” he says. “There you see the visionary power of Oskar Schlemmer.”

    Triadic Ballet is rarely reproduced, but Bavarian Junior Ballet will bring the work back to the stage this June to celebrate its 15th anniversary. And if you’re in New York, you can see one of Schlemmer’s studies in Living in the Age of the Machine at MoMA. It’s also worth exploring The Oskar Schlemmer Theatre Estate and Archives, which boasts a trove of archival imagery and drawings on its website.

    From a performance by the Bavarian Junior Ballet

    Some of the original costumes

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  • 150 Shares179 Views

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    Biological Cells and Chinese Ceramic Traditions Coalesce in Shiyuan Xu’s Porcelain Sculptures

    “Hybrid #7” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19 x 9.5 x 15 inches. All images courtesy of Shiyuan Xu, shared with permission

    Biological Cells and Chinese Ceramic Traditions Coalesce in Shiyuan Xu’s Porcelain Sculptures

    March 3, 2025

    ArtCraftNature

    Kate Mothes

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    From seeds to the world’s smallest organisms, the inspiration for Shiyuan Xu’s porcelain sculptures (previously) originates in biology. Fascinated by the patterns, shapes, and structures of a wide variety of creatures, the artist creates intricate interpretations of cells, the essential building blocks of all life forms.

    Working meticulously with porcelain Paperclay—a mix of clay and cellulose fibers—and glaze, Xu sculpts webbed, amorphous forms that appear amoeba-like, as if expanding and contracting. She is deeply influenced by the work of Scottish mathematical biologist D’Arcy Thompson (1860–1948), whose seminal book On Growth and Form traces the scale and shapes of living things.

    “Hybrid #9” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19 x 8.5 x 21.5 inches

    A “diagram of forces” is how Thompson described the form of a specimen. For Xu, this dynamic evaluation shapes how she translates micro life forms into her work. “It is about movement, time, and space,” she says. “It records the way they move and grow; the way they react to the surrounding environment by interacting, altering, evolving and adapting to generate infinite new forms.”

    Xu views the history of porcelain as deeply intertwined with her own memories and identity, and she often employs a classic Chinese ceramic color palette in her pieces. The irregular structures and ombre colors reference the artist’s personal experiences. She says:

    Being an outsider in America for the past decade, my experience offers me a new perspective to reflect my own cultural heritage… The repetitive and labor-intensive process serves as a therapeutic response to the challenges of my experience in navigating dual cultures. My pieces are in many ways like living organisms, a metaphor for the evolving nature of life itself, and my own journey and roots.

    If you’re in London, you can see Xu’s work in a small exhibition dedicated to Chinese contemporary studio craft at the V&A, and her work will be included in a handful of forthcoming juried exhibitions in Portugal, Italy, and Missouri. Find more on her website.

    “Blue Vein #15” (2024), colored porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 23 x 10 x 15 inches

    Detail of “Blue Vein #15”

    “Vena Celadon #5” (2025), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 24 x 9 x 14.5 inches

    Detail of “Vena Celadon #5”

    “Hybrid #6” (2023), colored porcelain Paperclay, and glaze, 23 x 11 x 10.5 inches. Photo by Guy Nichol

    “Hybrid #5” (2023), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 20 x 11 x 17 inches. Photo by Guy Nichol

    “Hybrid #8” (2024), porcelain, Paperclay, and glaze, 19.5 x 8.5 x 16.5 inches

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    Minimal Blades Flutter in the Breeze in a Shoreline Installation on China’s Chaishan Island

    Photo by Tian Fangfang. All images courtesy of GN Architects, shared with permission

    Minimal Blades Flutter in the Breeze in a Shoreline Installation on China’s Chaishan Island

    February 28, 2025

    ArtDesign

    Grace Ebert

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    On an abandoned pier on Chaishan Island’s shore, an elegant installation rocks in the wind. Completed in 2023 by GN Architects, “The Seaside Pavillion” rests on a coastal trail frequented by tourists and locals alike.

    The dynamic construction features dozens of elastic-wrapped blades that, when caught by a breeze, flit and flutter, echoing both the movement of the tide and creating a semi-shaded space for respite. “During the day, the leaves are closed,” the designers say in a statement. “In the morning and evening, when the tide starts to rise, the wings open and dance under the drive of the buoy, forming a romantic and magical scene.”

    Once a fishing community, Chaishan today is mainly a tourist destination. Only 100 elderly residents still live on the island as many have left for larger cities. “The Seaside Pavillion” was commissioned by the Zhoushan government’s “Hello, Island” initiative to attract more people to move to the sparsely populated area.

    While appearing delicate, the blades are designed to be resilient and to withstand typhoons. Fishing ropes provide their structure, while a rubber and steel armature creates a strong, hardy base. When a tropical cyclone threatens the island, caretakers can tie the blades down to prevent damage.

    You can find more from GN Architects, whose projects span installations, landscapes, interiors, and more, on its website. (via designboom)

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

    Photo by Liang Wenjun

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  • 150 Shares109 Views

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    Ruby Sky Stiler Reassesses Women’s Role in Art History in Geometric Portraits

    “Artist with Green Palette” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 34 inches. All images © Ruby Sky Stiler, courtesy of the artist and alexander Gray Associates, New York, shared with permission

    Ruby Sky Stiler Reassesses Women’s Role in Art History in Geometric Portraits

    February 27, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Up close, the irregularly gridded, geometric backgrounds of Ruby Sky Stiler’s paintings evoke patchwork or the patterns of agricultural landscapes seen aerially. Intricate patterns intersect in each rectangle, hinting at floral or decorative motifs that, when viewed from further away, appear almost topographical. Merging with this groundwork are boldly delineated women who often directly return the viewer’s gaze.

    Reassessing the history of Western art, Stiler positions women in what she has previously described as “the empowered role as The Artist.” Rather than muses or objectified subjects, she imbues her figures with qualities of control, liberty, and leisure.

    “Woman with Children in Blue” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 50 inches

    Recently on view at Frieze LA with Alexander Gray Associates, Stiler’s paintings continue to reenvision 20th-century abstraction, especially the predominantly male Cubist movement that burgeoned around 1907 and 1908. She turns the tables on the historically gendered dichotomy in fine art, transferring the role of women as subjects of paintings to that of creator.

    In works like “Women with Children in Blue,” Stiler portrays nude figures in repose or with children, emphasizing another potent definition of women as creators and caregivers. Through mosaic-like compositions, she challenges art historical tropes and reasserts more inclusive, contemporary definitions of gender roles in art.

    Stiler employs a meticulous graphite transfer process to apply patterned outlines to her pieces, nodding to textile design—a craft tradition also historically trivialized in the art world as “women’s work.” Pastel acrylic hues fill out bodies and backgrounds, while bold outlines evocative of minimalist Bauhaus design clarify bodies and objects.

    Stiler is currently preparing a solo exhibition with Alexander Gray Associates scheduled for November. Explore more on her website and Instagram.

    “Two Women in Sienna and Umber, with Red Outline” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 50 inches

    “Blue Woman” (2024), canvas, acrylic, pencil, and jade adhesive on wood panel, 18 x 15 1/2 inches

    “Seated Blue Figure (with turquoise and red outline)” (2024), canvas, acrylic, graphite, and jade adhesive on panel, 44 x 34 inches

    The artist transfers graphite patterns onto canvas

    Stiler displays preparatory sketches in her studio

    Swatches are labeled for use in a painting

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  • 138 Shares129 Views

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    In ‘Chimera,’ Erin Milez Lovingly Chronicles the Everyday Chaos of Parenthood

    “The Years Are Short” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 24 x 30 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Monya Rowe Gallery, New York, shared with permission

    In ‘Chimera,’ Erin Milez Lovingly Chronicles the Everyday Chaos of Parenthood

    February 27, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Mundane tasks like washing the dishes, eating dinner, or getting some shuteye take on wild and chaotic proportions in Erin Milez’s uncanny paintings. She portrays characters and a home that reflects her own experiences of starting a young family.

    Repetitive motifs and overactive hands—their connection to a body often unclear—cultivate a sense of routine, perform chores, and provide affection. “They go about their daily routines like the seasons, repeating on an accelerated 24-hour cycle,” Milez says.

    “Hot & Cold” (2024), oil on panel, 24 x 18 inches

    The artist draws on the physically and emotionally transformative experience of parenthood in her solo exhibition Chimera at Monya Rowe Gallery. The title reflects the name of a fire-breathing monster in Greek mythology that was part-lion, part-goat, and part-dragon. The term “chimera” is also sometimes used to describe a grotesque beast or a figment of the imagination. Milez says:

    I see my feeling of metamorphosis reflected in various places: in Lucy Jones’ explanation of matrescence and becoming chimeras, “never being singular again,” even on a genetic level; in Tetsuya Ishida’s work, though his embodies a more hopeless and dehumanized transformation in laboring tasks; in Nightbitch where Amy Adams is transformed into a dog because of the primal and physical demands of creation and mothering.

    Tetsuya Ishida, for example, is known for portraying humans merged with machines and banal objects in surreal, alienating scenes. Milez also references the physicality and strength depicted WPA-era works, like the laborers’ bodies in murals by Diego Rivera or Stanley Spencer. The latter was known for large-scale depictions of everyday workers like Port Glasgow shipbuilders on the River Clyde, who people rhythmic, heaving scenes of the round-the-clock toil.

    In Milez’s paintings, quotidian scenes are reframed into elaborate juggling acts. In many cases, the scenes themselves literally frame the activity, like the green tiled sink in “Hot & Cold” that mirrors a material form with clasped hands. In “Receptacle,” numerous hands, handles, and objects swirl around an unwieldy trash bag, and stuffed wooden compartments overflow with nostalgia in “The Years Are Short.”

    “Life & Death II” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

    Milez illuminates the emotional rollercoaster of parenthood, invoking its discomforts, uncertainties, disorganization, and above all, devotion. In “Goodnight, Lion,” a sleepless mother squishes into a crib to help her chld sleep, evoking wildlife in a zoo.

    “Occupying a space somewhere between chaos and nurture, Milez observes the complicated and continually changing dynamics between family members and self,” says a statement for Chimera. “Milez is not afraid to portray the seemingly monstrous, but it is never gratuitous and always mitigated by beauty and reality.”

    Chimera continues through March 29 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “Goodnight, Lion” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

    “Receptacle” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

    “Life & Death I” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

    “Not Lazy Susan” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

    “Heavy Mama” (2024), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

    “Variables” (2025), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

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