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    Through Illuminated Compositions, Raúl de Nieves Transforms a Hall into a Bold Sanctuary

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    “In Light of Innocence” (2025). Photos by Dan Bradica, courtesy of Pioneer Works, shared with permission

    Through Illuminated Compositions, Raúl de Nieves Transforms a Hall into a Bold Sanctuary

    September 17, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    In a monumental new installation, Raúl de Nieves brings Catholic imagery, Mexican folklore, and tarot into dazzling view. For “In Light of Innocence,” Pioneer Works’ Main Hall transforms into a vibrant sanctuary complete with 50 stained glass-like panels that reach up toward the heavens. The individual pieces are fitted into the space’s windows, with a larger lightbox mural radiating from below.

    De Nieves is known for utilizing common materials, including wood, glue, tape, and, for this project, brilliantly colored acetate that allows light to filter into the open hall. Along with swapping plastic for glass, the artist also upends the typical cathedral environment with non-religious imagery and typographic panels. Included are a skeleton riding a horse—long a symbol of transformation in tarot—and bold phrases like “happiness runs in circular motion” and “words are like weapons they wound sometimes.”

    This medley of spiritual references creates a welcoming environment that allows for reflection and connection across belief systems. A statement says, “‘In Light of Innocence’ invites viewers to embrace change not as loss, but as renewal—a passage that leads to deeper insight and inner strength.”

    The immersive project marks de Nieves’ first institutional exhibition in New York City and is on view through December 14. Find more of the artist’s work on Instagram.

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      Descend into the Underworld via Anish Kapoor’s Sculptural Subway Station Entrances

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      All images courtesy of Anish Kapoor, shared with permission

      Descend into the Underworld via Anish Kapoor’s Sculptural Subway Station Entrances

      September 17, 2025

      ArtDesign

      Kate Mothes

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      West of Naples, along the Tyrrhenian coast, sits the storied Lake Avernus. Situated in a volcanic crater, its Latin name is synonymous with hell or the underworld, and to the ancient Romans, it was considered the portal to Hades. Dante Alighieri echoed the belief in his seminal Inferno. More recently, Anish Kapoor set out to explore the notion in a striking new entrance to the Monte Sant’Angelo subway station in central Naples. “In the city of Mount Vesuvius and Dante’s mythical entrance to the Inferno, I found it important to try and deal with what it really means to go underground,” the artist says.

      Kapoor is renowned for large-scale sculptures and installations that tap into visceral psychological experiences, from a perpetually swirling whirlpool of black water in “Descension” to a meat-like slab of wax being wedged through a doorway in “Svayambhu,” which references a Sanskrit word meaning “self-born.” And, of course, there’s the iconically mirrored “Cloud Gate,” known fondly as “The Bean,” in downtown Chicago.

      University entrance

      “At Monte Sant’Angelo station, three integral themes of Kapoor’s practice have coalesced in more potent form than ever: the mythological object, the body, and the void,” a statement says. The artist’s design for two separate entrances, initiated more than two decades ago, tap into his interest in dualistic relationships like internal and external experiences or lightness and darkness.

      Kapoor’s two entrances exist in dialogue with one another, as one is made from weathered steel with a rusty patina that suggests an amorphous bodily form. The other is conceived as something of the inverse, where a tubular steel form is presented more smoothly and “cleanly” while likewise hovering over travelers like a mysterious system or gigantic conduit.

      “The station is a remarkable symbiosis of sculpture and architecture, a dynamic that has always been a central force in Kapoor’s work,” a statement says. “Kapoor’s work both holds and creates the new space in which it is experienced.”

      Explore dozens of works on Kapoor’s website, and discover even more artistic subway stations around the world.

      Looking up from within the Traiano entrance

      A side view of the university entrance

      Looking down into the university entrance

      Traiano entrance

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    • 125 Shares18 Views

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      Hangama Amiri Stitches Memories of Migration into Vivid Textile Portraits

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      “Man with Vase of Tulips” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, velvet, polyester, silk, suede, and linen, 62.5 x 53.5 inches. All images courtesy of Hangama Amiri, shared with permission

      Hangama Amiri Stitches Memories of Migration into Vivid Textile Portraits

      September 16, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      Hangama Amiri translates fragments of her teenage years and family history into quilted portraits and tender tableaus. The artist, who resides in upstate New York and maintains a studio in Red Hook, is interested in recollection and the stories that make us who we are. “There’s an innocence and a special quality in revisiting and reminiscing those memories, especially that my family and I spent those years in migration across Central Asia,” she adds.

      At just 7 years old, Amiri left her native Kabul and traveled to various countries before settling in Canada as a teenager. This itinerant experience continues to inform the artist’s work, particularly as she seeks to build a larger narrative about “women’s importance socially, politically, economically, and culturally.”

      Detail of “Portrait of Kern Samuel at Yale Art Gallery” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, silk, linen, and velvet, 52 x 34.5 inches

      Amiri begins with a drawing that she slices into shapes and traces onto velvet, silk, polyester, and other textiles sourced from Afghan-owned shops, online sources, and the occasional gift from friends and colleagues. Once cut out, these individual pieces layer onto a muslin backdrop, creating vivid portraits and domestic scenes with visible seams. Doing so “adds another layer of mark-making and texture,” she shares, noting that she utilizes a machine for this final step.

      Often focusing on the decorative elements of a space or a figure’s sartorial choices, Amiri captures a particular moment in time, highlighting a sense of familiarity and intimacy with her fleeting subject matter. Several works portray a meal shared among friends, while “Man with Vase of Tulips” depicts the titular character cradling a bouquet, a small photograph peeking through the cluster of vibrant flowers.

      Although we don’t know the location—perhaps he’s sitting in Afghanistan, Canada, or elsewhere—the piece exudes a sense of longing, exemplifying the artist’s enduring interest in preserving and resurfacing moments otherwise bound to the past.

      In addition to her quilts, Amiri has a neon sculpture on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She’s working toward several upcoming exhibitions this fall, including at the National Gallery of Canada, Konsthall C in Stockholm, and Paris International Art Fair. Follow along on her website and Instagram.

      “Portrait of Kern Samuel at Yale Art Gallery” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, silk, linen, and velvet, 52 x 34.5 inches

      Detail of “Dastarkhwān” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, canvas, denim, linen, silk, polyester, suede, inkjet-print on silk-chiffon, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 77.5 x 54 inches

      “Dastarkhwān” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, canvas, denim, linen, silk, polyester, suede, inkjet-print on silk-chiffon, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 77.5 x 54 inches

      “Still-Life with Sushi and Red Wine” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, linen, silk, polyester, suede, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 47 x 64 inches

      “Nakhoonak-e Aroos/ Bride’s Nail” (2022), neon and glass. Image courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center

      “Dominic Chambers with His Portrait Painting of Trevon Latin” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, linen, velvet, denim, and silk, 52 x 42 inches

      “Departure” (2022), muslin, cotton, polyester, clear vinyl, faux leather, chiffon, and found fabric, 68.5 x 85 inches

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    • 138 Shares30 Views

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      Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih’s Mosaic Sculptures

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      “Toy Building (1915–1939)” (2025), Chinese export porcelain, crowdsourced and found objects, archaeological ceramic fragments from a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay (c. 1850–1906), stained glass, ceramic, polished stones, glass rods, resin, enamel, and grout on ferrocement, steel, and polystyrene. Image courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center

      Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih’s Mosaic Sculptures

      September 15, 2025

      ArtFood

      Grace Ebert

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      Known for trompe l’oeil ceramic sculptures of pantry staples and domestic life, Stephanie Shih has further entrenched her largely culinary-focused repertoire in material culture. In two exhibitions, the Brooklyn-based artist (previously) embraces mosaic as she nests small glass fragments and pottery sherds into vivid compositions that explore production and labor.

      Shih’s architectural work on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, draws on the Midwestern grotto tradition with a pagoda-style structure. Broken porcelain dinnerware, polished stone, and ceramic sherds uncovered in a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay cloak the facade, while hundreds of crowd-sourced knick-knacks and figures embellish the rooftop.

      Titled “Toy Building (1915–1939),” the six-story sculpture reinterprets a historic spot in downtown Milwaukee that a Chinese immigrant owned and once housed a dancehall, restaurant, and various businesses. A collective portrait of the Chinese diaspora, Shih’s work pieces together archaeological, vintage, and contemporary objects into an eclectic array that bridges the mundane and divine.

      Detail of “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

      The artist continues her more recent venture into mosaic in Invisible Hand, a solo exhibition opening this week at SOCO Gallery. A wide, produce promotional in colorful stained glass, “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” depicts a woman marveling at the ripe fruit. As a statement from the gallery says, Shih directs us to consumption, portraying the luscious commodity once it’s been harvested by an unacknowledged laborer.

      Invisible Hand pairs the vintage-style advertisement with the artist’s ceramic fare. Included are typical grocery store finds like a carton of Tropicana and Smucker’s jelly, along with popular fast food remnants like a box from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The seemingly mundane nature of the objects lends itself to one of the artist’s enduring questions: who’s behind the conveniences and sustenance we’ve come to expect and rely on?

      As conversations about immigration and labor take center stage, Shih’s work reflects the long history of U.S. policy targeting essential workers. She references the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and largely targeted those who would occupy low-wage jobs. “This act set the stage for a broader pattern of racialized labor exploitation that continues to shape the U.S.’s immigration and labor policies today,” the artist adds.

      Invisible Hand runs from September 18 to November 8 in Charlotte. If you’re in Sheboygan, you can see “Toy Building (1915–1939)” as part of A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition through May 10, 2026. Explore more of the artist’s work on her website and Instagram.

      A collection of works from ‘Invisible Hand’

      “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

      Detail of “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

      Detail of “Toy Building (1915–1939)” (2025), Chinese export porcelain, crowdsourced and found objects, archaeological ceramic fragments from a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay (c. 1850–1906), stained glass, ceramic, polished stones, glass rods, resin, enamel, and grout on ferrocement, steel, and polystyrene. Image courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center

      “Kentucky Fried Chicken” (2025), ceramic, 9 x 9 x 7 inches

      “Whitman’s Sampler” (2025), ceramic, 2.5 x 9 x 5.5 inches

      “Campbell’s Condensed Soups” (2025), ceramic, 12 x 10.5 x 3 inches

      “McCormick Spices” (2025), ceramic, 5 x 9 x 1.5 inches

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    • 125 Shares30 Views

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      Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings

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      “Flying Lesson (Dusk).” All photos by Matt Wenc. Images courtesy of the artist and Vertical Gallery, shared with permission

      Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings

      September 15, 2025

      ArtIllustrationNature

      Kate Mothes

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      Curious foxes, sleepy fawns, and daring mice are just a few of the woodland creatures that populate Laura Catherwood’s dreamy drawings and paintings. Working primarily in graphite and oil, she situates recognizable animals into unexpected and fantastical situations in illustrations that “explore the inner emotional landscape while simultaneously soothing the viewer,” she says.

      It often takes a moment to comprehend the scope of each of Catherwood’s scenarios. A pair of spotted frogs in “Rue,” for example, is not what it seems at first, as two heads emerge from one body, and their long tongues are both pierced with a fishing hook. And in “Inexhaustible,” a toad with an unusual, bowl-like back full of water provides a tiny oasis for a troupe of flying fish.

      “Inexhaustible”

      Catherwood is interested in the power of illustration to channel feelings, questions, and experiences that may be challenging or revolve around grief. Her scenarios are surreal and even a little cryptic, yet we’re invited to witness intimate, affecting, and enigmatic narratives that prompt curiosity and wonder.

      A couple of these works are currently on view alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Joseph Renda Jr. in The Scenic Route at at Vertical Gallery, which runs through September 27 in Chicago.

      Catherwood is also currently working on a series of nine small murals as part of a public outreach project about invasive species, plus a small body of work related to species found in Upstate New York, where she’s soon moving. And she’s also preparing for two solo exhibitions next year. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      “Rue”

      “Stirring”

      “Listen”

      “Flying Lesson (Dawn)”

      “The Bridge”

      “Hard to Find”

      “Everything Happens for the First Time”

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    • 125 Shares30 Views

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      Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

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      “Illuminated Piñata No. 19” (2021), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 x 20 x 12 inches. Photos by Paul Salveson. All images courtesy of the artist and Perrotin, shared with permission

      Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

      September 15, 2025

      ArtHistory

      Kate Mothes

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      Most often associated with Mexico, the piñata’s origins may actually trace back to China. By the 14th century, the celebratory tradition of breaking open a container filled with treats had arrived in Europe. Then, Spanish colonists and missionaries imported the custom to Mexico during the 16th century, although a similar practice was already in use within Indigenous Mayan and Aztec communities in observation of special events. Today, piñatas are an integral element of cartonería, the Mexican craft of papier-mâché.

      For Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Benavidez, the art of the piñata is a central tenet of a practice exploring intersecting themes of race, sexuality, humor, sin, and beauty. He draws upon the paper art form’s early religious significance in Mexico, when Spanish missionaries used a seven-pointed version as a tool for converting Indigenous people to Christianity. This motif, which appears in some of Benavidez’s distinctive sculptures, nods to its past colonial use.

      “Bosch Bird No. 11” (2022), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 24 x 60 x 18 inches

      “The points of the star represented the seven deadly sins, the blindfold worn by the bat-wielding assailant represented faith, and the treats found inside were the rewards for blind and unwavering belief,” Diva Zumaya says in an exhibition essay for the artist’s current solo exhibition, Bosch Beasts, at Perrotin.

      Benavidez continues to make piñata-like sculptures that resemble uncanny, hybrid creatures, often inspired by the marginalia of illuminated manuscripts and the surreal characters in Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” which the Netherlandish artist painted between 1490 and 1510.

      Bosch Beasts highlights Benavidez’s ongoing fascination with the rare and extraordinary, exhibiting new works alongside pieces he’s made throughout the past decade. Installed on the floor or suspended from the ceiling, his creatures appear independently occupied and immersed in an esoteric group activity.

      Each piece comes to life through papier-mâché, using a balloon to create the central form before adding more structure with Bristol board and additional layers of glue-slathered paper. Wire supports more delicate limbs and appendages, and to achieve the final texture, Benavidez cuts and attaches every tiny feather or scale.

      “Bosch Beast No. 14” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 × 19 × 14 inches

      “Drawing from his personal experience as a queer and mixed-race MexicanAmerican, Benavidez starts from a foundation of hybridity in which these monsters are the perfect actors,” Zumaya says, continuing:

      Every mixed-race person who has become well acquainted with the question, “What are you?” is all too familiar with how it feels to live at the borders of identities, appearances complicating the compulsion to categorize. The way Benavidez uses these hybrid bodies to conjure ideas around race echoes their meaning in sixteenth-century Europe, where notions of the monstrous were profoundly intertwined with early formations of race.

      Bosch Beasts continues through October 18 in Los Angeles. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

      “Bosch Beast No. 16” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, crepe paper, 23 × 23 × 19 inches

      “Bosch Beast No. 10” (2020), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 3 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 7 inches

      Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

      “Bosch Bird No. 12” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 71 x 11 x 11 inches

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    • 113 Shares66 Views

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      Joseph Renda Jr.’s Surreal Trompe-l’œil Portals Frame Esoteric Scenes

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      “Growth/Process.” All images courtesy of the artist and Vertical Gallery, Chicago, shared with permission

      Joseph Renda Jr.’s Surreal Trompe-l’œil Portals Frame Esoteric Scenes

      September 12, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      In the paintings of Joseph Renda Jr., trompe-l’œil windows, arches, and blue skies meet in surreal settings. His René Magritte-esque canvases celebrate nature and the uncanny, sometimes infused with a tinge of humor, to encourage an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. Instead of focusing on the subconscious, like the 20th-century Surrealists, Renda emphasizes elements of our surroundings—birds, gardens, flowers, and expansive landscapes—which nevertheless possess rich symbolism.

      Birds, for example, have traditionally represented freedom, optimism, and connections to spiritual worlds. Plants, storms, tools, and myriad other motifs carry their own inherent meanings, from notions of growth and transformation to balance and justice. Situated within windows and archways, we’re invited to peer into—but not quite enter—an esoteric world. And the blue sky sometimes cracks to reveal what may, in fact, be a façade with who-knows-what beyond what we can see.

      “Rough Waters”

      Renda’s recent stone arch pieces are included in a three-person show at Vertical Gallery, The Scenic Route, alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Laura Catherwood. The exhibition runs through September 27 in Chicago. Find more on Renda’s website and Instagram.

      “The Sky Is Falling”

      “Memory”

      “Where the Day Meets the Night”

      “Passing By”

      “Stop and Let the Roses Smell You”

      “Perspective”

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    • 113 Shares63 Views

      in Art

      Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments

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      “Accommodation:Occupation.” All images courtesy of Steve Messam, shared with permission

      Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments

      September 11, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      From bubble-like bulges amid the arches of London’s iconic Old Billingsgate to a 15-meter-tall red droplet frozen in the center of a disused swimming pool in Aberdeen, Steve Messam explores scale, form, and our experiences of the built environment in large-scale installations.

      Messam is known for his large-scale inflatable works that reinterpret architecture and explore human influence over the landscape. Often, he fills apertures like arcades or underpasses with forms that balloon and billow, drawing attention to structural forms while considering their fundamental function as places to enter or move through.

      “Facade”

      In “Accommodation:Occupation,” Messam delves into the history of 19th-century infrastructure in the U.K. through an exploration of what are known as accommodation and occupation bridges—railroad crossings designed for rural areas that provided a tunnel beneath, so that farmers could still access their land on the other side of the tracks. Some of these historic bridges still exist, often on private land, such as two in County Durham along the former route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

      For “Below,” which Messam situated under a bridge in Tianfu Art Park in Chengdu, China, the site’s use as a thoroughfare is retained by creating two symmetric forms with a gap between them, which people can walk through while immersing themselves in the installation.

      Whether popcorn-like, spiked, bubbling, or cascading, Messam’s playful interventions prompt us to view our surroundings with renewed attention. Explore even more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      “Below”

      “Facade”

      “Packaged”

      “Cascade”

      “Accommodation:Occupation”

      “Accommodation:Occupation”

      “Below”

      “Below”

      “Packaged”

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    • 125 Shares71 Views

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      Sergiu Ciochinǎ’s ‘Blue Series’ Explores Personal Memories, Dreams, and Moods

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      “Self-Portrait with a Swan.” All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission

      Sergiu Ciochinǎ’s ‘Blue Series’ Explores Personal Memories, Dreams, and Moods

      September 10, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Cradling tiny homes, seated amid flowers, or asleep and dreaming in a garden, the figures in Sergiu Ciochinǎ’s paintings rest and interact in moments of poignant solitude and reverie. The artist’s Blue Series is a visual collection of his own memories, reflections, and moods, which he elaborates into atmospheric and sometimes fantastical canvases.

      “For me, blue is the color of gentle melancholy, profound calm, and also a hidden hope,” Ciochinǎ says. Titles like “Don’t Eclipse Me” and “You Are Your Own Home” tap into our deep-seated desire for connection and a sense of belonging. They also hint at the nature of individuality within the context of our relationships with others, navigated in a series of dreamy scenes.

      “You Are Your Own Home”

      Ciochinǎ also creates glowing landscapes that capture building facades at sunrise or sun-dappled streets of historic European towns. Time and light play a significant role in his portrayals of anonymous figures, too, illuminating their skin with glowing details or situating them in the shadow of floral arrangements or verdant, dusky gardens.

      The figures’ positions and blue tone nod slightly to Pablo Picasso’s Blue Period around 1901 to 1904, when the artist’s earlier, more realistic depictions of people and domestic spaces were largely rendered in blue and blue-green tones to underscore themes of despair and turmoil. For Ciochinǎ, dreams and emotions center in his mystical compositions.

      “I wanted each canvas to convey a kind of breath, a calm vibration, almost musical,” the artist says. “Blue, for me, becomes a meeting space between reality and dream, between memory and the present—a bridge that invites the viewer to pause and contemplate.”

      Ciochinǎ is currently preparing for a solo exhibition in Paris next year, which will include work expanding on the Blue Series. See more on his website, and follow updates on Instagram.

      “Morning”

      “Nowhere”

      “Don’t Eclipse Me”

      “Silent Garden”

      “You Will Bloom Without Me”

      “Pick a Flower, or Even Me”

      “When the Flowers Weep, We Dream—So Beautiful, So Unaware”

      “Nights of June”

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