More stories

  • in

    From Intricate Stencils to Vibrant Flowers, Nine New Murals Transform Blank Facades in Tbilisi

    
    Art
    #flowers
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art
    #trompe l’oeilNovember 29, 2021Grace EbertMonkeyBird. All images courtesy of Tbilisi Mural Fest, shared with permissionSince Tbilisi Mural Fest began in 2019, the streets of Georgia’s capital have seen the towering, large-scale works of artists like Collin van der Sluijs (previously), Case Maclaim, and Faith XLVII (previously), whose celestial, intersecting circles are a highlight of this year’s event. The 2021 festival features nine pieces in total that range in aesthetic and subject matter, including a mythological, black-and-white stencil by MonkeyBird (previously), bold botanicals by Thiago Mazza (previously), and a striking trompe-l’œil papercut by 1010. Each monumental work addresses an environmental, social, or other relevant issue affecting today’s world, and you can find 2021’s lineup below. (via Street Art News)Thiago Mazza1010Faith XLVIIJDLLeft: Kade90. Right: David SamkharadzeAPHENOAH
    #flowers
    #murals
    #public art
    #street art
    #trompe l’oeilDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

  • in

    Infrared Light Enhances Versailles, Provence, and the Beaches of Normandy with Dreamy Shades of Pink

    
    Art
    Photography
    #France
    #infrared
    #landscapesNovember 29, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Paolo Pettigiani, shared with permissionPreviously having captured the Dolomites and New York City’s Central Park in a candy-colored glow, photographer Paolo Pettigiani now adds urban and rural France to his ongoing collection of infrared images. The magical series documents the rolling lavender fields of Provence in watermelon hues and Versailles’s landscaped terraces or the Gothic abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel in bright, saturated tones. Pettigiani shoots each location with a full-spectrum camera that unveils otherwise invisible wavelengths and enhances the trees, grasses, and stone surfaces that reflect infrared light with varying shades of pink.See more from the France Infraland series on Pettigiani’s Behance and Instagram, and shop prints of the surreal landscapes on Lumas.
    #France
    #infrared
    #landscapesDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

  • in

    Abstract, Textured Patterns Woven With Natural Fibers Compose Massive Wall Hangings by Tammy Kanat

    
    Art
    Craft
    #fiber art
    #textiles
    #weavingNovember 26, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Tammy Kanat, shared with permissionA decade into her weaving practice, Australian artist Tammy Kanat (previously) continues to explore the possibilities of fiber, texture, and knots. Her giant wall hangings rely on patches of tufted wool, concentric circles in linen, and fringed, silk motifs suspended in lopsided brass rings to evoke organic forms and naturally occurring patterns.Focusing on energy and movement, each abstract piece contrasts high piles and flatweaves comprised of thousands of knots that Kanat composes without a preconceived plan. “I often think of my weavings as a novel, as I work on a piece it is one chapter at a time until I finish it. Not knowing what the end will be keeps me driven and engaged. I have been creating more intricate woven shapes, inspired by my surroundings in nature,” the artist says. “I have become more engaged and curious about the slow detailed process of weaving, experimenting with one knot at a time.”In her most recent body of work A Woven Metaphor, Kanat utilizes more angled frames with vibrant gradients radiating outward. The wall hangings are “about the shapes and colors gently pulling you into the piece. A dark center which evolves gradually to a lightness on the outside providing relief,” she shares. “The works are a juxtaposition of complexity and simplicity.”Kanat shares glimpses into her weaving and shaping techniques on Instagram, and you can explore an archive of her pieces, and find her celebratory 10-year project, on her site.
    #fiber art
    #textiles
    #weavingDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

  • in

    Miniature Watercolor Works by Ruby Silvious Are Painted on Stained Teabags

    
    Art
    Illustration
    #landscapes
    #miniature
    #painting
    #tea
    #watercolorNovember 26, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Ruby Silvious, shared with permissionRuby Silvious’s quaint seaside scenes and bucolic landscapes nestle between the torn edges and wrinkled folds of a used teabag. The Coxsackie, New York-based artist (previously) paints miniature scenes of everyday life on the stained paper pouches, leaving the string and tags intact as a reminder of the repurposed material’s origin. Silvious sells prints of her watercolor pieces on her site, and you can follow her latest projects and news about upcoming exhibitions—she will be showing her upcycled works in France and Japan in 2022—on Instagram.
    #landscapes
    #miniature
    #painting
    #tea
    #watercolorDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

  • in

    In States of Ruin, Architectural Sculptures by Peter Callesen Spring from a Single Sheet of Paper

    
    Art
    #architecture
    #paper
    #sculptureNovember 24, 2021Grace EbertDetail of “Human Ruin.” All images © Peter Callesen, shared with permissionTowering over cut-out voids are artist Peter Callesen’s sculptures of existing architectural ruins and stately edifices. Constructed with a single sheet of white paper, the miniature buildings appear to surface from their original flat piece into three-dimensional forms complete with crumbling facades and tipped columns. Each work juxtaposes the soft, fragile material with the sturdy subject matter and “is a reminder of what once was present and that even material like stone can change and break,” the artist says, explaining further:Almost as creation in reverse, the ruin as a motif for my works deals with the themes of rise and fall, through typical gothic architecture inspired by romantic painters. The ruins are rising from their intact and undamaged silhouettes. The work ‘17.8 Tall Tower of Babel’ is also linked to brokenness and failure, because of the Tower of Babel myth.Callesen, who is based in Mors, Denmark, is showing some of these smaller sculptures at Vestjyllands Udstillingen through January,  and you can explore more of his intricate miniatures and sprawling installations on Instagram.“Human Ruin”“17.8 Tall Tower of Babel’”“On The Other Side”“Little Erected Ruin”“Little Ice Castle”“Erected Ruin”
    #architecture
    #paper
    #sculptureDo stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now! Share this story  More

  • in

    Ornate Assemblages Cast Vintage Pressed Glass as Flourishing New Scenes in Amber Cowan’s Sculptures

    
    Art

    #found objects
    #glass
    #sculpture

    November 23, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches. All images by Matthew Hollerbush, © Amber Cowan, shared with permission
    Philadelphia-based artist Amber Cowan (previously) molds found and flameworked glass into narrative sculptures brimming with ornate flourishes and enchanting details. Her delicate works are often monochromatic and revitalize vintage elements, including a figure from a McKee Glass Company vase in “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade,” for example, or the baubles in varying shades of purple that comprise “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender.” The pressed glass pieces pay homage to the once-thriving industry by recasting antique scenes and motifs in new tableaus.
    Diverging slightly from the precisely sculpted forms that comprise much of her work, Cowan has started to incorporate long drips into her more recent sculptures. In her vertical cornucopia and fountain pieces, leaves and other botanicals hanging over the edges of the vessels appear malleable as they splash into small, circular drops.
    In January, Cowan’s solo show will open at Brunnier Art Museum at Iowa State University, and if you’re in New York City, stop by the Museum of Arts and Design in February to see some of the artist’s work as part of Craft Front & Center. Otherwise, keep up with her latest sculptures on Instagram.

    Detail of “Visions of the Night Muse in Jade” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
    “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
    Left: “Cornucopia in Shell” (2021), 8 x 5.5 x 4 inches. Right: “Fountain in Rosalene” (2021), 17 x 8.5 x 8.5 inches
    Detail of “Hummingbirds Feast on Helio and Lavender” (2021), 20 x 15.5 x 7.5 inches
    “Autumn Fan in Mandarin and Bittersweet Orange” (2021), 17.5 x 17.5 x 8 inches
    “Garden Snail with Feather and Pearls”

    #found objects
    #glass
    #sculpture

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Carved Organic Patterns Highlight the Natural Wood Grain of Carbonized Mahogany

    
    Art

    #carving
    #sculpture
    #wood

    November 22, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “By any other name” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches. All images courtesy of TERN Gallery, shared with permission
    In Splinters and Shards, artist John Beadle enriches the beauty of wood’s natural grain with a series of gouged dots, line carvings, and smooth, supple curves. His small, circular sculptures and vertical towers accentuate the texture and subtle gradients of carbonized mahogany through etched patterns that reveal the pristine reddish hue peeking through the charred surface. Always highlighting the potential of the raw material, Beadle, whose background is in painting and printmaking, evokes these mediums through layering dimension and motif in a single work and drawing on the subtraction inherent in carving into a blank woodblock.
    Splinters and Shards is on view at the new TERN Gallery in Beadle’s hometown of Nassau, The Bahamas, from December 11, 2021, to January 22, 2022. Until then, check out the artist’s Instagram for a look at his process.

    “Fruit & Texture one” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 28.5 x 2 inches
    “Artifact II” (2020), carbonized mahogany and metal, 52.25 x 11.875 x 2 inches
    “Fruit & Texture” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches
    “Eclipse” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 52.75 x 2 inches
    “Well Rooted” (2020), carbonized mahogany and metal, 69.5 x 7 x 2 inches
    “What’s left behind” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches
    “Before the chaos” (2021), carbonized mahogany, 27 x 2 inches

    #carving
    #sculpture
    #wood

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Ephemeral Compositions Use Sand and Stone to Create Hypnotic Works on Land

    
    Art

    #land art
    #nature
    #sand
    #stone

    November 19, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Jon Foreman, shared with permission
    The wildly prolific Wales-based artist Jon Foreman has spent much of 2021 on a new batch of mesmerizing land pieces. Expanding on the swirling, organic shapes he’s known for, many of his recent works take on minimal, geometric formations in diagonal stripes or colorful, concentric circles. Foreman created a 2022 calendar featuring some of the compositions shown here—ordering instructions are on his Instagram—and you can find prints of his ephemeral pieces in his shop.

    #land art
    #nature
    #sand
    #stone

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More