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      Roméo Mivekannin’s Cage-Like Sculptures of Museums Reframe the Colonial Past

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      Photos by Gerret Schultz. All images courtesy of the artist and Galerie Barbara Thumm, shared with permission

      Roméo Mivekannin’s Cage-Like Sculptures of Museums Reframe the Colonial Past

      June 24, 2025

      ArtHistorySocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      Known for bold, chiaroscuro paintings that reimagine European art historical masterworks in his own likeness, Roméo Mivekannin is interested in the Western, colonial gaze on Africa and the power of archives to reveal underrepresented or untold stories. Born on the Ivory Coast, Mivekannin splits his time between Toulouse, France, and Cotonou, Benin. His practice interrogates visibility, appropriation, and power dynamics through direct and unflinching pieces spanning acrylic painting, installation, and sculpture.

      At Art Basel last weekend, in collaboration with Galerie Barbara Thumm and Cécile Fakhoury, Mivekannin presented a large-scale installation titled Atlas, comprising a series of metal buildings suspended from the ceiling. Modeled after institutional buildings—in this case, museums that house enthographic collections—the artist draws attention to the colonialist practices and ethical gray areas that permeate these spaces and their histories.

      Often founded upon controversial or dubiously-acquired personal collections of European urban elites, larger museums historically emphasized what was seen as “primitive” or “exotic,” exhibiting a skewed view of world cultures framed by a colonialist mindset. The British Museum, for example, was established in 1753 upon the death of Sir Hans Sloane, whose collection of more than 80,000 “natural and artificial rarities” provided the institution’s foundation. His wealth—and his collection—was amassed in part through enslaved labor on his sugar plantations in Jamaica.

      Another well-known example of problematic collections include thousands of Benin Bronzes, housed in European institutions like the British Museum and others. British forces acquired many of these elaborately decorated plaques through pillage and looting in the late 19th century. Today, some museums have agreed to repatriate the bronzes to redress this historical indignity (the British Museum is still in discussions).

      As a student of both art and architecture, Mivekannin taps into the way certain structures and built environments are designed to convey prestige and dominance. He is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the National Superior School of Architecture of Montpellier (ENSAM).

      In Atlas, the structures take on the form of bird cages suspended from chains. Both elements symbolize captivity, likening ethnographic collections that often include human remains to what the Atlas exhibition statement describes as “human zoos.” In this context, the cages “serve as a reminder of the historical practices that sought to control and exploit ‘the Other.’”

      Mivekannin bridges past and present in this installation, inviting viewers to walk around the museums within a space that shifts the power dynamic. The work encourages viewers “to confront uncomfortable truths about colonial legacies and their ongoing impact on our contemporary society.”

      The artist scales down the museums’ palatial details to a diminutive size, displayed low, taking into consideration a kind of meta experience of the exhibition itself. In Mivekannin’s portrayal, the structures are both the cages and the caged.

      A show of the artist’s paintings, Black Mirror, is currently on view at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy, through July 27. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

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      London’s Largest Ancient Roman Fresco Makes for the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

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      Timelapse of the MOLA specialist team reassembling a section of wall plaster. All images © MOLA (Museum of London Archaeology), shared with permission

      London’s Largest Ancient Roman Fresco Makes for the ‘World’s Most Difficult Jigsaw Puzzle’

      June 23, 2025

      ArtHistory

      Kate Mothes

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      One of the remarkable things about a city like London, which has been inhabited for nearly 2,000 years, is that no matter where a developer chooses to build, chances are there’s some relic of the past buried below ground. Archaeologists are routinely called to new development sites to carefully verify the presence—or not—of everything from early structures to centuries-old graveyards. And in a place founded by the Romans shortly after 43 C.E., we can occasionally glimpse astonishing finds from well over 1,000 years ago.

      This year, a team of researchers from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) has been hard at work in a development site known as The Liberty, which has already revealed ancient mosaics and a mausoleum. But the discoveries keep coming. Scattered in pieces, the city’s largest-ever collection of painted Roman plaster was found amid the rubble, dating back at least 1,800 years.

      MOLA specialist Han Li reconstructing the wall plaster

      The first structures on this site appeared between 43 and 150 C.E., and the frescoed wall would have stood in a high-status Roman building. Sometime before 200 C.E., the building was demolished and the plaster pieces discarded in a pit. Seeing the light of day for the first time since, it was a dream opportunity for MOLA researchers.

      Han Li, MOLA’s Senior Building Material Specialist, spent three months reconfiguring the artwork with the help of a team of researchers. He explained that pieces had been jumbled together when the building was demolished, so figuring out how the fresco was originally composed took a lot of tinkering and patience. “It was like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle,” he says.

      Even the most avid jigsaw fans will appreciate that this type of puzzle is a real mind-bender—there’s no picture to look at for comparison. But there are clues. This era of Roman painting commonly incorporated color panels with border motifs and elements that imitated stone slabs like porphyry without the expense or labor involved in hauling that much material. And while this work is fairly representative of the style, the use of the color yellow is particularly rare and found in only a few very luxurious buildings around the U.K.

      The fresco also tells the story of visitors and passersby who left graffiti, including an image of a crying woman with a hairstyle common in the Flavian period (69 to 96 C.E.) and a carved Greek alphabet. It’s thought that the latter could have served a practical purpose, like a tally sheet or a checklist.

      Wall plaster reconstruction illustration by Faith Vardy

      One special detail comes in the form of what’s known as a tabula ansata, a carving of a decorative tablet that Roman artists used to sign their work. It contains the Latin word “FECIT,” which means “has made this.” Sadly, the part where the artist’s name would have appeared is too broken to determine, so their identity will likely remain a mystery.

      Explore more of MOLA’s excavations and projects on its website.

      The remains of the tabula ansata

      MOLA specialist Han Li reconstructing the wall plaster

      Sections of bird decorations on the Liberty wall plaster

      A MOLA archaeologist uncovers the wall plaster during excavations at The Liberty site

      Sections of floral decoration on the Liberty wall plaster

      Yellow and imitation porphyry panels

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      In ‘Big Bad Wolf,’ Sculptor Kendra Haste Contends with Conservation and Rewilding

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      All images courtesy of Iron Art Casting Museum Büdelsdorf, shared with permission

      In ‘Big Bad Wolf,’ Sculptor Kendra Haste Contends with Conservation and Rewilding

      June 23, 2025

      ArtNature

      Kate Mothes

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      From a simple material, Kendra Haste brings us face-to-face with striking sculptures of wild animals. Known for her use of galvanized wire to create life-size portraits of everything from calm elephants to alert deer to a family of boars, the British artist is fascinated by what she describes as the “essence and character” of each creature.

      The artist’s solo exhibition, Big Bad Wolf at the Iron Art Casting Museum Büdelsdorf, is Haste’s first in Germany and continues her exploration of wildlife through eleven recent works that bridge the animals’ world and ours. Haste says, “I try to capture the living, breathing model in a static 3D form and convey its emotional essence without slipping into sentimentality or anthropomorphism.”

      If you’ve visited the Tower of London in the past fifteen years, you also may have seen Haste’s permanent display of sculptures inspired by the Royal Menagerie, technically the city’s first zoo. The building housed a collection of animals between the 1200s and 1835, many of which were gifted to kings and queens.

      Haste’s life-size animals are installed near where they were kept and nod to real denizens, like an elephant sent by the King of France in 1255 and what was presumably a polar bear shipped from Norway around the same time. The works were initially slated for a 10-year exhibition but now permanently on view in the much-loved historic attraction.

      In Big Bad Wolf, Haste’s first solo museum exhibition, she delves into conservation, sustainability, and the controversial concept of rewilding. That animals that wander through the museum, including wolves, a stag, a hind, a white-tailed eagle, lynx, and wild boars, are all native to Northern Germany. While some are endangered, others are bouncing back, and Haste taps into a regional yet universal comprehension of our delicate relationship with nature and how our actions affect it.

      “This is about how we see the natural world—how we’ve tried to shape it, and what it might mean to let it return,” Haste says. “Wire, like cast iron, holds a tension between strength and fragility. That balance runs through every piece in this exhibition.”

      Big Bad Wolf continues through November 2 in Büdelsdorf. See more of Haste’s work on Instagram.

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      Greg Corbino’s Fish Puppets Made from Reclaimed Trash Migrate Along the Hudson River

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      2022 performance of “Murmurations”
      at the River to River Festival. Photo
      by Robin Michals. All images shared with permission

      Greg Corbino’s Fish Puppets Made from Reclaimed Trash Migrate Along the Hudson River

      June 21, 2025

      ArtClimateNature

      Kate Mothes

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      Beginning in the Adirondack Mountains and flowing south into New York Harbor, the iconic Hudson River stretches 315 miles through scenic valleys and creative towns. It’s also a migration route for numerous species of fish, from sturgeon and bass to herring and eels, which head upstream every year to spawn. Contending with habitat destruction due to pollution and the effects of the climate crisis, the survival of these fish is increasingly imperiled. Fortunately, art and activism have a way of bringing these urgent issues to light while also bridging local communities.

      Last weekend marked the inaugural Fish Migration Celebration organized by Riverkeeper, an outfit devoted to protecting and advocating for the health of the Hudson River watershed. Unmissable amid the festivities were a series of large-scale puppets by artist Greg Corbino, part of his ongoing sculpture-meets-performance series, Murmurations.

      2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

      Corbino designed a larger-than-life gold sturgeon to adorn a sailing ship that led a flotilla from Chelsea Pier in New York City up to Croton-on-Hudson, home of Hudson River Music Festival. Corbino’s papier-mâché marine creatures, ranging from oysters and sturgeon to a seahorse and a whale, performed their own migration, parading along the riverbank in both locations.

      The artist describes the collective performance as a “puppet poem of city and sea” and creates each work from plastic trash he removes from New York City waterways and beaches. Through partnerships with events like the Fish Migration Celebration and New York City’s River to River Festival, he aims to highlight the impacts of climate change and raise awareness of increasing plastic pollution in our oceans.

      See more of Corbino’s work on his site.

      Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Priya Shah

      Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Rhiannon Catalyst

      Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo by Priya Shah

      2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

      Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo courtesy of Riverkeeper

      2022 performance of “Murmurations” at the River to River Festival. Photo by Robin Michals

      Riverkeeper’s Fish Migration Celebration. Photo courtesy of Riverkeeper

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    • 163 Shares130 Views

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      Seth Armstrong Sets the Hills of Los Angeles Aglow in Vibrant Oil Paintings

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      Seth Armstrong Sets the Hills of Los Angeles Aglow in Vibrant Oil Paintings

      June 20, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Capturing the magical glow of the golden hour, the rich blue of early evening, and the butter-yellow of morning, Seth Armstrong transports us to Southern California in his ongoing series of oil paintings. Bright bungalows, electrical lines, palm trees, and shrubs dot the foothills that shape Los Angeles, with the San Gabriel Mountains often rising in the background.

      Greenery plays a central role in Armstrong’s suburban portraits, revealing and concealing roads, homes, and infrastructure—evocative of the city’s reputation as a place where any dream seems possible. Yet its sprawling neighborhoods, immense wealth, and locus of the entertainment industry tend to obscure undercurrents brought to light by recent immigration protests or last year’s devastating wildfires.

      Next month, Armstrong opens a solo exhibition titled Subrosa at Unit London, borrowing from the Latin phrase “under the rose,” signifying secrecy or discretion. The artist draws upon his own observations of his L.A. neighborhood during long, early-morning walks with his young son.

      Viewed from a distance, the hillside neighborhoods appear idyllic, even paradisiacal, but he hints at out-of-frame elements in this city constantly in flux: simmering socio-political tensions, scorched mountains and fire-leveled homes, and palpable economic disparities. Sometimes people are present, half-hidden in windows and often only noticeable when viewed up-close. “There’s substance behind the forms,” Armstrong says. “Sometimes you get a peek inside. Sometimes you don’t.”

      Subrosa runs from July 9 to August 17. See more on Armstrong’s website and Instagram.

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      African Mythology and Ancestry Merge in Zak Ové’s Exuberant Sculptures

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      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Images courtesy of Zak Ové and Library Street Collective shared with permission

      African Mythology and Ancestry Merge in Zak Ové’s Exuberant Sculptures

      June 20, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Merging themes of interstellar travel and cultural convergences, Zak Ové creates large-scale sculptures and multimedia installations that explore African ancestry, traditions, and history. The British-Trinidadian artist’s practice is deeply rooted in the narratives of the African diaspora, focusing on traditions of masquerade. He delves into its role in performance and ceremony, as well as masks as potent instruments for self-emancipation and cultural resistance.

      Ové’s interdisciplinary work spans sculpture, painting, film, and photography, exploring links between mythology, oral histories, and speculative futures. “His sculptures often incorporate symbols, iconography, and materials drawn from African, Caribbean, and diasporic traditions, merging them with modern aesthetics to celebrate the continuity and adaptability of culture,” his studio says.

      Detail of “Black Starliner” (2025), stainless steel, aluminium, fiberglass, and resin, 40 x 22.6 x 27.4 feet

      Ové often delves into the relationship between contemporary lived experiences and the spirit world, like in “Moko Jumbie” or a glass mosaic installation in London titled “Jumbie Jubilation.” In these works, the artist brings an ancestral spirit rooted in African and Caribbean folklore known as a Jumbie to life as a spectral dancer, cloaked in banana leaves with a torso of a golden, radiant face.

      The motif of rockets has emerged in Ove’s recent installations, like “The Mothership Connection” and “Black Starliner,” which feature totem-like stacks of African tribal masks and lattice-like Veve symbols—intricate designs employed in the Vodou religion to represent spiritual deities known as Lwa.

      “The Mothership Connection” combines architectural elements referencing the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and a ring of Cadillac lights nodding to Detroit, “Motor City.” The crowning element is a giant Mende tribal mask that glows when the 26-foot-tall sculpture is illuminated at night, with a pulsing rhythm suggestive of a heartbeat.

      The title is also a reference to the iconic 1975 album by Parliament-Funkadelic, Mothership Connection, in with outer space is a through-line in the group’s celebration of what BBC journalist Frasier McAlpine described as a response to the waning optimism of the post-civil rights era. Mothership Connection soared at a time when “flamboyant imagination (and let’s be frank, exceptional funkiness) was both righteous and joyful,” he wrote.

      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Installed at Frieze London 2023

      Ové echoes this exuberance through vibrant colors, repetition, and monumental scale. Library Street Collective, which exhibited “The Mothership Connection” on the grounds of The Shepherd in Detroit late last year, describes the work as a nod “to a future where Black people are included in all possible frames of reference.”

      In a monumental assembly of African masked figures titled “The Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness,” Ové conceived of 40 graphite sculptures organized in a militaristic grid, each six-and-a-half feet tall, that have marched across the grounds of Somerset House, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, San Francisco City Hall, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

      The title of this piece references two groundbreaking works in Black history—Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man, which was the first novel by a Black author to with the National Book Award, and Ben Jonson’s 1605 play The Masque of Blackness, noteworthy for being the first time blackface makeup was used in a stage production.

      “Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness” (2016), graphite. Installed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

      Ové reclaims and reframes dominant narratives about African history, culture, and the diaspora, interrogating the past to posit what he calls “potential futures,” where possibilities transform into realities. “By fusing ancestral wisdom with Afrofuturist ideals, Ové ensures that the voices of the past remain integral to shaping the futures we envision,” his studio says.

      “The Mothership Connection” will be exhibited later this summer and fall at 14th Street Square in New York City’s Meatpacking District, accompanied by a gallery show at Chelsea Market. Dates are currently being confirmed, and you can follow updates on Ové’s Instagram.

      “Moko Jumbie” (2021), mixed media, overall 560 centimeters

      Detail of “Moko Jumbie” (2021), mixed media, overall 560 centimeters, installed at Art Gallery of Ontario, commissioned with funds from David W. Binet and Ray & Georgina Williams, 2021. Photo courtesy of AGO

      “Jumbie Jubilation” (2024), glass mosaic panels, dimensions vary around 11.5 x 1.2 meters per panel

      Detail of “Jumbie Jubilation” (2024)

      “Virulent Strain” (2022), graphite, 22-carat gold leaf, and bronze, 120 centimeters in diameter

      “Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness” (2016), graphite. Installed at Somerset House, London

      “Black Starliner” (2025), stainless steel, aluminium, fiberglass, and resin, 40 x 22.6 x 27.4 feet. Installed at Louvre Abu Dhabi

      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Photo courtesy of Library Street Collective

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      Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread

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      “Botanical Allegory 11.” All images courtesy of Nosheen Iqbal, shared with permission

      Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread

      June 18, 2025

      ArtCraft

      Grace Ebert

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      Semicircles notched into smooth wooden panel structure Nosheen Iqbal’s floral embroideries. Laying colorful lines with impeccable precision, the Dallas-based artist (previously) creates vivid arabesques and geometric motifs that resemble those of her Pakistani and Islamic heritage.

      Iqbal is interested in the interplay of light and shadow, which tends to be most prominent in the sunless sides of the three-dimensional forms. Delineating petals and leaves with small beads bolsters, their surfaces glimmering when illuminated. “As light moves across my pieces, it enhances the saturation of colors and emphasizes the intricate threadwork, shifting and revealing new dimensions,” she says.

      “Botanical Allegory”

      Evoking architecture, her series Botanical Allegory features several works with rounded edges and arch-like shapes. Blending ancient design and craft traditions mirrors the artist’s desire to bring seemingly disparate mediums, techniques, and ideas together. “Living in the West while holding Eastern heritage has driven me to innovate—merging elements from different art movements to create a blend that honors my roots while embracing new influences,” she adds.

      Galleri Urbane in Dallas will show a collection of Iqbal’s works in the group exhibition roll the windows down from June 21 to August 8. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

      Detail of “Botanical Allegory 5”

      “Botanical Allegory 15”

      Detail of “Botanical Allegory 14”

      “Botanical Allegory 1”

      Detail of “Botanical Allegory 1”

      “Botanical Allegory 5” in progress

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      In Immersive Mixed-Media Tapestries, Lillian Blades Reflects on Pattern and Presence

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      Detail of “Perennial” (2024). Photo by Cydney Maria Rhines. All images courtesy of the artist and SAM, shared with permission

      In Immersive Mixed-Media Tapestries, Lillian Blades Reflects on Pattern and Presence

      June 18, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Reveling in the interplay of light, material, and space, Lillian Blades creates expansive and immersive installations that reflect on how we experience pattern and texture. Through the Veil, now on view at Sarasota Art Museum, marks the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition, bringing together a sweeping array of the Atlanta-based artist’s large-scale works.

      Blades takes a multimedia approach to tapestry, combining fabric, stained glass, wood, acrylic, and found materials to create glimmering surfaces. She suspends some pieces from the ceiling, meandering through the gallery space like mixed-media curtains, while other assemblages hang on the wall. Colored light bounces onto the floor, and the loose latticework casts dramatic shadows onto the surrounding walls.

      “Perennial” (2024)

      “My patchwork veils are wired tapestries of images and texture…I want it to feel complex but simple at the same time,” Blades says. “I want the details and the objects to carry memory and trigger viewers into thinking about their associations with certain patterns and textures.”

      Through the Veil continues in Sarasota through October 26. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      Installation view of ‘Through the Veil’ at Sarasota Art Museum

      The artist working in her studio. Photo by Marie Thomas

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