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    ‘The Women Who Changed Photography’ Chronicles 50 Trailblazing Artists

    Shirin Neshat, “Land of Dreams” (2019), film still. © Shirin Neshat, courtesy of the artist, Gladstone Gallery, and Goodman Gallery, Johannesburg, Cape Town, and London. All images courtesy of Laurence King Publishing, shared with permission

    ‘The Women Who Changed Photography’ Chronicles 50 Trailblazing Artists

    October 16, 2024

    ArtBooksHistoryPhotography

    Kate Mothes

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    In 1929, sought-after New York fashion model Lee Miller moved to Paris to apprentice with surrealist photographer Man Ray, joining an influential circle of artists. She and Ray worked so closely together, in fact, that many of her photos have been erroneously attributed to him.

    Like many women, Miller’s work was often overshadowed by her male counterparts. A new book, The Women Who Changed Photography: And How to Master Their Techniques, marks Miller’s contribution to photography among 49 more groundbreaking artists who incorporated unique techniques blazed a trail for future generations.

    Cindy Sherman, “Untitled #577” (2016)

    From Zanele Muholi’s bold black-and-white visages to masters of disguise, like French surrealist Claude Cahun (1894-1954) and contemporary artist Cindy Sherman, identity plays a vital role in many of the practices featured.

    Iranian artist Shirin Neshat, for example, often delves into the complexities of womanhood within Islamic cultural and religious value systems. Pushpamala N. employs narrative and figuration in images that critique stereotypes of women in India.

    Released by Laurence King Publishing last month, The Women Who Changed Photography chronicles the individuals, aesthetics, and approaches that have shaped the field. Grab your copy on Bookshop.

    Pushpamala N., “Yogini F-24” (2000–2004) from Native Women of South India: Manners and Customs

    Claude Cahun, “Self Portrait (Holding Mask)” (undated)

    Julie Cockburn, “Feed the Birds (Women)” (2019)

    Shirin Neshat, “Rebellious Silence” (1994)

    Julia Margaret Cameron, portrait of Julia Jackson Duckworth (1846-1895)

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    14,000 Prescription Lenses Dangle like Dewdrops in a Lush Japanese Forest

    All images courtesy of Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett, shared with permission

    14,000 Prescription Lenses Dangle like Dewdrops in a Lush Japanese Forest

    October 15, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    Suspended like a vortex of rain, a new installation from Caitlind r.c. Brown and Wayne Garrett ushers viewers into a shimmering enclosure.

    “A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm” dangles 14,000 prescription lenses from a pair of concentric circles. Created for the Northern Alps Art Festival in Omachi City, the site-specific work evokes the region’s historic relationship to water.

    Blanketed with heavy snow in the winter and drenched during rainy summers, the city experiences several wet seasons. Situated at the base of the Japanese mountain range, it boasts natural features like lakes, hot springs, and hydroelectric dams. Omachi has also seen its population rapidly dwindle in recent years.

    Brown and Garrett have previously worked with found, recycled objects like lightbulbs and telephones. Nested behind Nishina Shrine along the shore of Lake Kizaki, this new piece repurposes eyeglasses that catch and refract sunlight and magnify the surrounding cedar forest, focusing viewers’ gazes on the enlarged natural world around them.

    “The work invites visitors to look at the landscape (and each other) with fresh eyes, seeing differently and peering deeply into the ancient and evolving landscape,” the artists say.

    “A Whisper in the Eye of the Storm” is on view through November 4. Find more from Brown and Garrett on their website.

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    Genesis Belanger Coaxes the Uncanny from Vignettes of Consumption and Gluttony

    “Self-awareness” (2024),
    veneered plywood, cork, stoneware, porcelain,
    patinaed brass, oil painted manicure, wooden vanity,
    28 × 61 × 20 inches. All photos by
    Pauline Shapiro, © Genesis Belanger, courtesy of the artist and
    Pace Gallery, shared with permission

    Genesis Belanger Coaxes the Uncanny from Vignettes of Consumption and Gluttony

    October 15, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    A comb with perfectly manicured teeth, a tote overflowing with groceries and a bitten chocolate cookie, and a vacuum cleaner intent on eating a rug are a few of the peculiar details in Genesis Belanger’s latest exhibition.

    In the Right Conditions we are Indistinguishable, on view now Pace Gallery in London, presents fourteen vignettes of everyday life gone awry. Known for her disorienting, sometimes seductive sculptures, the artist continues working with her signature flatness and distinctive visual language, drawing on advertising techniques to critique consumerism plaguing modern life.

    “Cause and Effect” (2024), stoneware, powder coated steel, plywood, composite board, sunbrella fabric, silk and cashmere suiting, hardware, 41 × 35 × 53 inches

    Belanger’s earlier sculptures revel in pastel hues and the warm textures of ceramic, while this new body of work is more expansive. Bold, saturated colors appear throughout the individual vignettes, like on a cobalt vase and bright pink fruits resting in a squat dish. The artist also incorporates a wider array of materials into these sculptures, including the silk cashmere lining a vacuum cleaner bag and the veneered plywood that structures shelving.

    Arousing humor and absurdity from the most banal objects, Belanger invokes excessive desire, gendered expectations, and corporate malaise. “Self-Awareness,” for example, features a disjointed portrait of various objects spread across a wood table. The candlesticks with knotted wicks reference the feeling of working a 9-to-5 job, which she describes as “burnt down and tied in knots,” while the tableaux as a whole nods to self-curation and performance.

    “A Breeze Shimmers” (2024), patinaed brass, powder-coated aluminum, porcelain,hardware, 84 × 50 × 45 inches

    The artist typically shies away from depicting the human body in full form, instead preferring to represent it through fragmented parts or symbols like food and shapely objects. Fruit often takes on this role, especially in the pair of round, potted sculptures that give credence to natural growth.

    These works stand in stark contrast to the flattening effect of “16 Bit Eden,” which layers flowers and cherries atop a grid. Evoking the digital world, the pixelated backdrop questions the contemporary desire to ignore the objects and realities right in front of us.

    In the Right Conditions we are Indistinguishable is Belanger’s first U.K. exhibition and runs through November 9. See more of her work on Instagram.

    “Husband Material” (2024), porcelain, stoneware, plywood, raincoat fabric, rubber-coated linen18 1/4 × 21 × 16 5/8 inches

    “Family Portrait” (2024), veneered plywood, cork, porcelain, stoneware, 45 1/2 × 41 × 11 1/4 inches

    “Sentimental Attachment” (2024), stoneware with oil-painted manicure, 25 × 13 × 2 inches

    “Managed Expectations (you only deserve a tiny piece)” (2024), veneered plywood, powder-coated steel, cork, porcelain, 30 × 20 1/4 × 7 3/8 inches

    “It Always Comes Out in the Wash” (2024), stoneware, porcelain, patinaed brass, and fiberglass,29 × 6 × 32 inches

    Installation view of ‘Genesis Belanger: In the Right Conditions we are Indistinguishable,’ Pace Gallery, London (2024). Photo by Damian Griffiths

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    A Fleet of Aging Cars Takes a Chromatic Turn in Fred Battle’s Caravan-Sized Color Chart

    All photos by Agency.WTF, courtesy of Fred Battle, shared with permission

    A Fleet of Aging Cars Takes a Chromatic Turn in Fred Battle’s Caravan-Sized Color Chart

    October 15, 2024

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    In an old French scrapyard, Fred Battle hits the brakes on a fleet of aging cars. For his 2019 installation “Solara,” the artist painted the exteriors of 144 dilapidated vehicles from the 60s to 90s with vibrant colors. Hoods, roofs, and trunks shine once again with bold hues corresponding to an RGB color value, their codes written on the bonnet.

    “I decided to create this color chart by observing the action of the sun on the horizontal surfaces of these cars,” Battle wrote. “As each of these cars has had its proper life as an object, then applying one specific color on each reveals its singularity, its personal and particular use.”

    Enveloped by lush foliage, the automobiles are parked in chromatic rows, creating an enormous, outdoor swatch book best viewed from above.

    Battle frequently works on walls, vehicles, and canvases, painting bright, dynamic works that grapple with movement, public space, and gathering. Find much more on his Instagram.

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    In London, a 15-Foot Flower by Shepard Fairey Advocates for Environmental Justice

    All photos by Jonathan Furlong, courtesy of the artist ObeyGiant, shared with permission

    In London, a 15-Foot Flower by Shepard Fairey Advocates for Environmental Justice

    October 11, 2024

    ArtClimateSocial Issues

    Grace Ebert

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    At 36 Boundary Street in London, a bold new mural rises 15 feet above the street. Anchored by scales atop a small seedling, the public artwork by Shepard Fairey addresses environmental justice and our responsibility to care for the planet.

    “I believe that our individual and collective actions will dramatically impact current and future generations, be it for the better or for the worse. It is our responsibility as the citizens of Earth to protect it,” the artist said.

    A series of workshops with young Londoners inspired the bright, graphic motif. The group was interested in expanding access to green space and reducing air pollution, and given the recent convening of the United Nations General Assembly focusing on international cooperation, connection between countries and cultures was top of mind.

    The project was produced by Charlotte Pyatt, Simon Butler, and Migrate Art, which has raised more than £2.1 million in the last decade through creative projects in refugee camps in France and Northern Iraq, with the Indigenous Xingu people in the Amazon, and in collaboration with U.K.-based charities feeding London’s unhoused population.

    Find more from the artist on his website.

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    A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

    “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu” (2024), Serpentine North Garden. Photo by George Darrell. Image courtesy of Serpentine and The Melrose Gallery, shared with permission

    A Vibrant Ndebele Mural by Esther Mahlangu Illuminates Unity at Serpentine North

    October 10, 2024

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    For more than eight decades, Dr. Esther Mahlangu has been creating large-scale, site-specific works that draw on the artistic traditions of Ndebele culture.

    Known for her vibrant, patterned compositions, Mahlangu learned techniques for decorating houses from her mother and grandmother while growing up in South Africa. She mixes natural pigments with clay, soil, and cow dung to paint directly on the exteriors of structures in her village.

    Photo by George Darrell

    Ndebele house painting emerged in the mid-18th century when the matrilineal tribe began to build huts out of mud rather than grass. Women applied colorful patterns to the walls to not only brighten the village but also communicate with others.

    The geometric shapes, characterized by bold, black outlines, serve as a visual language to express personal values, prayers, or major life events.

    Mahlangu paints by hand without using stencils or masking tape, employing chicken feathers and various brushes to create painstaking geometries that preserve a handmade quality. Over time, she has also created numerous works on canvas, using acrylic to broaden the range of hues in her work.

    Esther Mahlangu photographed by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

    At Serpentine North in Hyde Park, London, Mahlangu’s first installation the U.K. was unveiled this week on a wall in the gallery’s garden.

    Comprising six wooden panels, the monumental mural celebrates unity and community and taps into an Ndebele philosophy: “Umuntu ngumuntu ngabantu,” which translates to: “I am because you are.”

    The mural remains on view through September 28, 2025. Plan your visit on the Serpentine website, and learn more about Mahlangu’s remarkable work and career on her website and Instagram.

    Photo by Clint Strydom, courtesy of The Melrose Gallery

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    Nature and Geometry Merge in Yulia Brodskaya’s Meticulously Quilled Paper Birds

    “Nature of Things.” All images courtesy of Yulia Brodskaya, shared with permission

    Nature and Geometry Merge in Yulia Brodskaya’s Meticulously Quilled Paper Birds

    October 10, 2024

    ArtCraftNature

    Kate Mothes

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    From individual strips of colorful, methodically folded paper, Yulia Brodskaya’s vibrant compositions take wing. In a new series of quilled artworks, the artist (previously) taps into her love of drawing to emphasize the power of a line.

    “In my paper art practice, a drawn two-dimensional line is represented by a three-dimensional strip of paper glued on its edge,” Brodskaya says. For her mini-series of birds, the dimensionality of each line symbolizes ethereality and energy made visible.

    “Eagle of Light”

    In “Nature of Things,” for example, a kingfisher sits on the edge of a leaf, which appears to overflow with a geometric grid evocative of quantum illustrations of black holes.

    Foliage initially inspired the composition. “I was just sitting, observing its shape, following the curving lines with my eyes, and it didn’t take long to receive a vision of a superimposed toroidal shape…” she says, “like an organising principle that has always been there.”

    Find more of Brodskaya’s work on her website, and peek into her practice on Instagram.

    Detail of “Eagle of Light”

    “Things of Nature”

    Detail of “Nature of Things”

    “Take Off”

    Detail of “Take Off”

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    Spider Lilies and Cherry Blossoms by Sakae Unfurl in Wire and Resin Hair Pieces

    All images courtesy of Sakae, shared with permission

    Spider Lilies and Cherry Blossoms by Sakae Unfurl in Wire and Resin Hair Pieces

    October 9, 2024

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Originating during the ancient Jōmon period in Japan, the kanzashi is a rod or stick worn in the hair. This accessory evolved over time to encompass other ornaments like barrettes and fabric flowers. Today, they’re worn by geishas and brides.

    Tokyo-based artist Sakae (previously) continues this centuries-old tradition through an ongoing series of contemporary hairpins. Using liquid resin and wire, she meticulously styles cherry blossoms, hydrangeas, and spider lilies into ornate, wearable pieces.

    Explore these delicate works in-depth on her website.

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