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Stan Squirewell’s Mixed-Media Collages Imbue Anonymous Historical Photos with Panache
by Aurelia Butler 16 October 2025, 10:09
“She Saw Far and Wide” (2023), mixed media, photo collage, acrylic paint, and glitter mounted on canvas in a hand-carved frame, 90 x 76 inches. All images courtesy of the artist, Claire Oliver Gallery, and Plattsburgh State Art Museum, shared with permission
Stan Squirewell’s Mixed-Media Collages Imbue Anonymous Historical Photos with Panache
October 16, 2025
ArtPhotography
Kate Mothes
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Nothing sparks the imagination quite like coming across a trove of old photographs. We look for writing on the reverse and scan the anonymous faces to read a range of expressions. Where exactly they were at that moment, what brought them together that day, and who took the picture? For Stan Squirewell, the allure of historical portraits is a central tenet of his multimedia practice.
In large-scale, mixed-media collages, the artist begins with black-and-white photographs, typically taken a century ago or longer. He especially emphasizes portraits of Black individuals, whether gathered together as a group or posing independently. Some of these compositions start with a formal portrait in a studio, while others have more of a snapshot quality. On their clothing, Squirewell collages fabric patterns, paint, and glitter, inviting the past into the present.
“Awinita” (2022), mixed-media collage, paint, and hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 59 x 45 inches
Squirewell’s current solo exhibition, Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease at Plattsburgh State Art Museum, delves into Black identity and daily experience. The title nods to ubiquitous items as “hallmarks of domesticity and comfort in Black homes,” the museum says, focusing on “the reclamation of identity from historical anonymity.”
Squirewell sources photographs from the Smithsonian Institution’s anonymous photo collections and from family and friends. Through the intimate medium of the portrait, anonymous individuals emerge from the archives and are imbued with vivacious textile patterns, and recognizable luxury brands like Louis Vuitton and Gucci suggest elevated style and status. Scale also plays a role, too, as Squirewell prints the photos quite large, blurring features in the process yet representing the figures closer to life-size so that their presence is palpable.
Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease continues through December 5. Plan your visit on the museum’s website, and find more of the artist’s work on Instagram.
“Uncle O,” cut photograph collage mounted on canvas, oil, and glitter in hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 62.5 x 32.5 inches
“Colorful Joseph II” (2024), cut and collaged archival photography, glitter, and paint, 15.5 x 12.5 inches
“Chico & Charles 3” (2025), manipulated photo-collage, 42 x 26 inches
“Almaz & Lil Symphony”, mixed media collage, paint, and hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 57 x 40 inches
“Dai Dai” (2022), mixed-media collage, paint, and hand-carved shou sugi van frame, 47 x 39 inches
“Benny & Al,” mixed media, photo collage, acrylic paint, and glitter in a hand-carved frame, 88 x 58 inches
“He’s Home” (2024), artist-printed photos collaged with paint and glitter in a hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 20 x 12 inches
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The First Monograph to Survey Derrick Adams’ Career Comes Ahead of a Major Exhibition
by Aurelia Butler 15 October 2025, 11:00
“Floater 93” (2020), acrylic and fabric collage on paper, overall 100 x 50 inches. Photos by John Bergens. All images courtesy of Derrick Adams and Monacelli, shared with permission
The First Monograph to Survey Derrick Adams’ Career Comes Ahead of a Major Exhibition
October 15, 2025
ArtBooks
Kate Mothes
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Whether portraying families at play, people walking along urban streets, or portraits of individuals, Derrick Adams celebrates Black identity and experience. His collage-like compositions evoke West African masks, reliquary figures, and other carved sculptures, highlighting contemporary, everyday scenes and leisure activities of Black Americans.
A new monograph from Monacelli surveys more than two decades of Adams’ geometric paintings, made in his signature multihued, faceted style. Derrick Adams is the first monograph to survey the artist’s entire career, tracing his stylistic evolution and the themes that recur throughout his paintings. His paintings capture “moments of joy, resilience, and celebration,” says a statement from the publisher.
“Figure in the Urban Landscape 15” (2018), acrylic, graphite, ink, fabric collage, grip tape,
and model cars on wood panel, 48 x 48 x 3 inches
Organized into three sections—Channeling, Signaling, and Mirroring—the book highlights the artist’s explorations of representation, identity, and the media. We also trace the evolution of his visual language, which he describes as “seriocomic imagery,” along with his “desire to see Black American experiences mirrored in art, in part rectifying the dearth of such imagery in art history,” the publisher says. “At its core, Adams’s project is a reinvigoration of the Black figure in art, an intention seen throughout the works in the book.”
The release of Derrick Adams sets the stage for a mid-career survey of the artist’s work at the Institute of Contemporary Art, Boston. Titled View Finder, the show opens on April 16 and will present 150 works.
Derrick Adams is slated for release on October 22. Pre-order your copy from the Colossal Shop, and explore more on Adams’ website and Instagram.
“Black Mirror” (2023), acrylic and fabric collage on wood panel, 30 x 30 inches
“Only Happy Thoughts” (2024), acrylic and fabric collage on wood panel, 60 x 60 inches
“Onward and Upward” (2021), acrylic on wood panel, 72 x 192 ⅛ inches
“Pot Head 3” (2025), acrylic on wood panel, 28 x 14 inches
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Tiny Art Show Repurposes a Disused Stairwell into a 1:6-Scale Gallery
by Aurelia Butler 14 October 2025, 19:00
All images courtesy of Tiny Art Show, shared with permission
Tiny Art Show Repurposes a Disused Stairwell into a 1:6-Scale Gallery
October 14, 2025
ArtDesign
Kate Mothes
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In 2016, while artist McKay Lenker Bayer was still an undergraduate, her professor assigned the class the task of exhibiting their work. Unsure about presenting her work to the public, she downsized, quite literally, showing miniature paintings with teensy-tiny labels. And the idea for a minuscule exhibition space was born.
In 2018, Lenker Bayer established Tiny Art Show, a community art project that utilizes unique and unexpected spaces around Provo, Utah, to show original work by numerous artists. Until this year, the project was largely nomadic, but Tiny Art Show now has its own dedicated space.
Installed at 1:6 scale, the storefront-style gallery sits inside what was originally a stairwell, accessible from street level. Its blue facade is reminiscent of retail spaces in New York City or London, and inside, it’s what Leker Bayer describes as “a fully functional, commercial art gallery… that just happens to be tiny.” Original work is for sale, opening events draw gatherings of people who enjoy tiny snacks, and you can even grab a tiny newspaper from the vending machine near the door.
In addition to its miniature brick-and-mortar presentations, Tiny Art Show also facilitates a series of art projects like the Monthly Mini Mail Club, a subscription that dispatches an itty-bitty periodical called The Tiny Times, plus a booklet from that month’s gallery show. You can also purchase tiny art kits in the shop, along with prints and merchandise.
Explore more on the project’s website, and keep an eye on Instagram for updates about forthcoming shows.
Work by Brian Kershisnik
Work by Merrilee Liddiard
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Sinister Skies Set the Scene for Derelict Buildings in Lee Madgwick’s Surreal Paintings
by Aurelia Butler 14 October 2025, 16:00
“Fracture.” All images courtesy of Lee Madgwick, shared with permission
Sinister Skies Set the Scene for Derelict Buildings in Lee Madgwick’s Surreal Paintings
October 14, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Beneath ominous skies and set within flat, green parkland, Lee Madgwick’s folly-like buildings strike an unsettling note. His surreal paintings feature dilapidated facades and uncanny shrubbery against cloudy, deep gray skies—usually with something just a little strange going on.
In “Drift,” for example, bricks dislodge from the top of a boxy structure and float into the sky one by one, and “Fracture” defies gravity altogether with a hovering apartment tower that crumbles from below. Madgwick’s rural scenes nod to landscapes and developments that are often overlooked, imbuing them with what he describes as “an undercurrent of mischievous menace.”
“Echoes”
Madgwick’s paintings aren’t without hints of dark humor, like in “Echoes,” in which half a building appears to be missing, as if washed away in a now-calm stream. Inside the ragged remains, a waterslide makes use of the height.
People are nowhere to be seen in Madgwick’s compositions, although their presence is felt in the graffiti left on walls or curtains drawn in various windows. His latest body of work continues “to portray that mysterious and melancholic otherworldliness of seemingly long abandoned and isolated buildings under heavy skies,” he tells Colossal.
The artist’s work will be on view at Brian Sinfield Gallery in Burford, Oxfordshire, from October 18 to November 4. Find more on Madgwick’s website and Instagram.
“Badlands”
“Drift”
“Boom!”
“Empire”
“Evanescence”
“Hope”
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Charming Flights of Fancy Fill Vanessa Gillings’ Imaginative Illustrations
by Aurelia Butler 14 October 2025, 13:38
“Envoy” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 10 1/4 x 13 3/4 inches. All images courtesy of Vanessa Gillings and Gallery Nucleus, shared with permission
Charming Flights of Fancy Fill Vanessa Gillings’ Imaginative Illustrations
October 14, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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For fans of cozy cottages, sipping tea with a good book, exploring misty woodlands, and relishing timeless folk- and fairytales, the illustrations of Vanessa Gillings tap into a sense of comfort and wonder. Her protagonists, often donning witchy or wizard-like hats, appear to be on marvelous and mysterious journeys, sometimes accompanied by ravens, foxes, or butterflies as they explore forests, pen stories, or attempt to cast spells.
The works shown here formed part of the artist’s recent solo exhibition, Into the Woods, with Gallery Nucleus. See more on Gillings’ website and Instagram.
“Making Friends” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 9 x 11 3/4 inches
“The Forest Guardian” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 19 1/2 x 7 3/4 inches
“Waiting for Inspiration” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 10 1/4 x 8 1/4 inches
“Constant Companion” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 9 3/4 x 14 1/2 inches
“Ferdinand” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 7 1/4 x 9 inches
“Homeward” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 9 1/2 x 14 3/4 inches
“Memories” (2025), watercolor and gouache, 18 x 6 3/4 inches
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Armed with Scraps, Lydia Ricci Builds a World of Messy Miniatures
by Aurelia Butler 12 October 2025, 16:10
“They Made It Look So Easy” (2024), collected scrap materials, 22 x 26 x 15 centimeters. All images courtesy of Lydia Ricci, shared with permission
Armed with Scraps, Lydia Ricci Builds a World of Messy Miniatures
October 12, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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For Lydia Ricci, a broken pencil, outdated forms, long-ago paid bills, and tattered bits of fabric are prime materials for her elaborate, small-scale worlds. The artist credits her parents’ obsession with collecting as the beginning of what’s grown into a scrap-centric process.
“My mother was an immigrant from the Ukraine who could improvise anything when we didn’t have exactly what we needed, which was most of the time. And my Italian father hasn’t ever thrown anything away because one day it might be useful, or some day he might get around to fixing it,” she writes.
Detail of “It’s What’s Inside” (2025), collected scrap materials, 10 x 38 x 13 centimeters
Today, Ricci pieces together bits and baubles collected for the past 30 years that many other artists might relegate to the trash. Cardboard, candy wrappers, vintage tumblers, and so much more form uncanny miniatures that she refers to as “observations of what people anticipate, complain about, or muse over. Fleeting, unscripted exchanges—mundane yet deeply human—are a continual source of inspiration.”
Meticulous and playful, the resulting sculptures retain a messy, raw quality that is itself a collection of the original materials. Rather than mask irregularities and signs of wear, Ricci leaves traces of chaos and disorder that capture an authentic quality of modern life.
Find much more from the artist on Instagram.
“It’s What’s Inside” (2025), collected scrap materials, 10 x 38 x 13 centimeters
“That’s Everything” (2024), collected scrap materials, 30 x 35 x 16 centimeters
“They Were Just Playing” (2024), vintage red Pizza Hut tumblers and collected scrap materials, 90 x 40 x 40 centimeters
Detail of “They Were Just Playing” (2024), vintage red Pizza Hut tumblers and collected scrap materials, 90 x 40 x 40 centimeters
Detail of “They Made It Look So Easy” (2024), collected scrap materials, 22 x 26 x 15 centimeters
“We Should Have Taken Better Care of It” (2023), collected scrap materials, 8 x 8 x 10 centimeters
“How Did You Get So Good?” (2024), Ukrainian embroidery and collected scrap materials, 8 x 8 x 21 centimeters
“Take a Turn” (2025), collected scrap materials, 80 x 46 x 5 centimeters
Detail of “Take a Turn” (2025), collected scrap materials, 80 x 46 x 5 centimeters
“I Think We Got Disconnected” (2025), collected scrap materials, 22 x 32 x 20 centimeters
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In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times
by Aurelia Butler 10 October 2025, 21:05
“Dark Spots” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 centimeters. All images courtesy of Galerie LJ, shared with permission
In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times
October 10, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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In a world this absurd and disastrous, do we gravitate toward cynicism or levity? For the artist duo known as Murmure (previously), both are the only option.
The Caen, France-based pair presents a new body of paintings and charcoal drawings in their plainly titled exhibition, La fête est finie, or The party is over. Through a unique sense of wit and irony, they transform astronauts into runway models, the moon into a nuclear power plant, and a birthday cake into a raging forest fire.
“Moon Walk” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 50 x 40 centimeters
Where there could be commonplace sights or moments of joy and frivolity, Murmure instead presents an unsettling composition. Every ill-advised choice—whether baking in front of a UV screen or watching cows graze on an ice floe—becomes a spectacular confrontation with our collective obsessions with consumerism, ecological wreckage, and self-serving gluttony.
La fête est finie is on view through November 22 at Galerie LJ in Paris. Find more from the artists on their website and Instagram.
“UV #2” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 35 x 35 centimeters
“Nuclear Moon” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 50 x 70 centimeters
“A Mushroom Story” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 150 centimeters
“Happy Birthday” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 55 x 40 centimeters
“UV #1” (2025), carbon pencil on paper, 180 x 130 centimeters
“Cooler Age” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 50 x 70 centimeters
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Ant Hamlyn’s Vibrant, Smushed Still Lifes Preserve the Impermanent
by Aurelia Butler 9 October 2025, 14:34
“Chandelier.” All images courtesy of the artist and Moosey
Ant Hamlyn’s Vibrant, Smushed Still Lifes Preserve the Impermanent
October 9, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Known for his squishy flowers and foliage made of polyurethane-coated fabrics, often encased-slash-smushed behind panels of clear acrylic, Ant Hamlyn has a sense of humor when it comes to art history.
Nodding to genres in Western art like vanitas still-life paintings, he creates textile reliefs that tap into our contemporary condition. From fast food to houseplants to a vibrant bar cart, his compositions playfully explore themes of indulgence, impermanence, beauty, and the quotidian.
“Greasy Spoon”
Until recently, Hamlyn has focused predominantly on cartoonish botanicals, and he now delves further into the still-life genre. Works like “Greasy Spoon,” “Shelf Life,” and “Drive-Thru” incorporate motifs of food and trendy home decor evocative of quirky snapshots one might see on Instagram, with people just out of frame.
The works seen here were recently presented by Moosey, and you can find more of Hamlyn’s work on his website and Instagram.
“Potwash (I Ought to Give You a Lesson in How to Clean Tables, Boy!”
“Drive-Thru”
“Berry and Rye”
“Shelf Life”
“Soft Vanitas”
“Megadeal”
“Houseplant”
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Art

More stories

Stan Squirewell’s Mixed-Media Collages Imbue Anonymous Historical Photos with Panache

The First Monograph to Survey Derrick Adams’ Career Comes Ahead of a Major Exhibition

Tiny Art Show Repurposes a Disused Stairwell into a 1:6-Scale Gallery

Sinister Skies Set the Scene for Derelict Buildings in Lee Madgwick’s Surreal Paintings

Charming Flights of Fancy Fill Vanessa Gillings’ Imaginative Illustrations

Armed with Scraps, Lydia Ricci Builds a World of Messy Miniatures

In ‘The Party is Over,’ Murmure Confronts the Absurd Spectacle of the End Times

Ant Hamlyn’s Vibrant, Smushed Still Lifes Preserve the Impermanent

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