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

    “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

    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

    “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

    “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

    “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

    “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

    “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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    Yen Yen Chou Embraces Change in a Whimsical Realm Brimming with Water Droplets

    “Leaves of Becoming” (2025), watercolor and gouache on paper, 16 x12 inches. All images courtesy of Kishka Gallery, shared with permission

    Yen Yen Chou Embraces Change in a Whimsical Realm Brimming with Water Droplets

    October 8, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

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    With a penchant for kaleidoscopic colors and whimsy, Yen Yen Chou renders a dainty, dreamlike environment in which pastel hues and subtle gradients rule. The artist, who lives between Taipei and Brooklyn, is drawn to dualities, particularly the relationships that emerge from “the ephemeral and the physical, the micro and the macro,” she says. At Kishka Gallery & Library, Yen Yen’s presentation of two modes of working—watercolors on paper and epoxy clay reliefs—conjures the magic of polarities.

    An Ever Changing View, as its name suggests, takes transformation as its root. Water droplets recur throughout the works, descending from a long, thin line into a swirling pool in “Rippling,” for example, and appearing as anthropomorphic, dozing characters in “Leaves of Becoming.” While suspended on panel or paper, these forms connote movement, as they’ll eventually evaporate or combine with a larger body.

    “Rippling” (2025), acrylic and epoxy clay on wooden panel, 37 ½ x 25 inches

    For now, though, Yen Yen depicts a whimsical world on the verge of possibility. “This new body of work continues my exploration of transformation and interconnectedness in everyday life. I’ve been thinking about dualities…and how these relationships shape the way we experience life, through our thoughts, perceptions, and emotions,” she writes.

    An Ever Changing View is open through November 22 in White River Junction, Vermont. Find more from Yen Yen on her website and Instagram.

    “Lady Rainbow” (2023), acrylic on epoxy and foam, 15 x 5 ½ inches

    “To Gaze Upon a Passing Sky” (2025), watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 16 inches

    “Swinging in the rain” (2024), acrylic and epoxy clay on wooden panel, 27 x 22 inches

    “Daydreamer” (2025), watercolor and gouache on paper, 12 x 16 inches

    “Iridian Path” (2023), acrylic and epoxy clay on wooden panel, 26 x 21 inches

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