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Intricate Beaded Motifs Add Colorful Dimension to Jan Huling’s Animal Sculptures
Art
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#sculptureFebruary 4, 2022Grace Ebert“Hero” (2019), 27 x 22 x 8 inches. All images © Jan Huling, shared with permissionA former product designer turned bead artist, Jan Huling begins each sculpture with a blank form in the shape of a miniature horse, giant praying mantis, and eager monkey perched on a box. She then glues small glass pieces in meandering lines, concentric circles, and other elaborately constructed motifs. “I don’t sketch out designs beforehand,” she tells Colossal. “Rather I let my designs grow organically and let the work itself inspire me.”Each embellishment is a study of color, texture, and form, with some patterns structuring facial features like the radiant eyes of the nine-foot “Das Bug” and others adding hypnotic ornaments like the intersecting patches that span the length of the tail in “KoKo.” Although Huling doesn’t translate any specific motifs, she shares that she’s drawn to traditions of Mexican and Indian artists, in addition to the works of Nick Cave (previously) and Tim Burton.Huling, who’s based in Jersey City Heights, will have sculptures on view at Art Market San Francisco this April through Duane Reed Gallery, and her billowing dress titled “The Gown” is headed to the Museum of Beadwork this summer. Explore a collection of her intricate creations on her site and Instagram. (via Women’s Art)“Hero” (2019), 27 x 22 x 8 inchesDetail of “Das Bug” (2015), 61 x 69 x 110 inches“Das Bug” (2015), 61 x 69 x 110 inchesDetail of “Das Bug” (2015), 61 x 69 x 110 inches“KoKo” (2011), 48 x 15 x 24 inchesDetail of “KoKo” (2011), 48 x 15 x 24 inches
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Dreamlike Sculptures by Christina Bothwell Meld Ceramic, Glass, and Oil Paint into Otherworldly Figures
Art
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#ceramics
#dreams
#glass
#mosaics
#oil paint
#sculpture
#surrealJanuary 24, 2022Grace Ebert“Two Violets.” All images © Christina Bothwell, shared with permissionFrom her Pennsylvania studio, Christina Bothwell (previously) sculpts surreal hybrid creatures and figures that occupy the unearthly space between dreams and wakefulness. She works with a combination of annealed glass, pit-fired ceramics, oil paint, and small mosaic tiles, which each correspond to a conceptual element. “I always come back to the idea that the physical part of us is just a small part of who we are in our entirety,” the artist tells Colossal. “The translucent parts of my pieces are meant to suggest the soul or that part of us that is more than just our bodies. The ceramic portions of my pieces represent our grounded, tangible parts.”In her most recent body of work, Bothwell continues her explorations into the liminal and states of flux: a slumbering child appears to float from its sleeping counterpart in “Lucid Dream,” while another lies upside down in “Mood Swing.” Many of the sculptures are tinged with themes of magic, imagination, and escapism, which are reflected in the ways that human bodies meld with birds, monkeys, octopuses, and deer. She explains:I was a sensitive child with eccentric parents who didn’t fit in. I didn’t even fit in with my family a lot of the time. It was like I was a changeling or an alien they were forced to live with. I felt like an outsider for most of my life, and it always felt precarious, unsafe, being who I was. For this reason, I think I identify with deer… despite their beauty and grace, they are not protected or valued (at least not where I live), and their vulnerability and innocence resonates with something deep within me.Bothwell’s fantastical works will be on view at Habatat Gallery and Muskegon Museum of Art as part of the upcoming Beyond the Glass Ceiling, Influential Women in Glass exhibition and again this summer at Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee. Until then, explore more of her sculptures on Instagram.“Simian Dream”“Lucid Dream”“Snail”“Little Deer”“Mood Swing”“Speak No Evil See No Evil Hear No Evil”Left: “Here and Now.” Right: “Safe Haven”“Dream State”Top: “New Sunday.” Bottom left: “Tea with Cows.” Bottom right: “Tea Party”
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#dreams
#glass
#mosaics
#oil paint
#sculpture
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Ceramic Figurines by Claire Partington Put a Contemporary Twist on Historical Symbols
Art
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#anthropomorphic
#ceramics
#figurines
#porcelainJanuary 11, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Claire Partington, shared with permissionCiting traditional portraiture and figurative ceramics, London-based artist Claire Partington (previously) sculpts grand characters with a dose of contemporary wit: Lavishly outfitted women lose their heads to anthropomorphized octopuses, a flip flop-wearing fairy dozes alongside empty beer bottles, and sneakers and a cellphone lie next to “Sleeping Beauty.” Infused with mythological symbols and references to folklore, the delicate figurines meld history and culture across time periods and prompt questions about interpretation and narrative.Many of the pieces shown here are included in Partington’s solo exhibition En Plein Air, which is on view from February 2 to March 19 at Winston Wächter Fine Art in Seattle and coincides with the release of Historical Fiction, a monograph spanning ten years of her career. Until then, explore more of her subversive figures on her site and Instagram.
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#anthropomorphic
#ceramics
#figurines
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Complex Networks of Metallic Branches Shape Animal Sculptures by Kang Dong Hyun
Art
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#metal
#sculpture
#steelJanuary 6, 2022Grace Ebert“Forest of Coexistence” (2019), stainless steel and urethane paint, 300 x 160 x 120 centimeters. All images © Kang Dong Hyun, shared with permissionWhat eventually becomes a stately stag or majestically posed lion in Kang Dong Hyun’s Forest of Coexistence starts with countless metallic branches that splay in every direction. The Korean artist (previously) welds spindly shoots and sprawling root-like shapes into facial features and bodies that are then finished with urethane paint. Creating a cohesive display of flora and fauna, each hollow, stainless steel sculpture considers the relationship between species and the idea that “all life on Earth may lead to an invisible string,” Kang says. For more of the artist’s intricately formed animals, visit Instagram.“Forest of Coexistence” (2020), stainless steel and urethane paint, 73 x 46 x 11 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 150 x 120 x 50 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 64 x 36 x 114 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2021), stainless steel and urethane paint, 68 x 80 x 20 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2018), stainless steel and urethane paint, 130 x 45 x 85 centimeters“Forest of Coexistence” (2020), stainless steel and urethane paint, 51 x 80 x 39 centimeters
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#steelDo 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 Art
Playfully Absurd, Idiosyncratic Characters Grace the Salvaged Book Sculptures by Mike Stilkey
Art
#animals
#books
#painting
#sculptureJanuary 6, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Mike Stilkey, shared with permissionDapper penguins, nonchalant musicians, and self-destructive politicians are a few of the distinct figures adorning Mike Stilkey’s sculptures. The Los Angeles-based artist (previously) rummages through heaps of discarded books, plucking out complementary titles that become the basis for his towering works. Using ink, colored pencil, paint, and lacquer, he renders minimal portraits of figures with exaggerated limbs or instruments and gestures that show a flair for the absurd.Vacillating from the playful and whimsical to the cheeky and ironic, Stilkey’s idiosyncratic, sometimes anthropomorphized characters translate an essential interpretation of the volumes’ messages or subject matter through a contemporary lens. He explains:Sometimes it’s a wry, tongue-in-cheek, satirical kind of thing, and sometimes it’s an extension or interpretation of it. It depends on the book and my mood. There’s been a lot of fodder over the past couple of years with all of the political conversations and things you hear or read on the news or social media. But I’ve always been able to do this with books. It’s one of the reasons I started using books as a canvas or vehicle for painting—the richness of layering literary and visual narratives over each other to convey something more complex.As well as the repurposed sculptures shown here, Stilkey also creates installations with thousands of books and large characters, although these on-site projects have been put on hold since the onset of the pandemic. Prints and postcards are available in the artist’s shop, and you can follow his works on Instagram.
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Wine Streams Through Sea Creatures in Playful Glass Decanters by Charlie Matz
Art
Design
Food
#animals
#beverages
#glass
#sea creaturesDecember 22, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Charlie Matz, shared with permissionIn the sleek decanters designed by artist Charlie Matz, wine and other spirits trickle through a crab’s claws, a shark’s open jaws, and the belly of a branzino. The playful aeration vessels are handmade with borosilicate glass and position marine life at the necks of the carafe, ensuring that the creatures flush with reds and pinks with every pour. Matz, who works at the Chicago-based Ignite Glass, has a few of the decanters available in the studio’s shop, and you can follow his functional creations and new releases on Instagram.[embedded content]
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#beverages
#glass
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Meticulous Sculptures by Artist Carol Long Highlight the Curved Lines and Colorful Embellishments Found in Nature
Art
Craft
#animals
#ceramics
#insects
#plants
#potteryNovember 30, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Carol Long, shared with permissionHonoring the humble shape of the vessel is at the center of Carol Long’s practice. From her studio in rural Kansas, the artist throws simple ceramic cylinders that she contorts into supple butterfly wings, curved chrysalises, or vases with embellished handles.“When it comes off the potter’s wheel, that’s just the beginning,” she tells Colossal. “I usually sit for a second and look at the piece and see which way I can push it out or in.”The resulting forms are evocative of both flora and fauna and traditional pottery, although Long’s sculptures emphasize smooth, sinuous walls and squiggly bases rather than angled edges. She uses slip trailing to add tactile decorative elements to the piece like small spheres, handles, or raised linework. “The relationship between the glazes that are inside the vectors, the shapes made by the slip trailing, are really important in how they’re divided and how they sit next to each other,” she says, noting that the process is particularly meticulous because it involves applying the material to each intricate, ribbed pattern and delicate outline.Whether a vase or wide-mouthed jar, the whimsical sculptures are brimming with color and textured details. “I love the flowing lines, and I love the idea of framing a picture on my pots. A lot of times I have a focal point like an animal or insect and then I’ve framed it with other designs,” the artist says.Long is hosting an annual open house at her studio next month and will show a body of work at Charlie Cummings Gallery in July of 2022. Until then, shop available pieces on Etsy—she also has an update slated for mid-December—and follow her latest pieces on Instagram. (via Women’s Art)
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#ceramics
#insects
#plants
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