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      Minimal Female Figures Explore Community, Identity, and Connection in Laura Berger’s Paintings

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      Art

      #body
      #identity
      #painting

      October 5, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “In my feelings” (2020), oil on canvas, 30 x 30 inches. All images © Laura Berger, shared with permission
      In Laura Berger’s minimalist paintings, female figures entwine together in abstract formations. Their dark locks flow with the curves of their bodies, which are posed in relaxed, natural stances. Using tight color palettes of muted tones, Berger works mostly in acrylic, although she’s ventured into oil since the onset of the COVID-19 pandemic. “I’m not sure if it’s related to everything that’s been going on in the world or to the shift in medium itself, but my ideas have been moving in a more narrative direction which has really opened up a lot of new things for me to work with,” she tells Colossal.
      The Chicago-based artist (previously) continues to explore themes of identity, community, and connection, in addition to more abstract conceptions of energy and quality of life, throughout her largely geometric body of work. “As a woman, I usually paint from that perspective point, but the figures are really meant mostly to serve as characters through which to explore our collective humanity and shared experience,” she says.
      If you’re in New York City, check out Berger’s solo show, which is open from November 21 to December 12, at Hashimoto Contemporary. Otherwise, follow her on Instagram to see her latest considerations of the female experience.

      “We wanted to feel the light” (2019), acrylic on canvas, 16 x 20 inches
      Left: “If I were you” (2019), acrylic on wood panel, 30 x 40 inches. Right: “If I were you 2” (2019), acrylic on wood panel, 30 x 40 inches
      “Mood” (2020), oil on canvas, 16 x 12 inches
      Left: “If I were you 3” (2019), acrylic on wood panel, 30 x 40 inches. Right: “Night fruit” (2020)
      “Strata” (2019), acrylic on cradled wood panel, 16 x 20 inches

      #body
      #identity
      #painting

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      Miniature Mixed Media Lace Works Depict Pastoral Scenes in New Work by Ágnes Herczeg

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      Art
      Craft

      #found objects
      #lace
      #mixed media

      October 2, 2020
      Christopher Jobson

      All photos © Ágnes Herczeg, shared with permission
      Working within a scale of just a few small inches, Hungarian artist Ágnes Herczeg (previously) threads together fragments of wood, seeds, and wire with delicate lace work to form pastoral scenes inspired in part by her surroundings in a small town near the river Danube. This year Herczeg utilized more tree bark and golf leaf, and developed her abilities with silk thread to create pieces even smaller than before. In a note to Colossal she shares this challenge to work increasingly smaller is “a very good mind game.” You can see lots of her new work on her website, and several pieces are for sale in her online shop.

      #found objects
      #lace
      #mixed media

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      An Intricate Lace Mural Envelops the Facade of a French Fashion Museum

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      Art

      #lace
      #murals
      #public art

      September 29, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Nespoon
      On France’s northern shores lies the port city of Calais, a municipality that once was a destination for lace manufacturers. To escape economic and social difficulties, English textile artists and engineers immigrated in the late 19th Century, often establishing clandestine operations that defied patent laws by bringing specialty machines and practices to the region. Soon after, Calais became an industrial hub for lace manufacturing, employing around 40,000 residents.
      A new mural by Warsaw-based artist Nespoon (previously) celebrates that rich history through an oversized textile that envelops the facade of a factory. The public artwork features delicate mesh and floral elements that cover the side of the Cité de la Dentelle et de la Mode, the city’s fashion and lace museum. Nespoon chose this particular motif, which dates back to 1894, from the institution’s archive before spray painting its intricate details onto the building.
      Check out the video below to see the lace motif in-progress, and find more of the artist’s textile-based pieces on Behance and Instagram.

      #lace
      #murals
      #public art

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      Affected by a Central Force, Dancers Perform Implausible Bends on a Perpetually Spinning Stage

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      Art
      Dance

      #performance art
      #video

      September 29, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      
      “Celui qui tombe,” or he who falls, is an illusory performance from self-described circus artist Yoann Bourgeois (previously) that opens with six dancers on a spinning platform. As the central stage turns, the performers run forward to fight the perpetual motion, even though their efforts keep them in the same spot. The sextet moves easily throughout the performance, grasping onto each other and stopping in neat lines as they respond to the stage’s revolutions. As Kottke notes, the centripetal force of the platform makes it possible for the dancers to contort their bodies into seemingly implausible positions, like the acute bends shown below, and remain standing.
      Bourgeois created “Celui qui tombe” in 2014 and shares an extensive collection of similar illusions on YouTube. You also can keep up with his work on Instagram.

      #performance art
      #video

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      Chrome Faces Protrude from Drippy, Graffiti Backdrops in Hyperrealistic Paintings by Artist Kip Omolade

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      Art

      #chrome
      #hyperrealism
      #masks
      #painting
      #portraits

      September 28, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Luxury Graffiti Kace I,” oil, spray paint and acrylic on canvas, 36 x 48 inches. All images © Kip Omolade, shared with permission
      Set on a graffitied backdrop, the chrome masks Kip Omolade (previously) paints appear to emerge from the canvas, jutting out from the vibrant display to confront the viewer. The Harlem-born artist layers dripping colors and typographic markings that contrast the smooth, gleaming faces protruding from the center for his new series Masks: Portraits of Times Square and Luxury Graffiti, which he completed in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic. In a statement, he explains the history of the collection:
      In New York City during the ’80s, my tag was ‘Kace’ and I would ‘get up’ on MTA subway car interiors, public walls in Brooklyn, and graffiti black books. Throughout the ’90s, I never stopped tagging. Even when I was painting from life, I was still tagging here and there in random spaces. Years later, I produced a real-life ‘Kace’—when my twin sons were born, I named them Kent and Kace. The ‘Kace’ tags in these paintings reference NYC subway ‘bombing’ of the ’80s, but mostly it’s about legacy. I want my work to represent our shared experiences of the past, present, and future.
      Omolade’s process includes sculpting a resin mold of a chosen subject, which he then covers with chrome and uses as a reference for his hyperrealistic portraits. Many of the masks are reflective, revealing a hidden landscape. In Omolade’s self-portrait (shown below), an American flag in the shape of a bullseye marks his forehead, a nod to racial injustices in the United States.
      To see more of Omolade’s works, check out his virtual solo show at Jonathan LeVine Projects through October 4 and head to his Instagram.

      “Luxury Graffiti Self-Portrait (COVID-19),” oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
      “Luxury Graffiti Kent I,” oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
      “Luxury Graffiti Kent I,” oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
      “American Love,” oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
      “Red Stare,” oil on canvas, 36 x 48 inches
      

      #chrome
      #hyperrealism
      #masks
      #painting
      #portraits

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      Colorful, Geometric Stitches Embolden Black-and-White Photographs of Historical Figures and Cultural Icons

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      Art
      Craft
      Photography

      #celebrities
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #portraits

      September 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      Yayoi Kusama. All images © Victoria Villasana, shared with permission
      When Victoria Villasana (previously) lays a long stitch on a vintage photograph, she’s connecting the pattern or geometric shape to a piece of history, culture, or philosophy. The Mexican artist transforms found black-and-white images of cultural icons and historical figures through vibrant embroideries. Turquoise fibers radiate from Nelson Mandela’s fist, a gold, chevron collar lines Chadwick Boseman’s shirt, and Yayoi Kusma sports a multicolor garment with varying dots and stripes. Emboldened by stitches that often breach the photograph’s edges, the multi-media artworks exude power, strength, and beauty.
      Villasana sources many of the images from the public domain, although she sometimes collaborates with photographers, as well. “I think color helps us to connect emotionally and I like to look at the past and merge tradition and vanguard. I’m also interested in symbolism and geometry in art as a way to communicate deeper meanings with each other,” she shares with Colossal.
      To explore more of Villasana’s geometric additions, head to Instagram, and see the originals and prints available in her shop.

      Chadwick Boseman
      Federica Violi
      Kara Walker
      Nelson Mandela
      Left: Miles Davis. Right: Harriet Tubman
      Ryu Gwansun
      Yayoi Kusama

      #celebrities
      #embroidery
      #found photographs
      #portraits

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      Revealing Struggles and Joy, Expressive Portraits Are Superimposed onto Watercolor Foliage

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      Art

      #flowers
      #plants
      #portraits
      #watercolor

      September 24, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “Being true to your nature III.” All images © Àngela Maria Sierra, shared with permission
      Spanish artist Àngela Maria Sierra, who works as Riso Chan, explores the human psyche through subtly layered foliage. “I always imagine that they are someone’s soul, what we don’t see, our nature,” Sierra says of the delicate botanical assemblages that she overlays onto her subjects’ faces and torsos. Each portrait begins with a focus on texture and pattern as the artist paints clusters of twigs and leaves with watercolor. She then scans those botanical elements and uses Procreate to superimpose the figure onto the original piece.
      Alongside their simple beauty, the pastel paintings, some of which are self-portraits, reflect the narratives and worries that consume the artist’s daily life. She describes her work as “a journal where I express moments or feelings that are important for me during those days. It’s a way to give those feelings space and then let them go.” Tied to both struggles and joys, topics include finding freedom through creativity during lockdown, growing up in an drug-filled home, and the bravery required to move forward.
      Based in Amsterdam, Sierra is the founder of Bloom Art House, which hosts creative workshops throughout the capital city. Keep up with her expressive artworks on Instagram.

      “Freedom”
      “Being true to your nature II”

      “Spring”
      Left: “Turning on the lights inside.” Right: “Being true to your nature I”
      “New Path”
      “Toxic home”

      #flowers
      #plants
      #portraits
      #watercolor

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      MIMOSA: An Optimistic Collection of Temporary Installations Take Over Philadelphia’s Navy Yard

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      Art

      #cross-stitch
      #installation
      #language
      #piñatas
      #public art
      #wire

      September 23, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      Justin Favela’s “Libertad (Freedom).” All images courtesy of Group X, shared with permission
      An eclectic array of installations recently popped up at the Navy Yard in Philadelphia, transforming the historic neighborhood into a temporary wonderland teeming with quirky characters, large-scale interventions, and optimism. A life-size piñata shaped like a 1984 Thunderbird is parked on 12th Street, cross-stitched roses trail across the brick facade of Building 99, and a typographic message casts shadows on a pavilion in a call for hope.
      Officially titled Mystery Island and the Marvelous Occurrence of Spontaneous Art, or MIMOSA, the entirely outdoor exhibition includes work from seven artists DAKU (previously), Justin Favela (previously), Kid Hazo with South Fellini, Reed Bmore, Liesbet Bussche, and Raquel Rodrigo (previously). It’s a collaboration between the anonymous collective Group X and the Navy Yard, which was overrun in 2018 by a gargantuan sea monster. MIMOSA‘s six site-specific installations are spread across 1,200 acres.

      DAKU’s “Ray of Hope”
      Activated by sunlight, DAKU’s installation “Rays of Hope” casts shadows in 25 different languages on a brick terrace in Crescent Park. Throughout the day as the light shifts, so do the silhouettes on the ground. “The sun has always been associated as a symbol of energy and so is hope,” DAKU says. Rays of light metaphorically serve as “a symbol of positivity and optimism.”
      By translating the word “hope” into dozens of languages, the anonymous Indian street artist puts forth a welcoming vision. “When we see a native language, we have a sense of belonging and familiarity with the space. Especially in a foreign land or a place, it makes it more relatable,” DAKU writes. “Languages have been a part of every culture and (have their) own visual aesthetic… Culture is common ground for any language or a form of visual art, and if one comes to think of it, language plays an essential role. It binds the culture in forming into a community.”

      Justin Favela’s “Libertad (Freedom)”
      A nod to his mother’s first purchase after immigrating from Guatemala to the United States in the 1980s, Favela’s paper-fringed car expands on the myth of “The American Dream.” “The promise that if you keep your head down, work really hard and save your money… you, too, can own a home with a two-car garage, get married, have kids, build an empire, and live an abundant and dignified life,” he says. Through his large-scale piñatas, Favela conveys stories like his mother’s, particularly in relation to her longing to return to Central America. “What about the immigrants that come here and realize that they moved to a country that does not want them here? Their stories are also important,” he says.
      Questions about identity, including his own as a first-generation, queer, Latinx American, and the experiences of people who have immigrated to the U.S. face inform Favela’s artworks. He subverts common narratives by offering a revised way of thinking centered on joy:
      What are we when we are not viewed as just a labor force? What if we stopped taking pride in suffering and the sacrifices that we had to make? What if we valued joy? Mental health? What if we could take a couple of days of…just because!? What would happen if could just be ourselves? When will we all be free?
      See the latest from GroupX and follow the installations popping up next in The Navy Yard on Instagram. If you’re in Philadelphia, check out MIMOSA before it closes November 2.

      DAKU’s “Ray of Hope”
      Raquel Rodrigo’s “Florecer (Flourish)”
      Reed Bmore’s “Bittersweetvine”
      Liesbet Bussche’s “Rusty Love / Urban Jewelry”
      Kid Hazo + South Fellini’s “Where the Wild Jawns Are”

      #cross-stitch
      #installation
      #language
      #piñatas
      #public art
      #wire

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