Art

Subterms

    More stories

    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Lyrical Illustrations by Käthe Butcher Explore Femininity, Emotion, and Human Intimacy

      by

      
      Art
      Illustration

      #drawing
      #flowers

      August 7, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “A Hug In The Garden.” All images © Käthe Butcher, shared with permission
      As widespread lockdowns swept the globe earlier this year in response to the threat of COVID-19, intimacy became fraught. For artist Käthe Butcher, the loss of an embrace or casual peck on the cheek was incredibly difficult. “The pandemic affected everyone differently. I always thought I am not that kind of person getting scared or/and paranoid easily, but in March I did. I panicked and felt very alone, which was one reason why I left London at the end of March to go back to my family. It was definitely the right decision,” she tells Colossal.
      This desire for connection culminated in “A Hug In The Garden,” an emotional rendering of two women holding each other. Their botanical garments swaddle their individual bodies, and singular stems poke out from their sleeves, adding a bit of whimsy. Similar to her other drawings—explore a larger collection of Butcher’s work (NSFW) on Instagram—this illustration visualizes emotional depth and intimacy.
      Replete with floral motifs and delicate lines, Butcher’s pieces generally focus on one or two figures, who are simultaneously confident, carefree, and elusive. Rendered in thin, inky lines, the women portray a range of experiences, moods, and personalities. “Femininity can be everything and nothing. It’s individual. For me personally, it is something elegant yet strong,” she shares with Colossal.
      Currently, Butcher is in the process of leaving London permanently for her hometown of Leipzig, Germany, and has been reflecting on the role of artistic practices in the current moment. “As for a lot of artists, this situation was and is still blocking a lot of creativity. It’s draining. Like wading through mud. But at the same time, it feels like the beginning of something new, bigger,” she says.
      To purchase a print of the artist’s tender renderings, peruse what’s available in her shop.

      “Hey Girl”
      “Dreaming About Another World”
      “T.S. Girl (Sleep Well)”
      “Grass As Soft As Cotton Candy”
      “Setsuna”

      #drawing
      #flowers

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 188 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Sprawling Floral Installations Spill Over Garbage Cans and Phone Booths on New York City Streets

      by

      
      Art

      #flowers
      #installation
      #New York
      #public art
      #street art

      August 7, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Lewis Miller Design, shared with permisison
      Thanks to Lewis Miller Design, those passing through New York City have gotten some respite from the rank smells and soggy refuse of streetside garbage cans. For years, the florist (previously) has been planting guerilla installations of sunflowers, hydrangeas, and peonies in public areas, transforming trash receptacles, construction zones, and lampposts with sprawling assemblages. Check out some of the recent “Flower Flashes” below, and follow the designer on Instagram to see where the temporary bouquets pop up next.

      #flowers
      #installation
      #New York
      #public art
      #street art

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 163 Shares149 Views

      in Art

      Inflatable Heads, Fantastical Paintings, and Bulbous Sculptures Comprise a Surreal Dreamland by OSGEMEOS

      by

      
      Art

      #installation
      #light
      #painting
      #sculpture

      August 6, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of Hyundai Card, Hyundai Capital News Room, shared with permission
      Wedged between two buildings in Itaewon, Seoul, is a huge, inflatable head marking the entrance to OSGEMEOS’s latest exhibition. With a shaggy mohawk and thin mustache, the yellow character resembles a band of glowing figures that populate the inside Brazilian twins Gustavo and Otavio Pandolfo’s immersive installation.
      Comprised of lit sculptures, large-scale paintings, and collages in the same cartoonish style as their previous projects, OSGEMEOS: You Are My Guest is a surreal dreamland. It asks visitors to swerve around a series of bulbous sculptures that jut upward from the floor. A lime green wall houses an eclectic display of framed portraits, repurposed door frames, and sculptural figures, while a patchwork of worn album covers hangs from another. The title of the exhibition is derived from a 2016 painting (shown below) that channels the geometric shapes and bright colors traditional in Brazilian culture, in addition to more modern, energetic artforms like hip-hop and breakdance, two of the artists’ primary forms of inspiration.
      Simultaneously arresting and hypnotic, OSGEMEOS: You Are My Guest is the brothers’ first solo show in Seoul and will be on view at Hyundai Card through October 11, 2020. Those unable to see the exhibition in person should head to Instagram, where the duo shares the latest on their multi-media projects. (via Juxtapoz)

      “You Are My Guest” (2016), 126 x 206 inches

      Courtesy the artists and Lehmann Maupin, New York, Hong Kong, and Seoul

      #installation
      #light
      #painting
      #sculpture

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 200 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      The Coral Greenhouse: Jason deCaires Taylor’s Latest Installation is an Underwater Sanctuary for Vulnerable Sea Creatures

      by

      
      Art

      #climate change
      #coral
      #fish
      #greenhouses
      #installation
      #ocean
      #sculpture
      #underwater

      August 5, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Jason deCaires Taylor, shared with permission
      About 50 miles from Townsville, Australia, an unassuming structure created by Jason deCaires Taylor (previously) rests on the sandy floor the John Brewer Reef. Currently, “The Coral Greenhouse” is in pristine condition with little algae or tiny organisms stuck to its sides. Over time, though, the sculptural work is designed to amass vibrant clusters of the sea creatures as they colonize the submerged form.
      Constructed with corrosion-resistant stainless steel and pH-neutral substances, the biomorphic frame is modeled after nature’s patterns. The materials help inspire coral growth and are designed to be absorbed into the oceanic environment as the colonies sprawl across it. Workbenches line its sides and are adorned with simple patterns that create small enclaves for ocean life to hide from predators or rest. To keep divers away from the fragile ecosystems, Taylor tends to install his marine projects in less vulnerable areas.
      Weighing 165 tons, the sanctuary is the Museum of Underwater Art’s largest installation to date. The A-frame structure is comprised of triangular sections and a massive cement base, which provide stability from waves and adverse weather. Its slatted sides allow divers, filter-feeding organisms, and schools of fish to swim in and out, and floating spires that protrude from the beams’ apex oscillate with the currents.
      Figurative sculptures, which were made from casts of kids around the world, populate the inside to serve as a reminder that the coral needs care. They’re shown cradling planters, peering into microscopes, and watching over the vulnerable environment. “Thus they are tending to their future, building a different relationship with our marine world, one which recognizes it as precious, fragile, and in need of protection. Our children are the guardians of the Great Barrier Reef,” Taylor writes about the piece.
      Dives to tour the site-specific installation will begin in 2021. Until then, get an idea of how some of Taylor’s previous works have transformed after being submerged for more than a dozen years on his Instagram. (via Fast Company)

      #climate change
      #coral
      #fish
      #greenhouses
      #installation
      #ocean
      #sculpture
      #underwater

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Bizarre Porcelain Sculptures by Artist Morel Doucet Tangle Limbs, Seashells, and Coral

      by

      
      Art

      #climate change
      #coral
      #flowers
      #installation
      #plants
      #porcelain
      #sculpture
      #sea
      #shells
      #surreal

      August 4, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet. All images by David Gary Lloyd and Pedro Wazzan and © Morel Doucet, shared with permission
      Based in Miami, artist Morel Doucet imbues his surreal artworks with a reminder that the natural world is ripe with entanglements. Often monochromatic, the slip-cast and hand-built porcelain pieces merge flora and fauna into dense amalgamations: a series of naked figures sit with coral, safety pins, and starfish as heads, while other assemblages feature a singular arm or pair of legs jutting out from a mass of sea creatures.
      Doucet not only considers how humans are damaging the environment but also who is most likely to suffer in the process. In the series White Noise: When Raindrop Whispers and Moonlight Screams in Silence, he responds to the impacts of the climate crisis and ecological disaster on communities of color in the Miami area. “The beaches are eroding into the sea, coral reefs are turning bleach white, and residents wait tentatively for seawater rise. Everywhere you look Miami is undergoing drastic infrastructure changes trying to gear up for a losing battle against land and sea,” he shares with Colossal. “I believe these communities will experience the greatest climate exodus within our modern times.”
      Doucet’s recent endeavors include an upcoming series called Water grieves in the six shades of death that will respond to climate-gentrification and its impact on communities with lower incomes.  Follow the artist’s sculptural considerations on Instagram. (via The Jealous Curator)

      “Jaded Moonlight (Gardenia)”
      “White Noise, Let the choir sing a magnified silence (25 Affirmation)” (2017), slip-cast porcelain and hand-built and altered forms, 5 x 5 feet
      “Black Madonna & Venus”
      “Regal Black Madonna (black is black, black is motherhood)” (2019), porcelain ceramic with cast altered forms, 22 to 24 inches in diameter
      “When all the gold fell from the sun (Fall from Grace)” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramics
      “The black on my back dances in a room full of to many silence part 2” (2019), slip-cast porcelain ceramic and hand altered forms, 6.5 x 10 x 5.5 inches

      #climate change
      #coral
      #flowers
      #installation
      #plants
      #porcelain
      #sculpture
      #sea
      #shells
      #surreal

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 175 Shares149 Views

      in Art

      Opulent Kintsugi Installation by Artist Victor Solomon Gilds Dilapidated Basketball Court in Los Angeles

      by

      
      Art

      #basketball
      #gold
      #installation
      #kintsugi
      #public art
      #sports

      August 4, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images by Shafik Kadi and © Victor Solomon, shared with permission
      Celebrating the restorative qualities of sports and basketball’s return this past week, Victor Solomon has repaired a deteriorated court in South Los Angeles through the ancient art of Kintsugi—the Japanese method of repairing broken pottery by using metallic substances to mend the fractures. The artist filled cracks in the cement with gold-dust resin, highlighting the years of use “to accentuate the healing as a formative part of its journey,” he says. “Sport can entertain, inspire, and distract, but more apropos than all, the platform of sport can help us heal.” Titled “Kintsugi Court,” the gilded installation has similarly lavish backboards and hoops.
      The restored court is just one of Solomon’s explorations into the sport and the ways it intersects with luxury. For more of his embellished projects, head to Instagram. (via The Kids Should See This)

      

      #basketball
      #gold
      #installation
      #kintsugi
      #public art
      #sports

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Vibrant Digital Portraits by Artist Alexis Franklin Emphasize the Nuances of Emotions

      by

      
      Art
      Illustration

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

      August 3, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Alexis Franklin, shared with permission
      Dallas-based artist Alexis Franklin considers her digital renderings a reinvention of the expected. “I’ve always seen the world through a filter that brings vibrance and excitement to things most people wouldn’t notice, and that’s something that I really want to have come across in my work,” she says of her expressive paintings. Through facial expressions, gestures, and color, each work highlights the nuances of the subjects’ experience, personality, and mood.
      A church videographer by day, painting is Franklin’s side-project and one for which she’s received an influx of attention in recent days. She illustrated an affective portrait of Breonna Taylor, who was murdered by three Louisville police officers in March, for the cover of O, The Oprah Magazine. The two-decades-old publication has only ever featured Oprah Winfrey. This isn’t the 24-year-old’s first high-profile cover, though: she also created a powerful rendering of Anita Hill for Time earlier this year.
      Franklin often shares time-lapses of her paintings-in-progress—which you can watch below and on YouTube and Instagram—that document every step of her process. “I tend to stay in the present with my work. I don’t really imagine where it’s headed,” she writes to Colossal. “I just let each project be what it is, and then I move to the next one with fresh eyes. And I’m very grateful that each project continuously seems to find me!” (via Kottke)

      

      #Black Lives Matter
      #digital
      #portraits

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More

    • 175 Shares109 Views

      in Art

      Masks, Toilet Paper, and Thermometers Transform into Miniature, Outdoor Adventures by Artist Tatsuya Tanaka

      by

      
      Art
      Photography

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #miniature
      #paper
      #sports
      #swimming

      August 3, 2020
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Tatsuya Tanaka, shared with permission
      In the time of COVID-19, disposable face masks, toilet paper, and other essentials are synonymous with safety, precaution, and staying indoors. But in Tatsuya Tanaka’s ongoing Miniature Calendar series, the everyday items are subverted to create the tiny sets of outdoor adventures. A folded mask serves as a small tent, toilet paper descends from a wall holder as a snowy ski hill, and a thermometer outfitted with wheels transforms into a speedy racecar. For more of the miniature scenes from the Japanese artist and photographer (previously), head to Instagram, where he publishes a new piece daily. (via Lustik)

      #COVID-19
      #masks
      #miniature
      #paper
      #sports
      #swimming

      Do 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, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

       
      Share this story
        More