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Wondrous and Mischievous Misfits Populate Rhea Mack’s Bubblegum Daydreams
by Aurelia Butler 4 April 2025, 20:40
All images courtesy of Rhea Mack, shared with permission
Wondrous and Mischievous Misfits Populate Rhea Mack’s Bubblegum Daydreams
April 4, 2025
ArtIllustration
Grace Ebert
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On candy-colored paper, Rhea Mack draws a world in which all misfits are welcome. The Massachusetts-based artist lovingly renders curious characters with three heads, flowers growing from their palms, or a penchant for plump, strawberry hats.
Mack has a soft spot for these strange oddballs who develop organically, often springing from her Sunday morning sessions seemingly on their own accord. “I usually start drawing, and they just kind of develop over a few hours. I sometimes have a certain feeling or pose in mind, but mostly I am just making it up as I go,” she says.
This intuitive, accommodating attitude influences much of her process, including the decision to draw on pink paper simply “because it made sense,” she says. Mack chooses other materials similarly. “The colored pencil pinks I use in my drawings are very buttery and just feel nice to draw with,” she adds.
As if emerging from a favorite fairytale—creating a children’s book is on Mack’s mind—the drawings twist common plants and animals like dogs and daisies into surreal fantasies. Each is packed with small moments of intrigue and playful patterns like stripes and dots.
In one work, for example, a full human skeleton and dozens of single eyes float from a figure’s gaze, while a pink pup leaps overhead. Another features a quintet bound by a rainbow dress, their bulbous, beige coifs fused together like the clouds above.
Mack’s solo exhibition Massachusetts Dreaming opens next week at Kyst Gallery in Dragor, Denmark, and is on view through May 8. Find prints in her shop, and follow her work on Instagram. (via WePresent)
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In Mythic Paintings, Anna Ortiz Conjures the Uncanny of the Borderlands
by Aurelia Butler 3 April 2025, 19:02
“Sayula” (2025), oil on canvas, 30 x 34 inches. All images courtesy of Anna Ortiz, shared with permission
In Mythic Paintings, Anna Ortiz Conjures the Uncanny of the Borderlands
April 3, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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For Anna Ortiz, the borderlands are a rich source for the uncanny. The Mexican-American artist (previously) was raised in Worcester, Massachusetts, but visited her family in Guadalajara often. There, she was immersed in her ancestral landscape and introduced to her family’s history as artists—her grandfather painted portraits, while her aunt was a professional sculptor.
These formative experiences offered a contrast to her life in the Northeast and the dichotomous relationship between the two continues to influence her thinking and practice today.
“Al Otro Lado de Texcoco” (2025), oil on canvas, 48 x 72 inches
For her upcoming solo exhibition at Mindy Solomon Gallery, Ortiz conjures a surreal borderland that suspends time. Awash in saturated color palettes of pink, blue, and green, the paintings in Prophecy Here and Gone reference Aztec histories and how their influence continues to shape the landscape.
In the diptych “Al Otro Lado de Texcoco,” for example, a gleaming lake peeks through dense clusters of cacti. Nested at the base of the volcano La Malinche, the body of water greeted the Aztecs when they moved to what’s now known as Mexico City. When the Spanish arrived, they drained the lake in a failed attempt to farm the land.
Ortiz tells Colossal that she frequently paints pairs as a way to consider unfulfilled destinies and paths not chosen. Twin agaves appear in “Pareja,” while “Tula” depicts a couple of totemic sculptures that appear to be standing guard. Flat butterflies grace their chests, a reference to the statues found at the capital of the Aztecs’ ancestors, the Toltecs. The artist similarly incorporates doubling through reflections, as a majestic jaguar is mirrored in the aquatic foregrounds of several paintings.
World-building and offering an entry point into ancient prophecies is key to this body of work. Interested in the ways civilization and the landscape interact and shape one another, Ortiz shares that “loss is a central theme…I was once very close to my Mexican heritage, and I lost it. I grew up fluent in Spanish but because of family strife, I lost that fluency.”
“Tula” (2025), oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches
Ortiz’s paintings both honor the ancient peoples and cultures that once occupied the land and present an alternative universe in which their myths and prophecies had different outcomes. Vibrant and uncanny, the works portray the “lives we were unable to live but (that) happened without us,” she adds.
Prophecy Here and Gone is on view from April 5 to May 10 in Miami. Find more from Ortiz on her website and Instagram.
“Agaves Bailando” (2024), oil on canvas, 38 x 32 inches
“Reflejada” (2025), oil on canvas, 40 x 48 inches
“Sacrificio” (2023), oil on canvas, 48 x 40 inches
“Pareja” (2025), oil on canvas, 30 x 34 inches
“Gemelos Amaranto” (2025), oil on canvas, 38 x 32 inches
“En Orbita” (2025), oil on canvas, 22 x 28 inches
“Cihuacoatl” (2025), oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches
“Nahual” (2025), oil on canvas, 38 x 32 inches
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Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian
by Aurelia Butler 3 April 2025, 14:39
“The Dreamers” (2019), acrylic on canvas, 230 x 360 centimeters. All images © Marc Padeu, courtesy of Larkin Durey, London, shared with permission
Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian
April 3, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Foregrounding vibrant patterns, swathed in bright fabrics, and illuminated by the sun, the figures in Cameroonian artist Marc Padeu’s paintings are imbued with beguiling gravitas. His large-scale works stem from a fascination with the power of narrative, connecting the Western art historical canon—especially Renaissance titans like Caravaggio—with contemporary experiences of life in Cameroon.
Padeu was trained by the church as a fresco painter. He draws on dramatic biblical stories to juxtapose momentous religious and spiritual accounts with quotidian moments that emphasize Black joy, leisure, family, and fraternity.
“Au baptême 2” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 centimeters
Through the immediacy of acrylic, Padeu renders figures in everyday yet memorable scenes, whether gathered outdoors to relax, witnessing a baptism, or solemnly coexisting amid vivid surroundings.
Many of Padeu’s paintings take inspiration from Renaissance compositions, like “La réunion syndicale,” which bears hints of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” (1495-1498) or Caravaggio’s “The Supper at Emmaus” (1601). Portrayed nearly life-size, the artist’s tableaux immerse us in rites of passage and moments of togetherness.
Find more on the artist’s Instagram.
“La réunion syndicale” (2021), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 280 centimeters
“La bague de Roxane” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 280 centimeters
“All the light on me” (2021), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 338 centimeters
“La Balançoire 2” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 230 centimeters
“Au pique-nique” (2022), acrylic on canvas, 220 x 200 centimeters
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More Than 200,000 Rivets Secure the Ultra-Thin Aluminum Facets of ‘The Orb’ by Marc Fornes
by Aurelia Butler 2 April 2025, 21:35
Photos by © Younes Bounhar / Doublespace Photography. All images © Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY, shared with permission
More Than 200,000 Rivets Secure the Ultra-Thin Aluminum Facets of ‘The Orb’ by Marc Fornes
April 2, 2025
ArtDesign
Kate Mothes
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From geometric, white panels riveted together into an undulating sphere, Marc Fornes / THEVERYMANY’s newest public installation invites visitors to immerse themselves in a luminous experience on Google’s Charleston East Campus in California.
Designed as a physical embodiment of innovation and creativity, “The Orb” invites us into a 10-meter-tall, 26-meter-wide labyrinthine form made of ultra-thin aluminum. “Edged yet edgeless, surfaces curve, branch, split, rejoin, and split again,” the studio (previously) says. “This extreme curvature—achieved through cutting-edge computational design—enables the surfaces to be entirely self-supporting despite being just three millimeters thick.”
“The Orb” comprises 6,441 individual components connected with more than 217,000 rivets. During the day, a pattern of holes speckles sunlight across the pavilion and onto the ground. At night, the structure is illuminated, casting deep shadows that contrast the bright details.
Fornes’ mission, hybridizing elements of art and architecture, is to spark “the joy wandering, the joy of marveling.”
Find more on THEVERYMANY website.
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Daniel Martin Diaz Encodes Cosmic Questions into Geometric Paintings and Prints
by Aurelia Butler 2 April 2025, 17:00
“Celestial Harmonics.” All images courtesy of Daniel Martin Diaz, shared with permission
Daniel Martin Diaz Encodes Cosmic Questions into Geometric Paintings and Prints
April 2, 2025
ArtIllustration
Kate Mothes
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In his ongoing “quest to articulate the ineffable,” Arizona-based artist Daniel Martin Diaz (previously) creates large-scale works that merge metaphysical, scientific, and technological phenomena into vibrant geometric compositions.
Diaz’s current solo exhibition, UNIVERSAL CODES at the Everhart Museum of Natural History, Science, and Art, presents recent work drawing on a wide range of influences, from Mexican religious iconography and arcane religious sigils to Early Netherlandish painters and Gothic decorative motifs.
“Cross Species Interface”
Diaz’s work often investigates concepts of death and religion “as he seeks to pose questions but not answer them,” says an exhibition statement. Juxtaposing esoteric symbols and messages with scientific diagrams and spiritual iconography, the artist explores the surreality of cosmic forces.
UNIVERSAL CODES continues through April 27 in Scranton, Pennsylvania. Find more on Diaz’s Instagram, and peruse a range of prints, apparel, and home accessories in his shop.
“Temporal Soul”
“Chrono”
“Beyond the Self”
“Astral Projection”
“Conscious Universe”
“Codex”
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Otherworldly Flowers Emerge from Darkness in Clara Lacy’s Meticulous Graphite Drawings
by Aurelia Butler 1 April 2025, 19:55
“Hypnos.” All images courtesy of Clara Lacy, shared with permission
Otherworldly Flowers Emerge from Darkness in Clara Lacy’s Meticulous Graphite Drawings
April 1, 2025
ArtNature
Kate Mothes
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Nature has always been a subject of fascination for Clara Lacy, who roamed the fields and streams around her home in Hampshire when she was young, spurring an interest in studying biology. Art also emerged as a way for her to channel her interest in animals and plants, tapping into the long-held tradition of artists documenting flora and fauna for science.
As she moved around to different parts of the world, with stints in Hong Kong and Sydney before returning to the U.K., Lacy absorbed each place’s variations in botanical life, weather, and light, inspiring a body of work that reflects on climate change, species loss, and “the need to find balance between humans and nature,” she says.
“Thanatos”
The World Has Dropped Its Petals is a series of elaborately detailed graphite drawings illuminating the world of flowers. In heavily contrasted grayscale, the blooms are devoid of the bright colors we typically associate with their petals and foliage, instead highlighted by an array of textures and naturally occurring patterns.
“I’ve always been drawn to monotone work for its subtle tonal variations, offering a contrast to the bombardment of colour and light around us, all vying for our attention,” Lacy tells Colossal. She was drawn to graphite because its limited palette helps the subject to stand out through contrasts like delicate lines or deep blacks. She’s also interested in how graphite is often overlooked in fine art, classified typically as a sketching material rather than a standalone medium.
Lacy titles her pieces after characters in Greek myth like Thanatos, the personification of death, and twin brothers Nyx (Night) and Hypnos (Sleep). She uses her own photos for reference, collaging and layering components in Photoshop until she finds an overall composition that resonates. The World Has Dropped Its Petals draws inspiration from stills lifes of the Dutch Golden Age, too, characterized by dark backgrounds from which flowers or fruit appear to pop in brilliance.
The series is on view through April 13 at James Gorst Architects in London. Lacy has also started working on a new project exploring time and aging, which emphasizes zoomed-in views of flower fragments. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Heimarmene”
“Helios”
“Nephele”
“Selene”
“Elpis”
“Nyx”
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Filled with ‘Half-Pots,’ Adam Ledford’s Life-Size Room Drawings Reflect Timeless Routines
by Aurelia Butler 1 April 2025, 14:50
Detail of “Don’t Worry About the Government.” All images courtesy of Adam Ledford, shared with permission
Filled with ‘Half-Pots,’ Adam Ledford’s Life-Size Room Drawings Reflect Timeless Routines
April 1, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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In Harold and the Purple Crayon, the young protagonist composes a fantasy reality using the deceptively simple power of line. Harold manifests numerous adventures with a single writing instrument, drawing himself into ever more exciting capers. For artist Adam Ledford, Crockett Johnson’s iconic 1955 children’s book provides one reference point for his approach to large-scale installations.
Ledford dots life-size line drawings of domestic spaces with “half pots,” or reliefs of ceramic vessels, which reflect how everyday objects represent individuals’ values, experiences, and projection of identity. Canisters of coffee or cleaning solutions detail vintage packaging design, while other items like cooking utensils or decorative objects highlight personal taste and daily routines.
Detail of “Don’t Worry About the Government”
“I am the person visiting your house, who is eyeing up all the tchotchkes, asking about your tea kettle, and picking up and looking at the bottom of your tableware,” Ledford tells Colossal. He credits his love for pottery for providing the lens through which he also learned America’s historical timeline, describing how “the objects help set a mental stage for the abstract process of thinking about the past.”
In Ledford’s expansive installations, which range from multiple walls to single architectural features, black-and-white outlines represent kitchen cabinets, countertops, or fireplaces—locations where containers and vessels are collected, stored, or displayed. “Theater,” for example, is a replica of his own kitchen. The artist says, “The drawn environments are a stage setting for the objects to play and star.”
Ledford’s work is currently on view in Dinner Table, on view through May 29 at The Delaware Contemporary in Wilmington. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram. You might also enjoy the hand-drawn installations of Anastasia Parmson and Shantell Martin.
“Theater”
Detail of “Theater”
Detail of “Theater”
“Don’t Worry About the Government”
Detail of “Don’t Worry About the Government”
“A Room with a View”
Detail of “A Room with a View”
Detail of “Don’t Worry About the Government”
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When Banksy Came to Red Hook and Made His Mark
by Evelyn Reynolds 1 April 2025, 09:04
A chunk of wall that bears the work of the graffiti artist will go on display in Manhattan this month.Good morning. It’s Tuesday. Today we’ll find out about what happened to a 7,500-pound chunk of a wall with a Banksy installation from 2013. We’ll also get details on a request from Mayor Eric Adams’s lawyer for a federal judge to hurry a decision on whether to drop corruption charges against the mayor.Guernsey’sA dark-colored van parked down the block from Vassilios Georgiadis’s nondescript warehouse in Red Hook, Brooklyn, one evening in 2013. Georgiadis, a roofing and asbestos abatement contractor, noticed it because he was standing outside, smoking.He told the man who got out of the van that it was not a good idea to leave it in that spot. Tractor-trailers turning the corner too fast could clip the car, Georgiadis said.The man said he would not be there long. He said something about how he just wanted to run to a convenience store nearby for cigarettes and coffee. Georgiadis told him to pull into an empty space in the driveway outside the warehouse. The man did and headed off. The van was still there when Georgiadis left a little while later.Georgiadis worked at home the next day, and then took some paperwork to his son Anastasios, who spent the day on a roofing job on Staten Island, ignoring calls from his mother.We are having trouble retrieving the article content.Please enable JavaScript in your browser settings.Thank you for your patience while we verify access. If you are in Reader mode please exit and log into your Times account, or subscribe for all of The Times.Thank you for your patience while we verify access.Already a subscriber? Log in.Want all of The Times? Subscribe. More

Art

More stories

Wondrous and Mischievous Misfits Populate Rhea Mack’s Bubblegum Daydreams

In Mythic Paintings, Anna Ortiz Conjures the Uncanny of the Borderlands

Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian

More Than 200,000 Rivets Secure the Ultra-Thin Aluminum Facets of ‘The Orb’ by Marc Fornes

Daniel Martin Diaz Encodes Cosmic Questions into Geometric Paintings and Prints

Otherworldly Flowers Emerge from Darkness in Clara Lacy’s Meticulous Graphite Drawings

Filled with ‘Half-Pots,’ Adam Ledford’s Life-Size Room Drawings Reflect Timeless Routines

When Banksy Came to Red Hook and Made His Mark

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