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In Paintings and Quilts, Stephen Towns Spotlights Black Leisure in the Jim Crow South
by Aurelia Butler 2 January 2025, 13:30
“Looking for Lorraine” (2024), natural and
synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Rockwell Museum, shared with permission
In Paintings and Quilts, Stephen Towns Spotlights Black Leisure in the Jim Crow South
January 2, 2025
ArtHistorySocial Issues
Kate Mothes
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In central Florida, Ocala National Forest is dotted with more than 600 lakes and rivers. A nearby recreation hub, Silver Springs, has capitalized on the tourism potential of these glistening, clear bodies of water for decades, offering sandy riverside beaches and taking visitors on jaunts in glass-bottom boats.
Until 1968 and the passing of the Civil Rights Act, Silver Springs—similar to many other places in Florida and the South more broadly—was racially segregated and only open to white patrons. In 1949, the owners of Silver Springs opened Paradise Park a mile down the road as a destination “for colored people,” as the welcome sign read, who were prohibited from the other resort.
“Swimming Lessons” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches
Paradise Park was one of three beaches in Florida open to Black visitors during this time and also offered sandy beaches, rides in glass-bottom boats, a petting zoo, a dance pavilion with a jukebox, performances, games, and a softball field. It remained in operation until 1969, shortly after desegregation, and became a subject of fascination for photographer Bruce Mozert (1916-2015), who documented happenings at both recreation areas.
For artist Stephen Towns, Mozert’s images and the history of Paradise Park provide the foundation for Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation, now on view at the Rockwell Museum. Through paintings and quilted compositions, the artist explores how certain parks could be places of refuge and leisure for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.
“Black people had to set up their own spaces in order to find recreation and to find peace,” Towns says in a video accompanying the exhibition. “This show is a way of illuminating that. It gives people a sort of way into history that’s not as scary as it can be in other forms.”
Towns’ paintings portray groups of children swimming, sunbathing, and playing on the sandy shoreline. His fabric compositions are imagined scenes of respite and togetherness, which come across as disarming and candid.
“Motown in Motion” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inches
“Motown in Motion,” for example, depicts a group of young people gathered on the beach, and “I Will Follow You My Dear” trails two women swimming underwater—another nod to Mozert’s work as a pioneer in underwater photography.
The figures in Towns’ paintings are more posed, drawn directly from Bruce Mozert’s snapshots, depicting smiling kids at play. Towns often uses reflective materials like metal leaf that emanate light back toward the viewer, reiterating a sense of brightness. “I want people to feel that warm, reflective energy when they see the show,” he says.
Explore more on Towns’ website and Instagram, and if you’re in New York, you can see Private Paradise in Corning through January 19.
“Taking Flight” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches
“I Will Follow You My Dear” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, and shells, 55 x 72 inches
“When We Were Young” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches
“A Taste of Lemonade” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, crystal glass beads, metal and resin buttons, 55.5 x 68 inches
Photograph of visitors at Paradise Park by Bruce Mozert
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Community, Traditions, and Resilience Ring Through New Public Works for Tbilisi Mural Fest
by Aurelia Butler 31 December 2024, 13:28
Community, Traditions, and Resilience Ring Through New Public Works for Tbilisi Mural Fest
December 31, 2024
Art
Kate Mothes
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Residents and commuters alike can now enjoy more than 20 new, large-scale public artworks across five Georgian cities thanks to the 2024 Tbilisi Mural Fest (previously). The sixth edition facilitated new installations in Kutaisi, Batumi, Gori, and Gurjaani—in addition to its namesake community—by nearly a dozen artists from around the country and beyond.
Many of the works reference local traditions, like Afzan Pirzade’s depiction of vintners holding a basket of grapes, representing a form of agriculture common in the eastern region of Kakheti. Tina Chertova incorporated a traditional lace-like pattern into a stunning, blue, multistory mural featuring birds, people, deer, and other decorative motifs. And in others, figures assume mythical personas, prepare food, and portray togetherness.
This year, the monumental compositions adorn the sides of buildings that range from two stories tall to more than a dozen, the largest painting reaching 65 meters tall and 20 meters wide. Through vibrant splashes of color, the works celebrate resilience, community, and local customs in an array of styles.
Explore more on the festival’s website.
Innefields, Batumi
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Beams of Light Lance Monumental Architecture in Jun Ong’s Astral Installations
by Aurelia Butler 30 December 2024, 15:57
“STAR/BUTTERWORTH.” Photo by Ronaldas Buozis. All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission
Beams of Light Lance Monumental Architecture in Jun Ong’s Astral Installations
December 30, 2024
ArtDesign
Kate Mothes
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In artist Jun Ong’s luminous installations, rays of light pierce through concrete, stone, and steel. In his ongoing Stars series features LED strips that intersect with the human-built environment in monumental, illuminated geometries.
Ong’s latest piece, “HALO,” relies on an existing architectural structure to provide a site-specific framework. Beams of light appear to permeate stone and concrete, simultaneously contained by the buildings yet impervious to their solidity.
“HALO.” Photo by YueJin Art Museum
Exploring themes of time and space, “HALO” radiates from within the Xiu De Bai Pavilion, a former Buddhist temple in Yan Shui, Tainan, Taiwan. “Built in 1919, the temple has history tracing back to the Qing dynasty and was pivotal in supporting the community,” Ong says.
“Light in Buddhism is an important metaphor for enlightenment—the awakening or the understanding of truth,” says a statement from YueJin Art Museum. Just as Buddha, in addition to sacred figures in other religions, is often portrayed with a bright aura or halo around the head or body, Ong envisions the burst of light as a means of illuminating our surroundings and our past.
“HALO” builds upon a work titled “STAR/BUTTERWORTH,” which he installed in Penang, Malaysia, in 2015. The artist was inspired by the idiosyncratic designs of Buckminster Fuller, like his geodesic domes, and M.C. Escher’s optical illusions.
He says, “Using only two materials—tensile steel cables and LED strips—I manipulated light and architecture to create a colossal object that seemingly burst out of the building like a glitch in time.”
Detail of “HALO”
For “HALO,” Ong created a starburst form that can also be interpreted as a ring of light, reimagining a 2022 piece called “STAR/KL,” which he installed in brutalist interior in Kuala Lumpur. “I hope that the Star series continues to emerge across different cities and cultures and possibly also in interesting terrains, like caves, the desert, or even forests,” Ong says.
Commissioned by for the 2024 Yuejin Art Museum Festival, “HALO” remains on view through February 16. If you’re in The Netherlands, you can also see Ong’s piece “POLARIS” on view as part of the Amsterdam Light Festival through January 19. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Detail of “STAR/BUTTERWORTH.” Photo by Ronaldas Buozis
“POLARIS”
Detail of “HALO”
“HALO.” Photo by YueJin Art Museum
“POLARIS.” Photo by Merce Wouthuysen
Detail of “STAR/BUTTERWORTH.” Photo by Ronaldas Buozis
Detail of “HALO.” Photo by YueJin Art Museum
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Sonya Kelliher-Combs Merges Collective Knowledge and Native Alaskan Heritage in Mixed Media
by Aurelia Butler 26 December 2024, 15:49
“Goodbye” (2018), installation from Anchorage Museum’s Collection. All images courtesy of the artist and Hirmer Verlag, shared with permission
Sonya Kelliher-Combs Merges Collective Knowledge and Native Alaskan Heritage in Mixed Media
December 26, 2024
ArtBooksHistorySocial Issues
Kate Mothes
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Raised in the Alaska community of Nome, which sits on the coast of the Bering Sea, Sonya Kelliher-Combs traces her family lineage to the northernmost reaches in Utqiaġvik and the central inland city of Nulato. Now based in Anchorage, her Iñupiaq and Athabascan ancestry, cultural heritage, and relationship to the land constitute the nucleus around which her multidisciplinary work revolves.
Growing up in a rural community, Kelliher-Combs observed and learned “time-honored traditional women’s and collective labor—skin sewing, beading, and food preparation—that taught her to appreciate the intimacy of intergenerational knowledge and material histories,” says an artist statement in the foreword of the artist’s new monograph, Mark.
“Credible Small Secrets” (2021-present), sculpture, printed fabric, human hair, nylon thread, glass beed, and steel pen, variable dimensions. Photo by Chris Arend
Published by Hirmer Verlag, the volume explores the breadth of Kelliher-Combs’s practice, from paintings, sculptures, and installations to her curatorial and community advocacy work.
Drawing on the materials and symbolism of ancestral, Indigenous knowledge, Kelliher-Combs addresses what she describes as “the ongoing struggle for self-definition and identity in the Alaskan context,” delving into history, culture, family, and long-held customs.
The works “also speak of abuse, marginalization, and the historical and contemporary struggles of Indigenous peoples in the North and worldwide,” her statement continues. In “Goodbye,” for example, 52 gloves and mittens are gathered together as if waving a collective farewell.
The poignant installation aimed to open the dialogue about the sensitive subject of suicide, the rate of which at the time Kelliher-Combs made the piece was nearly 52 Native Alaskans per 100,000—more than triple the age-adjusted rate among Americans in general. The mitts were all handmade and lent by local community members.
“A Million Tears” (2021), painting and mixed media, variable dimensions. Photo by Chris Arend
Through delicate, tactile sculptures and atmospheric paintings, the artist venerates ancient ancestral practices, like animal hide preparation, while exploring the way contemporary materials like plastic and fossil fuels are transforming the landscape. She often incorporates maps, thread, beads, hair, and fabric.
Kelliher-Combs also combines organic and synthetic materials, merging the traditional with the new; the local with the imported. She describes how she pushes “beyond the binary divisions of Western and Indigenous cultures, self and other, and man and nature, to examine the interrelationships and interdependence of these concepts.”
See more of the artist’s work on her website, and find your copy of Mark on Bookshop.
“Credible II” (2022), painting installation, mixed media. Photo by Chris Arend
“Credible, Fairbanks” (2019), painting, mixed media, 16 x 16 inches. Photo by Minus Space, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado
“Credible Small Secrets”
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Nicholas Galanin Hews Visions of the Present From Indigenous Knowledge, Land, and Memory
by Aurelia Butler 24 December 2024, 10:03
“Never Forget” (2021), steel and paint, 59 feet 4 inches x 360 feet 7 inches. Photo by Lance Gerber. All images courtesy of the artist and Peter Blum Gallery, New York, shared with permission
Nicholas Galanin Hews Visions of the Present From Indigenous Knowledge, Land, and Memory
December 24, 2024
ArtHistorySocial Issues
Kate Mothes
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Between 1869 and the 1960s in the U.S., thousands of Indigenous children attended at least 523 boarding schools, supported by the government and church groups that were fueled by the grim motto, “Kill the Indian, Save the Man.”
Children were sent hundreds, if not thousands, of miles from their families and tribal communities, suffering horrific abuse, and in many cases, dying as a result. Federal agents often abducted minors, who were sent to school and punished severely if they spoke their Native languages. By 1926, nearly 83 percent of Indigenous school-age children were enrolled.
“Loom” (2022), prefab children’s school desks and chairs with graphite and pencil carving
100 x 83 x 54 inches. Photo by Jason Wyche. Image courtesy of the artist; Peter Blum Gallery, New York; and the Gochman Family Collection
The National Native American Boarding School Healing Coalition explains that the purpose of the schools was “expressly intended to implement cultural genocide through the removal and reprogramming of American Indian and Alaska Native children to accomplish the systematic destruction of Native cultures and communities.”
In October, the U.S. government issued a formal apology for its role in the boarding schools, yet efforts will long continue to fully understand, process, and begin to heal the trauma.
For Tlingit-Unangax̂ artist Nicholas Galanin, looking to the past is fundamental to constructing a more nuanced perception of the present. His multidisciplinary practice “aims to redress the widespread misappropriation of Indigenous visual culture, the impact of colonialism, as well as collective amnesia,” says a statement from Peter Blum Gallery, which represents the artist and is currently showing Galanin’s solo exhibition, The persistence of Land claims in a climate of change.
“We can sharpen our vision of the present with cultural knowledge and memory,” Galanin says. “These works embody cultural memory and practice, reflecting persistence, sacrifice, violence, refusal, endurance, and resistance.”
“White Flag” (2022), trimmed polar bear rug and wood, polar bear: 50 x 78 inches; wood: 10 1/2 x 6 1/4 inches. Image courtesy of the artist; Peter Blum Gallery, New York; and Gochman
Family Collection. Photo by Jason Wyche
Based in Sitka, Alaska, Galanin often incorporates traditional Tlingit and Unangax̂ art forms into contemporary sculptures and installations. “The Imaginary Indian (Garden),” for example, takes as its starting point a totem pole, a customarily towering representation of animals hewn from a single tree that is deeply imbued with spiritual and social significance.
In “3D Consumption Illustration,” Galanin comments on a lack of respect for the art form by cutting up a single totem figure like firewood, as if it’s disposable or merely decorative. In “Loom,” he stacks a series of ready-made children’s desks into a winged, totem pole-like tower to memorialize the children who suffered in residential schools.
Galanin’s often provocative work emphasizes the inherent power of symbols and associations. A polar bear pelt stands in for fabric in “White Flag,” a nod to a symbol for surrender, which draws attention to the increasingly stark effects of the climate crisis on the arctic and on Native peoples’ way of life.
In Miami earlier this month, masts and rigging emerged from the sand as if a Spanish galleon had been buried beneath the beach. The sails boldly asked in both English and Spanish: “What are we going to give up to burn the sails of empire?” and “What are we going to build for our collective liberation?”
“The Imaginary Indian (Garden)” (2024), Indonesian replica of a Lingít totem with Victorian wallpaper, installation dimensions variable; totem: 81 1/4 x 69 3/4 x 17 3/4 inches. Photo by Jason Wyche
The installation, titled “Seletega (run, see if people are coming/corre a ver si viene gente),” tapped into the European colonization of North America and its aim of extracting wealth, establishing cities and commerce, and expanding westward at the dire expense of Indigenous peoples.
In The persistence of Land claims in a climate of change, Galanin continues to highlight the “Indigenous cultural continuum,” says a gallery statement, defying cultural erasure and refusing the legitimacy of colonial occupation. “Galanin reflects on the distance between peace and justice by centering the enduring Indigenous protection of Land in the face of expansive extraction.”
Through photography, monotypes, and sculptural works in ceramic, bronze, and wood, the artist reflects on systems of racial oppression and disenfranchisement, Indigenous knowledge and responsibility, and the importance of collectivity and connection as we proceed into the future.
Galanin is the recipient of a slew of prestigious awards recently, including a Joan Mitchell Fellowship in 2023 and both the Guggenheim Fellowship and Don Tyson Prize this year. See more of his work on Instagram, and if you’re in New York, visit The persistence of Land claims in a climate of change until January 18.
“Seletega” (2024), site specific commission,
dimensions variable. Photo by Oriol Tarridas. Image courtesy of the artist and Faena Art
“Neon American Anthem (red)” (2023), neon installation, 7 x 16 feet. Photo by Brad Tone
“The Value of Sharpness: When it Falls” (2019), 60 porcelain hatchets, 13 1/4 x 5 x 1 inches each; installation variable. Photo by Thomas Mccarty. Image courtesy of the artist; Peter Blum
Gallery, New York; and the Gochman Family Collection
Detail of “The Value of Sharpness: When it Falls”
“The American Dream is Alie and Well” (2012), U.S. flag, felt, .50 cal ammunition, foam, gold leaf and plastic, 84 x 84 x 9 inches. Photo by Jason Wyche. Image courtesy of the artist; Peter Blum Gallery, New York; and Sheldon Museum of Art, Nebraska
Detail of “The Imaginary Indian (Garden)”
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A Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnson’s Mixed-Media Houses
by Aurelia Butler 23 December 2024, 17:57
All images courtesy of Margot Samel, shared with permission
A Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnson’s Mixed-Media Houses
December 23, 2024
Art
Kate Mothes
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From collaged and painted found materials merged with elements of photography and ceramics, Leroy Johnson (1937-2022) created an eclectic vision of life in his hometown of Philadelphia. Through layered, multi-dimensional portraits of houses, the artist represents loci of family life and community in conceptual assemblages that also confront racism, poverty, and gentrification.
In the first exhibition of his work in New York City, Margot Samel presents Leroy Johnson, a collection of the artist’s house sculptures made “with a documentarian’s eye but a poet’s gaze,” says a gallery statement. His pieces capture a city in transition, peering into its past to underscore the myriad experiences of its present.
“Spirit House” (c. 2005–2010) mixed media, found object, and collage, 19 1/4 x 20 x 13 1/2 inches
Through his occupations as a social worker, teacher of disabled youth, rehab counselor, and school administrator, Johnson “surveyed the pleasures, hardships, and contradictions within the Philadelphia neighborhoods where he spent his life,” Margot Samel says, and he “pierced the fabric of collective human experience more deeply than most.”
Johnson’s abstract, mixed-media houses often feature photographs of people and gatherings, graffiti and text, and swishes of paint or residual imagery from found objects. The gallery adds, “As an African American artist who witnessed the civil rights movement and the impact of racist policies on communities he loved, Johnson took particular pleasure in depicting the richness of Black life.”
Leroy Johnson runs from January 10 to February 9 in New York. Learn more and plan your visit on the gallery’s website.
“You Been Had” (c. 2000–2005), mixed media, found object, and collage, 17 x 16 1/2 x 8 inches
“Heart of Darkness” (c. 1995–2000), mixed media, found object, and collage, 13 x 11 x 6 inches
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Rice Straw Sculptures by ARKO Contemporize a Traditional Japanese Material
by Aurelia Butler 23 December 2024, 12:57
All images courtesy of the artist and Somewhere Tokyo, shared with permission
Rice Straw Sculptures by ARKO Contemporize a Traditional Japanese Material
December 23, 2024
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Rice harvests produce straw, a natural byproduct of the dried grain. Traditionally, the material could be used for a wide variety of objects from tatami mats to food wrappers to carrier bags. Many of those products are now made using synthetic materials, and rice straw is more often used for ceremonial or sacred decorations like Shinto shimenawa festoons, which are installed around the New Year and can range from a few centimeters to several meters long.
For Tokyo-based artist ARKO, rice straw finds a contemporary application in elegant wall hangings. “I started thinking that it should be something new, apart from the old traditions, given that there must be a reason why straw vanished from our life,” she says.
Interested in the organic nature of the medium, ARKO embraces how environmental changes can influence the look of the work as a reminder that the fiber originated from the ground. Sometimes moisture in the air makes the pieces feel heavy or the straw will emit a scent. Most of the time she maintains the natural color of the thin stalks, occasionally dying layers black or using contrasting string to hold the composition together.
“In modern times, straw has been replaced by artificial materials and is manufactured with the premise of environmental pollution. (It) is mass-produced and discarded in large quantities,” ARKO says. Although she doesn’t prescribe a ritual meaning to the work, the sculptures evoke “the laws of nature and the great power of life that are often overlooked in modern society where economy takes priority.”
ARKO is represented by Somewhere Tokyo, and you can find more work on her website and Instagram.
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Through Gestural Oil Paintings, Maria Calandra Guides Her Stream of Consciousness Onto Canvas
by Aurelia Butler 21 December 2024, 12:00
Images courtesy of Courtesy of Fredericks & Freiser, NY, shared with permission
Through Gestural Oil Paintings, Maria Calandra Guides Her Stream of Consciousness Onto Canvas
December 21, 2024
ArtNature
Jackie Andres
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While traditional plein air painters capture their surroundings while outdoors, artist Maria Calandra takes a different approach. By roaming the coastal headlands of Maine, exploring the waters of Florida, and venturing out to the rolling fields of Southern France, Calandra finds inspiration in nature for her dynamic oil landscapes.
The artist’s Brooklyn studio is laden with energy after she returns from such invigorating excursions. “I paint while reflecting on that moment during a hike when you start to feel Earth’s vibrations pulse through your feet and up your spine, letting memory, intuition, and those leftover vibrations take the reins,” she describes.
Calandra’s painting style mimics this intensity as she translates a stream of consciousness through fluid brushstrokes and oscillating organic forms. Instinct guides the artist, who describes the act as “automatic painting.”
This January, the artist will be in a group show at Half Gallery in New York followed by a solo show in June at the gallery’s Los Angeles location. Find more on Calandra’s website and follow along on Instagram.
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More stories

Community, Traditions, and Resilience Ring Through New Public Works for Tbilisi Mural Fest

Beams of Light Lance Monumental Architecture in Jun Ong’s Astral Installations

A Changing Community and Lived Experiences Converge in Leroy Johnson’s Mixed-Media Houses

Rice Straw Sculptures by ARKO Contemporize a Traditional Japanese Material

Through Gestural Oil Paintings, Maria Calandra Guides Her Stream of Consciousness Onto Canvas

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