Art Archivi ~ Page 8 of 283 ~ art-news.space - All about the world of art and culture!

More stories

125 Shares119 Views
in Art
Acrobatic Poses in Monumental Murals by Artez Invigorate Urban Buildings
by Aurelia Butler 4 August 2025, 17:14
“Dancer” (2024), Bourgoin-Jallieu, France. All images courtesy of Artez, shared with permission
Acrobatic Poses in Monumental Murals by Artez Invigorate Urban Buildings
August 4, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
With acrobatic finesse, the figures in Artez’s large-scale murals interpret the boundaries of the walls themselves through contemporary dance and moments of repose.
Currently working on an ongoing series titled Simple Acrobatics, the artist explains that he aims to “break away from the conventional approach of depicting the human figure on a mural and offer a fresh perspective on how the human form can be portrayed in public spaces.” Dancers fill the sides of buildings, sometimes using a chair as a prop, stretching around the confines of the wall as if challenging its boundaries.
“Simple Acrobatics” (2025), Wuppertal, Germany
Another recent theme, Thirst, portrays people drinking from vases of flowers. The unusual gesture nods to a sense of awareness, inviting viewers to consider society—its conventions and expectations—and contemplate the world around them anew.
Artez is currently in Gothenburg, Sweden, working on a new Simple Acrobatics mural. Find more on Instagram.
Patras (2024). Photo by KLE
“Thirst (Milena)” (2024), Aalborg, Denmark
Cerzeto, Italy (2024)
“Simple Acrobatics” (2024), Bristol, U.K.
“Simple Acrobatics” (2024), Boulogne Sur Mer, France
“Sleepers” (2023), Cacak, Serbia
“Simple Acrobatics” (2024), Zagreb, Croatia
“Thirst For Nature “(2024), Belgrade, Serbia
“Simple Acrobatics” (2024), Cheltenham, U.K.
“Moving Residents” (2023), Deventer, The Netherlands
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Next article More
150 Shares129 Views
in Art
Christina Bothwell Taps into Dream Worlds in Surreal Glass and Ceramic Sculptures
by Aurelia Butler 4 August 2025, 15:10
All images courtesy of Christina Bothwell and Heller Gallery, shared with permission
Christina Bothwell Taps into Dream Worlds in Surreal Glass and Ceramic Sculptures
August 4, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
Youthful and mysterious figures emerge from glass and ceramic in the uncanny sculptures of Christina Bothwell (previously). Animals and children form the artist’s primary focus, often embellished with painted florals, nestled in shells, or encapsulated within bird cages. Her husband and collaborator, Robert Bender, often adds wood elements like deer antlers or spider-esque legs. Tender and also occasionally unsettling, the pieces hint at the surreal stuff of dreams, memories, and the spirit world.
Bothwell’s solo exhibition, Screen Memories, just opened at UrbanGlass’s Robert Lehman Gallery. Presented by Heller Gallery, the show brings together a wide selection of new and recent pieces and continues through September 12 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Previous articleNext article More
125 Shares169 Views
in Art
Kirsty Elson’s Spirited Creatures Breathe New Life into Weathered Driftwood
by Aurelia Butler 1 August 2025, 18:46
All images courtesy of Kirsty Elson, shared with permission
Kirsty Elson’s Spirited Creatures Breathe New Life into Weathered Driftwood
August 1, 2025
ArtCraft
Grace Ebert
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
Wander into Kirsty Elson’s Cornwall studio, and you’ll likely greet a menagerie of creatures alongside scraps of driftwood and rusted bits of metal. Scouring local beaches and embankments, the artist (previously) has an impeccable ability to envision a piglet’s ear or a dog’s snout from a weathered hunk of timber. Once in her studio, quirky characters emerge from scratched and worn materials, their lively personalities shining through the signs of age.
Elson sells some of her sculptures on her website, and you can follow her work on Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Next article More
175 Shares169 Views
in Art
An Ornate Stenciled Rug by Mateo Complements a Cultural Center’s Communal Rooftop in Dakar
by Aurelia Butler 1 August 2025, 13:59
All images courtesy of Mateo, shared with permission
An Ornate Stenciled Rug by Mateo Complements a Cultural Center’s Communal Rooftop in Dakar
August 1, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
On the rooftop of TRAMES, an artistic and cultural center in Dakar, Senegal, a vibrant new installation by Mateo creates a welcoming atmosphere above the hustle and bustle of the city. Using paint and stencils, the artist incorporated motifs familiar in Senegal culture, like traditional wrestling, bird tracks, fish, and wax fabrics.
Mateo was also inspired by teraanga, a word in the Wolof language that loosely translates to “hospitality” but is also characterized by a much more holistic philosophy of generosity and acceptance. For hundreds of years, teraanga has shaped communities’ openness and exchange with one another, continuing today as an integral and defining facet of the Senegalese way of life.
Mateo was invited to TRAMES for a residency, where he initially planned to paint a mural. But he was inspired by the communal rooftop space of the center and conceived instead of a large patterned carpet that evokes the teraanga ethos and celebrates Senegalese culture.
“Rather than painting a wall, I chose to work on the rooftop terrace, a vibrant space used for gatherings, celebrations, and dance rituals,” the artist says. Painting on the carpet directly onto the ground facilitated, he adds, “a symbolic, open-air space for connection and ritual.”
Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Previous articleNext article More
163 Shares109 Views
in Art
Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’
by Aurelia Butler 31 July 2025, 19:30
“Good morning, winner. Take a deep breath. Good. You’re ready to dominate this day. —
Motivational Voice,
Booksmart (2019)” (2024), acrylic and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Miles McEnery Gallery, shared with permission
Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’
July 31, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
Gabrielle Garland may not depict people in her square-format, mixed-media paintings, yet the works might as well be described as portraits. From mailboxes and landscape choices to colorful stoops and glowing interior lights, her vibrant depictions of houses seem to come alive with saturated color and almost palpable feeling.
Distorted, even cartoonish, Garland’s homes portray a range of American vernacular styles, from ranches to bungalows to Queen Annes. Often, neighborhood happenings enter the scene, like the shoulder of an adjacent house, power lines, trees, or planes flying overhead.
“Remember, you’re the one who can fill the world with sunshine. — Snow White, Snow White and the Seven Dwarfs (1937)” (2024), acrylic and oil on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
A new solo exhibition of Garland’s work opens at Miles McEnery Gallery next month, titled I’ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too. Her titles typically reference quotes from films, ranging in tone and topic as much as her homes also appear to do.
“Stairs, flower boxes, and mailboxes swell or shrink disproportionately, revealing the distortions of the artist’s memory (that murky area where structural logic intermingles with emotional noise),” says a gallery statement. Whether depicted at night, during fireworks displays, in a storm, or in the blazing sun, the details of each house converge with out-of-context sentiments from movies that draw us into their unique characteristics and quirks while also affording a playful insight into the artist’s frame of mind.
Garland takes inspiration from everyday observations around her home in New York and beyond. She often works from her own photographs, sometimes using found images. “My body of work might be interpreted as an investigation of the physical fabric of society,” Garland told Dovetail. “I believe it documents the constantly shifting balance between our desire for independence and interconnection, between the comfort and familiarity we seek and the strangely disorienting spaces we create.”
I’ll Get You, My Pretty, and Your Little Dog Too opens on September 4 and continues through October 25 in New York City. Find more on Garland’s website and Instagram.
“Whoever you are, I have always depended on the kindness of strangers. —Blanche DuBois, A Streetcar Named Desire (1951)” (2025), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I’m glad he’s single because I’m going to climb that like a tree. —Megan, Bridesmaids (2011)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“We have enough. You can stop now. —Ava Fontaine, Lord of War (2005)” (2024), acrylic, molding paste, glitter, and oil on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“And… and… c’mon, Nick, what do you expect? To live happily ever after? —Elizabeth James, The Parent Trap (1998)” (2024), acrylic, oil, and glitter on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I don’t bite, you know… unless it’s called for. —Regina Lampert, Charade (1963)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I’m scared. —Christine, Before I Go to Sleep (2014)” (2025), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
“That is why every day we pray for rain. —Daena, Planet of the Apes (2001)” (2024), acrylic and glitter on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
“It’s just, living alone, you know? And, the thought of buying those books like Cooking For One, and… it’s just too depressing. —Allison Jones, Single White Female (1992)” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 48 inches
“I guess it feels different when it’s someone you love —Cassandra, Promising Young Woman (2020)” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 36 x 36 inches
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Next article More
150 Shares169 Views
in Art
Lisa Congdon Translates the Healing Power of Making from Collage to Painting
by Aurelia Butler 31 July 2025, 17:58
“Otherwise,” acrylic on wood panel framed in hemlock, 18 × 24 inches. All images courtesy of Chefas Projects, shared with permission
Lisa Congdon Translates the Healing Power of Making from Collage to Painting
July 31, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
Late last year, as she was recovering from two knee replacements, Lisa Congdon (previously) was unable to commute to her Portland studio. Typically an avid biker, the artist found the recovery process difficult both physically and emotionally, and she began to work in a sketchbook as a way to cope and create while home. Images cut and collaged with paper filled the pages and soon became the basis for a new body of work.
The Way Through, on view at Chefas Projects, presents 40 paintings that emerge from this period. Translating the distinctive scissor cuts to wood panel, Congdon captures the irregularities of the original paper pieces. “Ultimately, I recognized that the collection of collages was a sort of magic and decided to see what new work could be created based on their wonky, improvisational, pure form,” she says.
“Tangerines,” acrylic on wood framed in hemlock, 12 × 9 inches
The result is a collection of vibrant works that often feature singular objects: a blue bowl of tangerines, for example, or a thumbtack and bottle of Elmer’s glue. In each piece, Congdon transforms the mundane into a bright, colorful object of reverence and play.
In addition to the paintings, The Way Through includes a collection of limited-edition serigraphs with the artist’s signature bold style and affirmations. If you’re in Portland, stop by to see the exhibition through August 16.
“Outre,” acrylic on wood panel framed in hemlock, 24 × 18 inches
Installation view of ‘The Way Through’
Installation view of ‘The Way Through’
“Souvenirs,” acrylic on wood framed in hemlock, 20 × 16 inches
Installation view of ‘The Way Through’
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Previous articleNext article More
200 Shares159 Views
in Art
More than 70 Iconic Works by Kerry James Marshall Shape a Major Survey in the U.K.
by Aurelia Butler 31 July 2025, 14:36
“Untitled” (2009), acrylic on PVC panel, 155.3 x 185.1 centimeters. Yale University Art Gallery, Purchased with the Janet and Simeon Braguin Fund and a gift from Jacqueline L. Bradley, B.A. 1979. © Kerry James Marshall. ‘Kerry James Marshall: The Histories’ is organized by the Royal Academy of Arts, London, in collaboration with the Kunsthaus Zürich and the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris. All images courtesy of the Royal Academy of Arts, shared with permission
More than 70 Iconic Works by Kerry James Marshall Shape a Major Survey in the U.K.
July 31, 2025
ArtSocial Issues
Kate Mothes
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
Drawing upon art historical sources, contemporary culture, and comics, Kerry James Marshall vibrant paintings boldly challenge the past. Through often monumental portraits of Black figures, the Chicago-based artist (previously) delves into themes of race, identity, legacy, and representation to bridge history and the present and imagine a better future.
In the largest survey of the artist’s work ever presented outside of the U.S., the Royal Academy of Arts hosts Kerry James Marshall: The Histories. Organized in collaboration with Kunsthaus Zurich and the Musée d’Art Moderne, Paris, the exhibition opens next month and features more than 70 works that span the artist’s career thus far. The show also includes a monumental oil painting commissioned for the Chicago Public Library titled “Knowledge and Wonder,” which is on loan for the first time.
“School of Beauty, School of Culture” (2012), acrylic and glitter on unstretched canvas, 274.3 x 401.3 centimeters. Collection of the Birmingham Museum of Art, Alabama; Museum purchase with funds provided by Elizabeth (Bibby) Smith, the Collectors Circle for Contemporary Art, Jane Comer, the Sankofa Society, and general acquisition funds, 2012.57. Photo by Sean Pathasema. © Kerry James Marshall. Courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
The Histories is organized into 11 groups of works made between 1980 and the present, inviting viewers through a thematic and stylistic journey. The exhibition opens with “The Academy,” painted in 2012. A male model in a life drawing class stands in front of a patterned backdrop and looks directly at the viewer, giving the iconic raised fist of the Black Power movement.
Marshall has long been guided by his early encounters with European art in museums and books, where he recognized a stark lack of Black figures. By the 1980s, he focused on the idea of visibility, creating the seminal piece “A Portrait of the Artist as a Shadow of His Former Self,” which emphasizes his interest in confronting stereotypes.
Typically working in series or cycles, Marshall often touches upon epochal social and political paradigms of the past, like slavery and the Middle Passage, Black Power and the Civil Rights movement, and the historical omission of people of color from Western painting traditions. His works often highlight daily African American experience and elevate everyday activities and interactions, like gathering at the barber shop, making a painting, relaxing at the park, or hanging out on the porch. Marshall posits that the past can be a tool with which to hew the future.
Kerry James Marshall: The Histories opens on September 20 and continues through January 18 in London. Plan your visit on the RA’s website.
“The Academy” (2012), acrylic on PVC, 182.9 x 154.9 centimeters. Collection of Dr. Daniel S. Berger, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
“Knowledge and Wonder” (1995), oil on canvas, 294.6 x 698.5 centimeters. City of Chicago Public Art Program and the Chicago Public Library, Legler Regional Library, © Kerry James Marshall. Photo by Patrick L. Pyszka, City of Chicago
“Vignette #13” (2008), acrylic on PVC panel, 182.9 x 152.4 centimeters. Susan Manilow Collection. © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and Jack Shainman Gallery, New York
“Untitled (Policeman)” (2015), acrylic on PVC panel with plexiglass frame, 152.4 x 152.4 centimeters. The Museum of Modern Art, New York, gift of Mimi Haas in honor of Marie-Josée Kravis, 2016. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo courtesy of The Museum of Modern Art, New York/Scala, Florence
“Untitled (Porch Deck)” (2014), acrylic on PVC panel, 180.3 x 149.9 centimeters. Kravis Collection, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London
“De Style” (1993), acrylic and collage on canvas, 264.2 x 309.9 centimeters. Los Angeles County Museum of Art, purchased with funds provided by Ruth and Jacob Bloom. © Kerry James Marshall. Photo: © Museum Associates/LACMA
“Untitled (Blanket Couple)” (2014), acrylic on PVC panel, in artist’s frame, 150.2 x 242.5 centimeters. Fredriksen Family Art Collection, © Kerry James Marshall. Image courtesy of the artist and David Zwirner, London
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Previous articleNext article More
150 Shares169 Views
in Art
In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover
by Aurelia Butler 29 July 2025, 21:04
“Clickthrough rate” (2024), mixed media, 24 x 15 x 15 centimeters. All images courtesy of Thomas Doyle, shared with permission
In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover
July 29, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
Share
Pin
Email
Bookmark
If we were to travel 500 years into the future, what would the monuments decorating public parks and town squares commemorate? Thomas Doyle takes us on an unnerving journey to imagine the culture we might encounter should our endless fascination with technology continue.
The New York-based artist (previously) toys with perception as he sculpts miniature works at 1:43 scale and smaller. His new dystopian series, Clear History, invokes classical Greek and Roman sculpture, although the venerated figures appear more as a warning than an ideal. Sharp rays pierce through a woman’s head in “Clickthrough rate,” for example, while the hunched protagonist of “Opt in” demonstrates the neck-cranking posture many of us know all too well.
“Infinite scroll” (2024), mixed media, 22 x 13.8 x 13.8 centimeters
Interested in the long tail of culture, Doyle frequently looks to the past to better understand the consequences of our present. “I’m fascinated by the way we are hurtling toward what seems to be a new way of being human, leaping without looking, hoping for the best,” he says.
In each of the mixed-media scenes, tiny figures peer up at or sit near the weathered statues as they consider a world that’s come and gone. “The trappings of past cultures are all around us, morphed and made nearly unrecognizable over centuries,” the artist adds. “I’ve tried to trace the ways in which today’s technologies will reverberate over time. What will grow from the seeds we plant today? What becomes a venerated symbol? What serves as a cautionary myth?”
Doyle currently has a few models on view at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, and he very generously shares glimpses behind the scenes on Instagram.
“Acceptance criteria” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 15 x 15 centimeters
“Opt in” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 20 x 20 centimeters
“Switch profile” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 12.5 x 12.5 centimeters
“Show hidden” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 30 x 30 centimeters
“Session timeout” (2024), mixed media, 25 x 14.5 x 14.5 centimeters
“Bad gateway” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters
“Use case” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 14 x 14 centimeters
“Temporary redirect” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 26 x 26 centimeters
“We value your privacy” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters
“Rollback” (2024), mixed media / 20 x 16 x 16 centimeters
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.
Hide advertising
Save your favorite articles
Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop
Receive members-only newsletter
Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms
Join us today!
$7/month
$75/year
Explore membership options
Next article More

Art

More stories

Acrobatic Poses in Monumental Murals by Artez Invigorate Urban Buildings

Christina Bothwell Taps into Dream Worlds in Surreal Glass and Ceramic Sculptures

Kirsty Elson’s Spirited Creatures Breathe New Life into Weathered Driftwood

An Ornate Stenciled Rug by Mateo Complements a Cultural Center’s Communal Rooftop in Dakar

Gabrielle Garland’s House Portraits Illuminate Daily Life, Individuality, and the ‘Fabric of Society’

Lisa Congdon Translates the Healing Power of Making from Collage to Painting

In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover

ITALIAN LANGUAGE

ENGLISH LANGUAGE