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    Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread

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    “Botanical Allegory 11.” All images courtesy of Nosheen Iqbal, shared with permission

    Sculptural Embroideries on Wood by Nosheen Iqbal Translate Architectural Motifs into Thread

    June 18, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Grace Ebert

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    Semicircles notched into smooth wooden panel structure Nosheen Iqbal’s floral embroideries. Laying colorful lines with impeccable precision, the Dallas-based artist (previously) creates vivid arabesques and geometric motifs that resemble those of her Pakistani and Islamic heritage.

    Iqbal is interested in the interplay of light and shadow, which tends to be most prominent in the sunless sides of the three-dimensional forms. Delineating petals and leaves with small beads bolsters, their surfaces glimmering when illuminated. “As light moves across my pieces, it enhances the saturation of colors and emphasizes the intricate threadwork, shifting and revealing new dimensions,” she says.

    “Botanical Allegory”

    Evoking architecture, her series Botanical Allegory features several works with rounded edges and arch-like shapes. Blending ancient design and craft traditions mirrors the artist’s desire to bring seemingly disparate mediums, techniques, and ideas together. “Living in the West while holding Eastern heritage has driven me to innovate—merging elements from different art movements to create a blend that honors my roots while embracing new influences,” she adds.

    Galleri Urbane in Dallas will show a collection of Iqbal’s works in the group exhibition roll the windows down from June 21 to August 8. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

    Detail of “Botanical Allegory 5”

    “Botanical Allegory 15”

    Detail of “Botanical Allegory 14”

    “Botanical Allegory 1”

    Detail of “Botanical Allegory 1”

    “Botanical Allegory 5” in progress

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    • 238 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      Five Years in the Making, an MiG-21 Fighter Jet Gets a Glow-Up from Tens of Millions of Glass Beads

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      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos. All images courtesy of Ralph Ziman, shared with permission

      Five Years in the Making, an MiG-21 Fighter Jet Gets a Glow-Up from Tens of Millions of Glass Beads

      April 15, 2025

      ArtHistorySocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      “We’re going to make stuff out of beads that is going to take people’s breath away,” says Ralph Ziman in the trailer for “The MiG-21 Project,” a military jet that he and a transcontinental team coated nose to tail in millions upon millions of glass beads.

      For the past 12 years, the Los Angeles-based artist has examined the impacts of the Cold War Era and the global arms trade through a trilogy titled Weapons of Mass Production, motivated by his upbringing in Apartheid-era South Africa. More than half a decade in the making, “The MiG-21 Project” completes the series.

      The first installment, “The AK-47 Project,” reimagined the aesthetic of one of the world’s most ubiquitous wartime weapons, the Avtomat Kalashnikova 1947, by coating dozens of the guns in colorful glass beads. The second project revolved around the Casspir, a heavy-duty Mine-Resistant Ambush Protected Vehicle (MRAPV) introduced in the 1970s, which he likewise ornamented in vibrant geometric patterns.

      “The idea was to take these weapons of war and to repurpose them,” Ziman says, flipping the narrative about icons of violence and transforming them instead into symbols of resilience, collaboration, and collectivity. Vehicles and firearms morph into a theater of hope and strength in the face of a terrible 20th-century legacy.

      Apartheid, which in Afrikaans means “separateness,” is the name assigned by the minority white-ruled Nationalist Party of South Africa to a harsh system of racial segregation that began in 1948. The period lasted until 1991 and was closely linked within the context of international relations to the Cold War as tensions erupted between the U.S. and the former U.S.S.R. Spurred by the deterioration of the two countries’ WWII alliance and fears about the spread of Communism into the West, the war began in 1947 and also ended in 1991 when the U.S.S.R. was dissolved.

      During this time, the Russians produced a fighter jet called the Mikoyan-Gurevich MiG-21. The plane is “the most-produced supersonic fighter aircraft of all time,” Ziman says. “The Russians built 12,500 MiG-21s, and they’re still in use today—just like the Casspir and just like the AK-47s. But it’s one thing to say, hey, I want to bead a MiG, and then the next thing, you’ve got a 48-foot MiG sitting in your studio.”

      The MiG-21 cockpit

      “The MiG-21 Project” combines photography and costume design with historical research and time-honored Indigenous craft. The project encompasses not only the jet but a series of cinematic photographs and elaborate Afrofuturist regalia inspired by military flight suits, African tribal textiles, and space travel.

      Ziman’s team comprises numerous skilled artisans from Zimbabwe and Indigenous Ndebele women from South Africa’s Mpumalanga Province, who are renowned for their beadwork. For the Ndebele, beadwork is a means of expressing cultural identity and rites of passage, taking on powerful political connotations in the 20th century as it became associated with pre-colonial African traditions and identity.

      Tapping into the lessons of our not-so-distant past, Ziman addresses current conflicts like war and the global arms race, modern colonialism, systemic racism, and white supremacy through the lens of Apartheid. Funds raised throughout the process, part of the mission of the Weapons of Mass Production trilogy as a whole, are being donated to the people of Ukraine in support of the country’s ongoing conflict with Russia.

      You’ll be able to see the “The MiG-21 Project” later this year in Seattle, where it will be on view from June 21 to January 26, 2026, at the Museum of Flight. Explore more on Ziman’s website.

      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos

      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos

      “Hero Of Cuito Cuanavale,” Inkjet on Moab Entrada paper, 43 x 56 inches

      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos

      Detail of the MiG-21 cockpit

      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos

      “The Raider and Her MiG-21,” Inkjet on Moab Entrada paper, 43 x 56 inches

      Photo by Mauricio Hoyos

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    • 150 Shares179 Views

      in Art

      Embellished Vodou Flags by Myrlande Constant Spotlight ‘The Spiritual World of Haiti’

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      “Ceromine Bois Caiman” (date unknown), beads and sequins on fabric, 52 x 82 inches. All images © Myrlande Constant, courtesy of the artist and Fort Gansevoort, New York, shared with permission

      Embellished Vodou Flags by Myrlande Constant Spotlight ‘The Spiritual World of Haiti’

      January 28, 2025

      ArtHistorySocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      When Myrlande Constant (previously) was a teenager, she worked alongside her mother in a commercial wedding dress factory in Port-au-Prince. There, she learned the tambour embroidery technique, which utilizes a hook to create chain stitches with beads and sequins on fabric.

      “By foregrounding her specialized skills honed in the fashion industry, Constant’s approach to drapo has broken gender barriers and elevated the overlooked creative labor of Haitian female factory workers to the realm of fine art,” says a statement from Fort Gansevoort, which will present the artist’s work next month in a solo exhibition titled The Spiritual World of Haiti.

      “Marasah-Cai Leh-Créole-Marasah-Guinin-Marasah-bois” (date unknown), beads and sequins on fabric, 74 x 55.25 inches

      Drapo, or drapo Vodou, typically describes a style of embroidered flag embellished with beads or sequins, but the term can also be applied to a wide range of art forms like painting, clothing, assemblages, and sculptures. Constant’s pieces, which she has been renowned for since the 1990s, highlight a variety of materials, colors, textures, and all-over compositions brimming with ritual activity and symbols.

      Haitian Vodou, an African diasporic religion that developed between the 16th and 19th centuries, merged Western and Central African traditions with Roman Catholicism. Its divine creator, Bondye, is inaccessible to humans, so spirits known as lwa‘s serve as intermediaries that can be invoked during ceremonies by possessing individuals, enabling communication with Bondye and transmission of advice, admonishment, or healing.

      “Though she considers her art-making to be rooted in spirituality, Constant does not create her works for the purpose of display in Vodou temples, preferring instead to exhibit them in museums and galleries internationally,” a statement says.

      For Constant, art-making is a statement of resistance within the context of Haiti’s extreme political and economic instability. The nation’s current unrest was spurred by protests against high fuel prices in 2018 and a demand that then-president Jovenel Moïse resign. He refused to step down but was assassinated in 2021, further escalating tensions. A federation of gangs continues to clash with the government, spawning more protests, violence, and perpetuating an evolving humanitarian crisis.

      Detail of “Au nom de 29 points cimetiere par pou voir Baron Samedi”

      “Marinette Bois Chèche” is the earliest work that will be on view in the exhibition and depicts the martyrdom of Vodou lwa Marinette. According to folklore, Vodou lwa Marinette was burned alive for fighting against slavery and participating in a paradigm-shifting Bwa Kayiman ceremony in 1791, which spawned the 12-year Haitian Revolution.

      The insurrection, an uprising of enslaved people against French colonial rule, is unique in history because it led to the founding of a state ruled by former captives and non-white people and free from slavery—although it still permitted forced labor. Constant’s title translates to something like “Marinette of the dry wood,” evoking the ceremony that typically takes place around a bonfire and calling upon a momentous period in Haiti’s history.

      The artist’s drapo are densely beaded and often much larger than their traditional counterparts. The most recent work on view in the exhibition, “Devosyon Makaya” spans ten feet wide and took around three years to create. Constant describes her process as “painting with beads,” transforming fabric and findings into elaborate narratives evoking time-honored Haitian customs.

      The Spiritual World of Haiti opens on February 27 and continues through April 26 in New York City.

      “Au nom de 29 points cimetiere par pou voir Baron Samedi” (date unknown), beads and sequins on fabric, 58 x 70 inches

      “Marinette Bois Chéche” (1994), beads and sequins on fabric, 33 x 37 inches

      “Par pou voir torit les saints torit les morts torit armes ou purgatoir bó manman ak bo papa
      maternel et paternal en non digr cela mizerricorde” (date unknown), beads, sequins, and tassels on fabric, 76.5 x 96 inches

      Detail of “Par pou voir torit les saints torit les morts torit armes ou purgatoir bó manman ak bo papa
      maternel et paternal en non digr cela mizerricorde”

      Detail of “Ceromine Bois Caiman”

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    • 125 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Honeybees Have the Final Say in Ava Roth’s Collaborative Sculptures

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      Detail of “Horseshoe, Quills and Thorns,” encaustic, Japanese paper, horseshoe, porcupine quills, thorns, embroidery floss, metallic thread, seed beads, natural honeycomb, and local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches. All images courtesy of Ava Roth, shared with permission

      Honeybees Have the Final Say in Ava Roth’s Collaborative Sculptures

      September 30, 2024

      Art Nature

      Kate Mothes

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      Bees get a bad rap a lot of the time, despite the immense benefits they provide—and those go way beyond honey. Responsible for pollinating one-third of the world’s food supply, the buzzing insects ensure we’re able to enjoy coffee, tomatoes, strawberries, vanilla, and myriad other kinds of produce.

      The climate crisis, habitat destruction, pesticides, and invasive species are among numerous factors that have led to an unprecedented decline in honeybee populations during the past two decades. But for Toronto-based artist Ava Roth (previously), visibility is a major tenet of her unique, collaborative practice.

      “Kintsugi Platter, Black,” 21 x 21 inches

      Within concentric wooden frames, Roth embroiders patterns with thread and beads, creating the groundwork for the next phase of her process: inserting individual works into her hive and inviting the bees to determine the final composition.

      The human relationship to nature, mirrored by what Roth describes as the”tension between control and wildness,” considers our role in shaping nature to our own needs and the consequences of our actions.

      Bees instinctively build walls of prismatic cells to protect their brood and store honey and pollen, and the organic geometry doubles in Roth’s pieces not only as an iconic aesthetic but also as a reminder of the creatures’ remarkable abilities.

      Recently, the artist has been experimenting with three-dimensional structures and round frames, departing from the rectangular format traditionally associated with hives. She’s also embarked on a new kintsugi-style series in which the bees “mend” broken shards of pottery with their comb.

      Find more on Roth’s website and Instagram.

      Detail of “Broken Pottery, Mended,” 21 x 21 inches

      Detail of “Kintsugi Platter, Robin’s Egg Blue,” 21 x 21 inches

      “Broken Pottery, Mended,” 21 x 21 inches

      “White Beaded Lace, Circle,” encaustic, Japanese paper, Japanese lace, embroidery floss, seed beads, natural honeycomb, and local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches

      Honeycomb objects made from rock, deer antler, basket, and egg with pine needles, wrapped in waxed metallic cord

      “Horseshoe, Quills and Thorns”

      Detail of “Japanese Lace, Gold and Black,” encaustic, Japanese paper, Japanese ribbon, metallic thread, seed beads, natural honeycomb, and local Ontario maple frame, 17.5 x 17.5 inches

      “Deer Antler and Honeycomb,” deer antler, waxed cord, and honeycomb

      “Sea and Sky, Blue Kyanite Encaustic,” Japanese paper, blue kyanite crystals, gold leaf, embroidery floss, and natural honeycomb on wood panel, 17.5 x 17.5 inches

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