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    Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

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    “Illuminated Piñata No. 19” (2021), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 x 20 x 12 inches. Photos by Paul Salveson. All images courtesy of the artist and Perrotin, shared with permission

    Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

    September 15, 2025

    ArtHistory

    Kate Mothes

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    Most often associated with Mexico, the piñata’s origins may actually trace back to China. By the 14th century, the celebratory tradition of breaking open a container filled with treats had arrived in Europe. Then, Spanish colonists and missionaries imported the custom to Mexico during the 16th century, although a similar practice was already in use within Indigenous Mayan and Aztec communities in observation of special events. Today, piñatas are an integral element of cartonería, the Mexican craft of papier-mâché.

    For Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Benavidez, the art of the piñata is a central tenet of a practice exploring intersecting themes of race, sexuality, humor, sin, and beauty. He draws upon the paper art form’s early religious significance in Mexico, when Spanish missionaries used a seven-pointed version as a tool for converting Indigenous people to Christianity. This motif, which appears in some of Benavidez’s distinctive sculptures, nods to its past colonial use.

    “Bosch Bird No. 11” (2022), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 24 x 60 x 18 inches

    “The points of the star represented the seven deadly sins, the blindfold worn by the bat-wielding assailant represented faith, and the treats found inside were the rewards for blind and unwavering belief,” Diva Zumaya says in an exhibition essay for the artist’s current solo exhibition, Bosch Beasts, at Perrotin.

    Benavidez continues to make piñata-like sculptures that resemble uncanny, hybrid creatures, often inspired by the marginalia of illuminated manuscripts and the surreal characters in Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” which the Netherlandish artist painted between 1490 and 1510.

    Bosch Beasts highlights Benavidez’s ongoing fascination with the rare and extraordinary, exhibiting new works alongside pieces he’s made throughout the past decade. Installed on the floor or suspended from the ceiling, his creatures appear independently occupied and immersed in an esoteric group activity.

    Each piece comes to life through papier-mâché, using a balloon to create the central form before adding more structure with Bristol board and additional layers of glue-slathered paper. Wire supports more delicate limbs and appendages, and to achieve the final texture, Benavidez cuts and attaches every tiny feather or scale.

    “Bosch Beast No. 14” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 × 19 × 14 inches

    “Drawing from his personal experience as a queer and mixed-race MexicanAmerican, Benavidez starts from a foundation of hybridity in which these monsters are the perfect actors,” Zumaya says, continuing:

    Every mixed-race person who has become well acquainted with the question, “What are you?” is all too familiar with how it feels to live at the borders of identities, appearances complicating the compulsion to categorize. The way Benavidez uses these hybrid bodies to conjure ideas around race echoes their meaning in sixteenth-century Europe, where notions of the monstrous were profoundly intertwined with early formations of race.

    Bosch Beasts continues through October 18 in Los Angeles. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

    “Bosch Beast No. 16” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, crepe paper, 23 × 23 × 19 inches

    “Bosch Beast No. 10” (2020), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 3 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 7 inches

    Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

    “Bosch Bird No. 12” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 71 x 11 x 11 inches

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      Joseph Renda Jr.’s Surreal Trompe-l’œil Portals Frame Esoteric Scenes

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      “Growth/Process.” All images courtesy of the artist and Vertical Gallery, Chicago, shared with permission

      Joseph Renda Jr.’s Surreal Trompe-l’œil Portals Frame Esoteric Scenes

      September 12, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      In the paintings of Joseph Renda Jr., trompe-l’œil windows, arches, and blue skies meet in surreal settings. His René Magritte-esque canvases celebrate nature and the uncanny, sometimes infused with a tinge of humor, to encourage an appreciation for the interconnectedness of all things. Instead of focusing on the subconscious, like the 20th-century Surrealists, Renda emphasizes elements of our surroundings—birds, gardens, flowers, and expansive landscapes—which nevertheless possess rich symbolism.

      Birds, for example, have traditionally represented freedom, optimism, and connections to spiritual worlds. Plants, storms, tools, and myriad other motifs carry their own inherent meanings, from notions of growth and transformation to balance and justice. Situated within windows and archways, we’re invited to peer into—but not quite enter—an esoteric world. And the blue sky sometimes cracks to reveal what may, in fact, be a façade with who-knows-what beyond what we can see.

      “Rough Waters”

      Renda’s recent stone arch pieces are included in a three-person show at Vertical Gallery, The Scenic Route, alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Laura Catherwood. The exhibition runs through September 27 in Chicago. Find more on Renda’s website and Instagram.

      “The Sky Is Falling”

      “Memory”

      “Where the Day Meets the Night”

      “Passing By”

      “Stop and Let the Roses Smell You”

      “Perspective”

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    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Jon Ching Advocates for Six Endangered Hawaiian Birds in Vivid Detail

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      “I’iwi.” All images courtesy of Jon Ching and American Bird Conservancy, shared with permission

      Jon Ching Advocates for Six Endangered Hawaiian Birds in Vivid Detail

      August 19, 2025

      ArtNature

      Grace Ebert

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      Paradise for some, Hawai‘i is a place of ecological contradiction. The islands are known for their beautiful beaches and lush forests, and yet, they’re also home to the largest threats to avian populations. Dubbed “the bird extinction capital of the world,” Hawai‘i has witnessed its forest species decline from 50 to just 17 today.

      A vivid series of paintings by Kaneohe-born artist Jon Ching zeroes in on the magnificent beauty of six endangered Hawaiian honeycreepers, rare creatures found nowhere else on Earth. Ching is a 2024 Conservation and Justice Fellow for the American Bird Conservancy (ABC), an organization dedicated to supporting wild birds and their habitats throughout the Americas. Teaming up with Birds, Not Mosquitoes, ABC has been working to combat non-native mosquitoes on the islands, which have decimated populations with avian malaria.

      “‘Akeke’e”

      Like much of Ching’s work, these paintings are hyperrealistic, portraying the subjects’ soft plumes and scaled claws with impeccable, otherworldly detail. Many are set against flat, graphic backdrops reflective of different aspects of Hawaiian culture. The artist writes on Instagram that the ‘Akeke’e has a “specialized crossbill that helps them open up ‘ōhi‘a lehua buds in search of insects,” adding about the work of the same name:

      I made a patterned design of the ‘ōhi‘a lehua, almost as a contemporary wallpaper or textile design, but have the flower and leaves transforming from 2D to 3D as the birds perch on them. In this way, their presence gives life to this important native tree like it cares for it in the wild.

      Find more about Ching’s work with ABC and the fellowship program on the organization’s website.

      “‘Apapane”

      “Maui ‘Alauahio”

      “Palila”

      “‘Akikiki”

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    • 100 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      Magical Realism Permeates Christian Ruiz Berman’s Labyrinthine Paintings

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      “Tesseract” acrylic on panel, 11 x17 inches. All images courtesy of Christian Ruiz Berman, shared with permission

      Magical Realism Permeates Christian Ruiz Berman’s Labyrinthine Paintings

      July 7, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      “I grew up in the magical realist tradition, not only in terms of literature and painting but as a school of thought and culture,” Christian Ruiz Berman says. Endlessly interested in “the surreal nature of being stuck between two worlds,” the Mexican artist channels his experiences of immigration and adapting to new environments—including his current home in upstate New York—through his painting practice.

      For Ruiz Berman, magical realism is a way to translate his realities into dense, surreal compositions that become a constellation of references and memories. His influences are broad, from Mexican muralist traditions and Latin American folk art to Taoism and Buddhism to poetry and Japanese printmaking, all of which converge in his work.

      “God giving god to god” (2023), acrylic on panel, 30 x 40 inches

      The resulting paintings become a place to encounter unexpected pairings and mystical associations free of hierarchies. Layering, in Ruiz Berman’s work, isn’t to privilege the objects and textures of the foreground but a manner of depicting the relationships between all elements.

      “Ultimately, my work very much reflects the collision of Eastern and Latin American culture, art, (and) thought, as much as it does my personal amalgamation of Mexico and the U.S.,” he tells Colossal. “The existence of high intentionality and care, but also playfulness and strangeness, is something that has always made me feel connected to East Asian culture, and particularly to places like Japan and Tibet.”

      Although Ruiz Berman offers many entry points to a single painting, his compositions provide an exacting path, however labyrinthine it might be. The eager raccoons in “God giving god to god” might catch the viewer’s eye first, for example, but they soon lead to the sleek lilies they offer up and the Mesoamerican stone statue that’s the object of their reverence. Another seated figure hovers to their left, against woodgrain, granite, and vibrant, swirling agate.

      “Mixcoatl Merkaba” (2025), acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 inches

      Combined with clean lines and exacting geometric shapes, this melange of symbols is undeniably eclectic and in service of a larger narrative. He shares:

      I examine the notion that each person, animal, and object is not only an essential component of the present moment but an entangled element in a greater apparatus of constant change and adaptation…Magic and surprise always happen as a result of shared experience, cross-cultural inspiration, and the subversion of established tropes and identities. I paint because I am fascinated by the way it can draw from the endless diversity and inherent tension of life’s web.

      Animals are often incorporated as “stewards of human culture,” the artist says. For example, Mesoamerican mythology tends to position jaguars as revered protectors able to move between worlds: those of the trees and water, day and night, and sites of the living and dead. Birds, too, are often seen as messengers and guides. Depicting these creatures not in their natural habitats but embedded in unusual compositions, Ruiz Berman seeks to recontextualize their meanings and expand the narratives each has come to symbolize.

      If you’re in Miami, you can see some of Ruiz Berman’s work this summer at Mindy Solomon Gallery. Next spring, he will show at Art Basel Hong Kong with Proyectos Monclov and Harper’s Gallery in New York. Until then, head to his website and Instagram for more.

      “Ursa Gevurah” (2025), acrylic on panel, 50 x 60 inches

      “Grackles of grace” (2023), acrylic on panel, 18 x 24 inches

      “Xacozelotl oz lat” (2025), acrylic on panel, 16 x 20 inches

      “Life cycle” (2024), acrylic on panel, 24 x 36 inches

      “Honeycreeper Harbingers” (2024), acrylic on panels, 15 x 11 inches

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    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Natural Motifs Entwine the Monumental Figures of Robert Pruitt’s Divine Portraits

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      “Portrait of Herman
      Smith from Atlantic
      City” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 120 inches. All images © Robert Pruitt, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York, shared with permission

      Natural Motifs Entwine the Monumental Figures of Robert Pruitt’s Divine Portraits

      June 6, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      Through tight, circular marks and soft shading, Robert Pruitt creates portraits that invite viewers into a magical world. Rendered in a mix of charcoal, conté, and pastel, his works are rooted in storytelling and how personal narrative offers insight into broader, more collective questions about Southern culture, rituals, and enmeshed identities.

      The artist brings models into his Harlem studio and photographs them donning elaborately constructed costumes. His drawings emerge from these sessions, although Pruitt prefers a monumental scale. Rendered on paper dyed with coffee, the portraits stretch upwards of seven feet, their meticulous shading and linework backdropped by washes of the characteristically warm hue.

      “Eve hiding in the Garden of Eden” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      A recent self-portrait presents the artist in his signature novelty glasses, the swirling X-Ray lenses resting on his forehead. His hands, rather than his face, are the subject of this ten-foot-wide work, and each wears gold jewelry, his hometown represented on a Houston Rockets ring. The title nods to the character of Herman Smith, played by Richard Pryor in the 1978 retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz.

      Adornment is prominent in Pruitt’s works and serves a dual purpose: it provides a means to excavate questions about identity, culture, place, and time and also offers a chance to find something “fun and weird to draw,” he says. Recurring motifs like lemons, mushrooms, snakes, and birds are a more recent addition to his portraits, and they often envelop the central figure. In “Princess with a plague of Grackles,” for example, the quintessential Texan creature perches on a seated woman’s shoulders and arms.

      “Lately, I’ve been thinking more about the body as continuous with the world. Our bodies take things in, let things out—and that process, to me, signals a kind of equality with everything around us,” Pruitt tells Colossal.

      “Figure Crowned in T.S.U. Ceramic Headdress (After Roy Vinson Thomas)” (2024), charcoal, conté, coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      Connecting to nature also invokes the divine and alludes to the artist’s constellation of references, whether it be his interest in science fiction, comic books, music, or his enduring love for “swampy, humid Houston, Texas,” he adds.

      I think part of it is nostalgia, especially in contrast to my life now in New York City. I miss home…On some level, these works feel like staging grounds for my own origin story—coming from a complicated metropolis that also feels deeply rural. A kind of Eden, but one filled with mosquitoes and stray dogs. Nature not as cute or comforting but indifferent—and still sacred.

      If you’re in New York, you can see Pruitt’s work in a solo exhibition named after a Sun Ra libretto, …Son…Sun…Sin…Syn…zen…Zenith, at Salon 94. Find more from the artist on his website and Instagram.

      “Lemon Tree” (2024), conté, pastel, and coffee wash, 84 x 60 inches. Photo by Brica Wilcox, courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles

      “Princess with a plague of Grackles” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      “Y’all Are Just Gon Have to Make Amends” (2021), conté, charcoal, and pastel on coffee wash on paper, 87 1/4 x 63 1/8 x 2 inches. Photo by Dan Bradica

      “Man born with a veil” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and fabric dye on paper, 84 x 60 inches

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    • 150 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Formidable Bronze Crowns by Marianna Simnett Conjure Myth and the Sublime Feminine

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      “Megaera” (2023), bronze and velvet, 59 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches. All images courtesy of Marianna Simnett and SOCIÉTÉ, Berlin, shared with permission

      Formidable Bronze Crowns by Marianna Simnett Conjure Myth and the Sublime Feminine

      April 15, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      For Marianna Simnett, sticking to one medium or theme defies her interpretation of what art can be. She fights the natural proclivity of galleries, collectors, and art enthusiasts to typecast her practice as one thing. “Trying to shed those expectations every time—trying to do something different—it’s exhausting but so worth it,” she says in an interview for Art Basel. “Now the signature is that people don’t know what to expect, and that’s the best outcome possible.”

      Among myriad strains of her practice—which include filmmaking, sculpture, installation, painting, and performance—a collection of bronze crowns created between 2022 and 2024 command our attention. Situated on top of bespoke velvet cushions, Simnett’s Crowns are cast in an alloy that would make the elaborate headpieces burdensome or even painful to wear, yet the meticulously formed arches, band, and spikes manifest as delicate mammals and birds.

      “Hydra” (2023), bronze and velvet, 55 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches

      “Simnett uses vivid and visceral means to explore the body as a site of transformation,” says a statement from SOCIÉTÉ, which represents the artist. “In psychologically charged works that challenge both herself and the viewer, Simnett imagines radical new worlds filled with untamed thoughts, strange tales, and desires.”

      Named for powerful female figures from ancient lore like Discordia, the Greek goddess of strife, or Lilith, a she-demon in Jewish and Mesopotamian mythology, Simnett’s Crowns examine the power, ferocity, and sublimity of allegorical female figures. One can imagine that only supernatural beings could wear these pieces and feel comfortable.

      Simnett’s sculptures were first shown in her exhibition OGRESS in 2022. “In fairy tales and folklore, the ogress is a voracious monster who deceives men and torments children in her quest to ravish them whole,” says an exhibition statement. Simnett wielded “the ogress’ insatiable hunger as a radical force,” illuminating the role of women in myth and legend, especially the symbolic tension between embracing and fearing those who are different.

      Simnett’s solo exhibition Charades opens at SOCIÉTÉ on May 1, coinciding with Berlin Gallery Weekend. Explore a wide range of the artist’s multimedia work on her website and Instagram.

      “Laverna” (2023), bronze and velvet, 55 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches

      Detail of “Laverna”

      “Discordia” (2023), bronze and velvet, 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 16 inches

      “Maniae” (2022), bronze and velvet, 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 16 inches

      “Lilith” (2024), bronze and velvet, 57 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches

      Detail of “Lilith”

      “Astraea” (2023), bronze and velvet, 55 1/2 x 17 1/2 x 17 1/2 inches

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    • 125 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Vasilisa Romanenko’s Lush Portraits Wrap Common Birds in Decadent Patterns

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      “American Crow” (2025),
      acrylic on canvas, 8 x 8 inches. All images courtesy of Vasilisa Romanenko and Arch Enemy Arts, shared with permission

      Vasilisa Romanenko’s Lush Portraits Wrap Common Birds in Decadent Patterns

      March 11, 2025

      ArtNature

      Grace Ebert

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      Beauty and nature’s resilience are at the core of Vasilisa Romanenko’s work. The Connecticut-based artist paints faithful depictions of common yet dignified birds amid clusters of fruits and flowers, exploring the power of opulence in times of upheaval.

      A stately crow poses amid rust-colored roses, a great blue heron poses amid clusters of tangerines and lilies, and a small warbler perches amid pink poppies. Referencing the defiantly decorative works of English textile designer William Morris (1834–1896), Romanenko embraces the entrancing nature of decadent patterns.

      “Great Blue Heron” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 22 x 28 inches

      “I want my work to feel like an escape from everyday life, like taking a moment to be still and appreciate nature,” she says about her solo exhibition, BIRDS & BLOOMS, at Arch Enemy Arts. Enveloped by flora at full bloom, the winged subjects exude a sense of calm and strength as they perch and prepare for their next flight.

      BIRDS & BLOOMS is on view through March 30 in Philadelphia. Find more from Romanenko on her website and Instagram.

      “Northern Mockingbird” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14 inches

      “Black-capped Chickadee” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches

      “Orange-crowned Warbler” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches

      “Dark-eyed Juncos” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches

      “Palm Warbler” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10 inches

      “Brewer’s Blackbird” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches

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    • 175 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      Tropical Birds Burst to Life in the Intricate Paper Cutouts of ‘The Parrot Project’

      by

      All images courtesy of The Paper Ark, shared with permission

      Tropical Birds Burst to Life in the Intricate Paper Cutouts of ‘The Parrot Project’

      December 18, 2024

      ArtCraftNature

      Kate Mothes

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      The Paper Ark, a collaboration between Nayan Shrimali and Venus Bird (previously), celebrates the diverse beauty of our planet’s wildlife. In The Parrot Project, a new series of intricate paper-cut pieces, the striking creatures take center stage in vivid color.

      “This series focuses on the vibrant beauty of parrots and their contribution to the ecosystem,” say the Ahmedabad, India-based artists, who created 40 different species during the course of one year. Each piece is meticulously hand-cut and painted, realistically depicting the feathered beings.

      The Paper Ark’s collection captures the vibrancy of myriad tropical avian varieties, from the bright blue, yellow, and red of the macaw to the dramatic flash of color in the red-tailed black cockatoo.

      “We want our audience to not just appreciate the beauty of this wonderful species but also understand its importance in nature,” the pair says. Ten percent of proceeds from sales of this series will be donated to a parrot conservation organization.

      See more on The Paper Ark’s website and Behance, and follow updates on Instagram.

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    • 138 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      Swans, Plants, and Fragmented Figures Warmly Embrace in Yool Kim’s Paintings

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      “Sitting on the Couch.” All images courtesy of Yool Kim, shared with permission

      Swans, Plants, and Fragmented Figures Warmly Embrace in Yool Kim’s Paintings

      November 28, 2024

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      Warmth permeates Yool Kim’s most recent body of work, which portrays tangled masses of limbs and swans in rich palettes of reds, pinks, and oranges.

      Laying dense lines in acrylic paint, the Seoul-based artist examines the interactions between living things and their sometimes contradictory desires. Her new paintings entwine fragmented iterations of human figures with graceful black and white birds, monsteras, and ferns to explore peace and equality.

      “A Peaceful Afternoon”

      “I wanted to express the beauty of being able to care (for) the weak and taking care of each other, without a sense of superiority and inferiority in living things that are set by the world,” Kim tells Colossal. “By hugging, touching, or leaning on each other, I highlighted the meaning of connection and warmth.”

      As with earlier bodies of work, this series similarly explores the fractured nature of the self. Kim shares that she’s feeling calmer and more tranquil these days, which is reflected in the ways figures stretch to embrace one another.

      “I also wanted to express that I have many egos and personalities within me; I am a human being full of complexity who cannot grasp existence as a single disposition,” she adds. “I’m always considering myself.”

      Kim will show paintings in several exhibitions this spring, the first of which opens in March at Hall Spassov in Seattle. Find more of her work on Instagram.

      “An Autumn Night”

      “Cozy & Silent”

      “Dream”

      “Let Me Shine, Let You Shine”

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