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    Ceramics Mimic Cardboard in Jacques Monneraud’s Trompe-l’œil Ode to Giorgio Morandi

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    Photos by Natacha Nikouline. All images courtesy of Jacques Monneraud, shared with permission

    Ceramics Mimic Cardboard in Jacques Monneraud’s Trompe-l’œil Ode to Giorgio Morandi

    November 3, 2025

    ArtCraftDesign

    Kate Mothes

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    A quick glimpse of Jacques Monneraud’s vessels give the impression of lighthearted craft time, with cardboard tubes and layered cutouts affixed with pieces of clear tape. Perhaps they’re maquettes for larger pieces or simply playful experiments with an inexpensive material. But look closer, and you’ll discover there’s a lot more to these vessels than they first let on. Namely, they’re actually ceramic.

    Monneraud’s ongoing CARTON series explores the relationship between material and perception. He blends three types of clay, then uses a potter’s wheel to throw the core shapes. When the form has dried to a leather-hard consistency, he trims where needed and refines the contours and edges, creating minute details that give the illusion of cut paper.

    Achieving the corrugated detail is one of the most time-consuming and labor-intensive processes, which Monneraud accomplishes by pressing a handmade wooden tool into the clay to create a series of triangular impressions. When all of the pieces come together, it appears as though a few pieces of cardboard were patched together with adhesive. In fact, each container is totally water-tight, and they certainly won’t wrinkle or warp!

    The artist recently conceived of a series of groupings in an ode to the subtle and playful oil paintings of Giorgio Morandi (1890-1964). The Italian artist is known for his muted still lifes of ceramics in which perspective, light, and shadow create nuanced compositions. He paid particular attention to the relationship between volume and line, often organizing items so that their tops all aligned or various elements appear to merge into other vessels’ details.

    In Monneraud’s current exhibition Life, still., on view in Brussels, Morandi’s compositions provide a jumping-off point for the trompe-l’œil ceramics. Pitchers, vases, jars, and other shapes mimic those Morandi rendered in oil, revisiting the painter’s approach to “cosiddetta realtà,” or “so-called reality.” He was interested in “the notion that meaning lies not in the subject itself, but in the way it is observed,” says a statement for Monneraud’s show.

    Life, still. is open on Saturdays through November at 38 Quai du Commerce in Brussels. Find more on Monneraud’s Instagram.

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    • 138 Shares179 Views

      in Art

      ‘Level Up’ by GAFFA Transports Us to an Uncanny Parking Garage

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      Installation view of ‘Level Up.’ Photos by Ladina Bischof. All images courtesy of GAFFA and Kunsthalle Arbon, shared with permission

      ‘Level Up’ by GAFFA Transports Us to an Uncanny Parking Garage

      May 12, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      When you think of an orange safety cone, you might imagine rows of the small reflective objects placed around temporarily parked vehicles or, say, next to potholes. But a stroll through GAFFA’s recent exhibition, Level Up at Kunsthalle Arbon, and the everyday sight took the form of an unmissably imposing, monumental structure.

      GAFFA is a collective founded nine years ago by Wanja Harb, Linus Lutz, Dario Forlin, and Lucian Kunz. Through a signature blend of humor, irony, and an interdisciplinary approach involving zines, collages, photography, sculpture, and installation, the group challenges our perceptions of physical space, history, and society.

      In their sometimes absurd installations, GAFFA often brings the outdoors in, like importing a beach chair and umbrella into a concrete room or constructing an enormous brown slug that slid across a gallery floor. In Level Up, traffic serves as the primary focus—both its symbols and the fine line between regulation and chaos.

      GAFFA transformed the Swiss art gallery into a parking garage containing an extra-long stretch limo, an entry ticket, orange cone, and double-arrow directional sign. We don’t know to whom the car belongs or where they are.

      Viewers are transported into a kind of Alice in Wonderland experience where the scale of everything feels befuddling and incongruent. The car, though life-size, is made of cardboard, and the yellow sign is an oil painting.

      “Underground garages and parking garages are places we usually only notice in passing,” the gallery says in a statement. “They are purpose-built ‘non-places’ to which hardly anyone pays attention, yet they have their own aesthetics: the strict geometry of the parking spaces, the rhythmic movement of the barriers, the seemingly random arrangement of the holes on a parking ticket.”

      Anyone who has driven into a large garage knows the anxieties of a gate not opening when it’s supposed to or the ticket machine not working. Within the large yet controlled space of the Kunsthalle Arbon, Level Up begged the question: how does one get out of here? Explore more on the collective’s website.

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    • 125 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      From Tiny Strips of Cardboard, Greg Olijnyk Fashions Fantastical Monuments

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      All images courtesy of Greg Olijnyk, shared with permission

      From Tiny Strips of Cardboard, Greg Olijnyk Fashions Fantastical Monuments

      February 21, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Greg Olijnyk is no stranger to the possibilities of a single, seemingly simple material. In his ever-evolving world of robots, machines, insects, and buildings, cardboard proves endlessly versatile. He meticulously cuts, folds, and glues tiny pieces to resemble everything from rivets and windows to columns and balustrades.

      The Melbourne-based artist’s most recent works play with unexpected juxtapositions, like a classical cathedral dome with the base of a missile, a gothic tower fitted with jet propulsion boosters, and a lighthouse on a ship being guided through a craggy canal. Find more on his website and Instagram.

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    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Lush Growths and Classical Architecture Converge in Eva Jospin’s Meticulous Sculptures

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      “Forêt” (2024), wood, cardboard, 94 1/2 x 133 7/8 x 19 3/4 inches. All images courtesy of Mariane Ibrahim, shared with permission

      Lush Growths and Classical Architecture Converge in Eva Jospin’s Meticulous Sculptures

      November 16, 2024

      ArtNature

      Grace Ebert

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      Rather than position herself as an observer of landscapes, Eva Jospin imagines humans and their environments as one. The Parisian artist carves intricate forests and stately architecture subsumed by vines and craggy cliffs all from humble cardboard, accentuating the corrugated textures to add depth and intrigue.

      In her Chicago debut at Mariane Ibrahim, Jospin presents a series of freestanding sculptures and wall works that invite the viewer to venture into her large-scale, yet incredibly intricate worlds. Titled Vanishing Points, the exhibition gestures toward perspective and the ways subtle details and contemplation can shift how we see.

      “Forêt troglodyte” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 72 1/2 x 59 x 31 1/2 inches

      As with earlier bodies of work, Jospin’s paper sculptures and vivid, silk tapestries draw on classical styles and the 18th-century tradition of follies, architectural structures designed for decoration. These often ornate buildings could be found in many Baroque gardens, which took human mastery over nature as an imperative.

      The artist’s works instead depict a convergence between the manufactured and the organic. In the six-foot tall “Forêt troglodyte,” for example, vines crawl down from a ceiling embedded with shells and sea sponges. The exquisite vault stands parallel to a similarly shaped cavern, occupied by trees rising from a rugged bluff.

      Jospin walks viewers through her process and studio in the video below. If you’re in Chicago, see Vanishing Points before January 25.

      Detail of “Forêt troglodyte” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 72 1/2 x 59 x 31 1/2 inches

      “Capriccio” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 76 3/8 x 41 3/8 x 21 5/8 inches

      Detail of “Capriccio” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 76 3/8 x 41 3/8 x 21 5/8 inches

      “Jardin Constantine” (2024), silk thread, silk canvas, wood and cardboard frame,46 x 96 7/8 x 4 inches

      “Jardin Constantine” (2024), silk thread, silk canvas, wood and cardboard frame,46 x 96 7/8 x 4 inches

      “Petit Bois” (2024), wood, cardboard, 28 x 34 1/2 x 9 1/4 inches

      “Treille” (2024), silk thread, silk canvas, wood and cardboard frame, 100 3/4 x 69 1/4 x 4 inches

      Detail of “Forêt” (2024), wood, cardboard, 94 1/2 x 133 7/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      Detail of “Treille” (2024), silk thread, silk canvas, wood, and cardboard frame, 100 3/4 x 69 1/4 x 4 inches

      “Labyrinthe” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 41 x 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 inches

      Detail of “Labyrinthe” (2024), wood, cardboard, and mixed media, 41 x 39 3/8 x 27 1/2 inches

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    • 113 Shares99 Views

      in Art

      Josh Gluckstein Crafts a Teeming Reef from Recycled Cardboard

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      “Reef.” Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation. All images courtesy of Josh Gluckstein, shared with permission

      Josh Gluckstein Crafts a Teeming Reef from Recycled Cardboard

      September 24, 2024

      Art Nature

      Kate Mothes

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      For the past four years, London-based artist Josh Gluckstein has highlighted the potential of an everyday material—recycled cardboard—to bring animal sculptures to life (previously). In his most recent piece, “Reef,” he expands on individual portraits to create a meticulously detailed two-and-a-half-meter-tall marine habitat teeming with a variety of fish and coral.

      “I fell in love with scuba diving ten years ago and was amazed that there was an entirely new world to discover underwater,” Gluckstein says. “I wanted to bring that experience to life on dry land.”

      Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

      Gluckstein was invited to participate in Homo Faber 2024 in Venice, which this year traces the theme, “The Journey of Life.” Among the work of more than 400 artisans from around the world, “Reef” is Gluckstein’s most ambitious piece to date, featuring more than 50 different marine species.

      Sea turtles, an octopus, clown fish, and a blue spotted ray are among the creatures that swim around a column of coral. “The piece celebrates the wonder and rich biodiversity of our oceans, while raising awareness for the fragility of—and challenges facing—our marine life,” Gluckstein says.

      Homo Faber 2024 continues through September 30. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      You might also enjoy Ghost Net Collective’s marine animal sculptures made from the salvaged ocean waste that endangers them.

      Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

      Photo by Alexandre Vazquez, © Michelangelo Foundation

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    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Narsiso Martinez Exalts the Individuality of America’s Farmworkers in ‘Joyfully Grown’

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      “Delano Grapes” (2024), ink, charcoal, collage, acrylic, and simple leaf on grape box, 16 x 24 x 5.5 inches. Photos by @ofphotostudio Yubo Dong. All images © Narsiso Martinez, courtesy of the artist and Charlie James Gallery, Los Angeles, shared with permission

      Narsiso Martinez Exalts the Individuality of America’s Farmworkers in ‘Joyfully Grown’

      September 18, 2024

      Art Social Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      “In the Works,” the centerpiece of Narsiso Martinez’s solo exhibition at Charlie James Gallery, spans three walls and is made from dozens of found produce boxes. At the center of the piece and above a doorway is a long table resplendent with apples, kiwi, oranges, and grapes, all crowned by a chandelier.

      Flanking the dinner, farmworkers climb ladders or sit on the ground, sorting the harvest into the very boxes the composition is made from. Back in the center, the faceless attendees at the table enjoy the literal fruit of the workers’ labor.

      “In the Works” (2024), acrylic, gouache, charcoal, collage, and simple leaf on produce boxes, 178 x 305 inches

      In Joyfully Grown, Martinez (previously) continues his exploration of the labor system, relationships, and power imbalances. He taps into his experience emigrating from Oaxaca when he was 20 years old, determined to find a more sustainable livelihood in the U.S.

      Martinez finished high school at 29, then went on to study fine art in college. While he pursued an MFA, he began working seasonally in eastern Washington’s sprawling apple orchards where he became acquainted with other farmworkers and learned their stories.

      The artist was struck by how individuals in America’s agricultural system, whose intense physical labor the entire framework relies on, go unseen by those who depend on freshly stocked produce in the supermarket.

      “Resist” (2024), ink, charcoal, and simple leaf on strawberry box, 20 x 11.5 x 5.5 inches

      Beginning with photographs, Martinez employs visual languages of prestige—drawing specifically on Catholic portraiture’s emphasis on luxurious fabrics and backgrounds of gold leaf—to empower and uplift workers.

      In “Resist,” for example, a young man is portrayed within the frame of a berry box, backed with gold and wearing a graduation gown. The cap encircles his head like a halo, invoking the divine and signaling the glorious potential of education.

      By elevating the humble cardboard box to the status of picture frame and depicting hardworking people in their esteemed individuality, Martinez scrutinizes who and what society values.

      Joyfully Grown continues through October 26 in Los Angeles. Explore more of Martinez’s work on his Instagram.

      “The Planning” (2024), ink, gouache, charcoal, acrylic, and simple leaf on berry box, 15.5 x 20 x 4.25 inches

      Detail of “In the Works”

      Detail of “In the Works”

      “Blue Joy” (2024), ink, charcoal, collage, acrylic, and simple leaf on blueberry box, 16 x 23.5 x 5.5 inches

      “Fresh is Our Favorite” (2024), ink, charcoal, collage, and acrylic on red seedless grape box, 24 x 16.5 x 6 inches

      “Embracing Future” (2024), ink, charcoal, and simple leaf on orange box, 23.5 x 16 x 6 inches

      Collaboration with Ashley Jose-Isip, “On the Grass” (2024), ink, gouache, charcoal, and simple leaf on grape box, 15.75 x 23.75 x 5.5 inches

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