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Carpenter’s work is on view in three concurrent exhibitions opening in January in Pennsylvania.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article In Clay, Syd Carpenter Explores Nature, African American History, and the Land appeared first on Colossal. More
‘What the Hands Remember to Hear’ opens next month at The Aldrich Contemporary Art Museum in Connecticut.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Myth, Spirituality, and Storytelling Converge in Ceramics by Chenlu Hou and Chiara No appeared first on Colossal. More
“I use clay as one uses a diary: to record the feelings of daily life and the things that surround me,” Chastagner tells Colossal.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Léonore Chastagner Sculpts Tender Connections Between Figurative Gestures and Objects appeared first on Colossal. More
This June, explore the innovative work of Peruvian makers in Murmur Ring’s Immersion in the Sacred Valley.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Immerse Yourself in the Creative Culture of Peru’s Sacred Valley with Murmur Ring’s Unique Program appeared first on Colossal. More
All images courtesy of Murmur Ring, shared with permission
Immerse Yourself in the Creative Culture of Peru’s Sacred Valley with Murmur Ring’s Unique Program
November 25, 2025
ArtCraftDesignPartner
Murmur Ring
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Experience design firm Murmur Ring, in partnership with Empathy and the Institute of Design, invites artists, designers, makers, and creatives of all kinds to join the Reclaiming Value: Sacred Valley Design Immersion from June 15 to 19, 2026, in Peru’s Sacred Valley. The Colossal team previously joined Murmur Ring for a transformative week-long immersion in Oaxaca, Mexico, and looks forward to joining this excursion, as well.
This is not a tourist program. Mumur Ring’s Immersions are creative exchanges born from years of research and relationship-building. Intimate site visits with Peruvian makers and innovators offer rare, behind-the-scenes access to the perspectives, techniques, and community-centered models shaping the region’s most visionary work. Participants will find new inspiration, forge collaborative relationships, and leave with ideas that will transform their practices.
In the coming weeks, Colossal will highlight several of the Peruvian makers whom participants will meet during the immersion, including Awamaki and Cerámicas Seminario.
Awamaki—named for the Quechua word meaning “made by hand”—helps women weavers of the Andes access global markets, develop business skills, and build financial independence to sustain their communities for generations. Murmur Ring’s immersion will venture into the mountains to see this social enterprise model in action and:
Meet the women weavers in their home communities
Learn how raw fibers are harvested and naturally dyed using plants, minerals, and methods perfected for centuries
Receive hands-on instruction in ancient weaving techniques, guided directly by master artists
Share a home-cooked meal prepared by the artisans
Purchase textiles directly from the cooperatives, ensuring 100% of payments go to the makers
Since it began as an individual arts practice over 30 years ago, Cerámicas Seminario has evolved into a thriving studio blending ancient artistic language with a bold, contemporary visual style. The family-run business stands not only as a celebrated center of innovation in Peruvian ceramics but also as a powerful economic engine for its surrounding community. The immersion will allow participants to:
Meet founders Pablo Seminario and Marilú Behar for a studio tour and Q&A
Learn about their path to success from early explorations in clay to their commitment to building a community-centric enterprise
See artisans at work, shaping, carving, and firing ceramic pieces
Experience a hands-on ceramics workshop, where they’ll learn ancient techniques that inspired the studio’s signature style
A place where food, land, art, and ancestral knowledge converge, MIL Centro is far more than a restaurant. It is an innovative research lab dedicated to preserving traditional Peruvian crops, restoring endangered agricultural practices, and sustaining the communities who have lived on and worked with this land for centuries. Theirs is a model that honors tradition, empowers community, and pushes the boundaries of what food, and art, can be. During a visit to MIL Centro, participants will:
Forage for native plants alongside local land stewards, learning how each species functions as food, medicine, and craft
Discover how Andean communities protect their local ecologies
Use foraged plants to hand-dye and weave natural fibers
Enjoy a multi-course meal, inspired by eight distinct Andean microclimates
Early bird reservations are available through November 30, 2025. Apply now to secure your spot at the exclusive rate, and join us for an unforgettable journey into the creative soul of the Sacred Valley.
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“2025-27” (2025), glazed ceramic, 10 x 16 x 7 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Jane Lombard Gallery, shared with permission
In Surreal Ceramics, Megan Bogonovich Imagines a Fantastical Garden
November 6, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Simultaneously recalling elements of fungi, coral, and botanicals, Megan Bogonovich’s vibrant sculptures poke at the boundary between nature and the artificial, the unique and the manufactured. The artist’s uncanny botanical ceramics are created using a series of bespoke plaster molds, embellished with intricate details that resemble blossoms or mushroom caps. Duplicated shapes are disguised with a range of glazes, textures, and embellishments that resist pure repetition yet hint at a sense of the inorganic.
A collection of new sculptures by Bogonovich go on view this week in the artist’s solo exhibition presented by JLG Projects at Jane Lombard Gallery in New York City. Fertile Ground opens on November 7 and continues through December 13. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“2025-28” (2025), glazed ceramic, 18 x 16 x 12 inches
“2024-37A-H (Eight interconnected sculptures)” (2024), glazed ceramic, 16 1/2 x 48 x 20 inches
“2025-20” (2025), glazed ceramic, 12 1/2 x 10 x 8 inches
“2024-28” (2024), glazed ceramic, 12 x 9 x 7 inches
“2025-3” (2025), glazed ceramic, 14 1/2 x 7 x 3 inches
“2025-30” (2025), glazed ceramic, 17 1/2 x 12 x 9 inches
“2025-41” (2025), glazed ceramic, 9 x 11 x 8 inches
“2024-16” (2024), glazed ceramic, 15 x 9 x 9 inches
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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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Detail of “Eternal Cowboy” (2021), ceramic, underglaze, glaze, PE braid, canvas, leather, brass. Photo by Myles Pettengill. All images courtesy of Shae Bishop, shared with permission
Shae Bishop Bucks Cowboy Traditions with Floral Ceramic Garments
October 21, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Grace Ebert
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Ceramics and textiles share several traditions. Both media have long occupied the realm of craft, are often functional, and tend to be tied to narrative and storytelling, whether sharing in family lore or communicating something about their owner.
For Shae Bishop, combining the two offers a way to tether the enduring and universal with the intimate and personal. The Richmond-based artist has spent more than a decade creating innumerable ceramic tiles that he stitches together into bandanas, suits, and other garments. “By merging the materials and fitting them to my body, I was seeking to merge the personal with the historical, to locate myself and my individual narrative within the larger story of human culture,” he tells Colossal.
“Waistcoat of Earthly Delights” (2021), ceramic, underglaze, wool, poly satin, PE braid, wire. Photo by Loam
Bishop’s garments have evolved in complexity and embellishment during the last 14 years, as he gravitates toward art historical narratives and the self-mythologizing associated with cowboy culture. Pieces like “Waistcoat of Earthly Delights” reference Hieronymus Bosch’s famous triptych and its alternative realities. Long interested in the human-nature relationship, Bishop draws on Bosch’s biblical retelling as a way to “reimagine our fraught interactions with strange and misunderstood creatures like giant salamanders and venomous snakes,” as he adorns a vest with a pair of white serpents and vivid flowers.
A peek at Bishop’s Instagram reveals a deep reverence for snakes—there are several images of the artist with the reptiles draped around his neck and arms— and an interest in reinventing the fear and animosity associated with the creatures, which he hopes to present instead as “a hero, an icon, and an ecological ambassador.”
This intention emerges, in part, through more performative works like the turquoise, fringe-lined “Rhinestone Rattlesnakeboy Suit.” Bishop often wears the elaborate getup while stationed inside a booth and handling a snake, a performance evoking entertainment ventures like Buffalo Bill’s Wild West Show and the Roy Rogers Show.
The artist also frequently photographs himself out in the wild, whether knee-deep in a swampy landscape or perched atop a horse. These immersive images add another layer to the performative aspect of the project and reinforce the world-building and storytelling capacity that fashion has.
“Rhinestone Rattlesnakeboy Suit.” Photo by Jack Mauch
Of course, cowboy and Western culture are deeply entwined with American identity and masculinity, and Bishop reflects on these influences as he creates floral chaps and fringed hats. He adds:
I like the tension between utility and conservatism on one hand and idiosyncratic flamboyance on the other hand. The colorful floral outfits of country music history and the high heels and ornate leatherwork of cowboy boots are such unique expressions of culture. And I look at darker elements like toxic masculinity and a gleeful love of fossil fuels. I also put myself into this work. I try to be self-critical and interrogate my own love-hate relationship with these cowboy tropes, while still keeping a sense of humor.
“Rhinestone Rattlesnakeboy Suit” is on view through next September at the Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum in an exhibition devoted to state fairs. This winter, Bishop will show pieces at Belger Arts in Kansas City and the Houston Center for Contemporary Craft, and he’s currently working on a collection of ceramic diving helmets, along with leather shoes. Find more on his website.
Detail of “Waistcoat of Earthly Delights” (2021), ceramic, underglaze, wool, poly satin, PE braid, wire. Photo by Loam
Detail of “Eternal Cowboy” (2021), ceramic, underglaze, glaze, PE braid, canvas, leather, brass. Photo by Myles Pettengill
“A Swimsuit To Wear While Looking For Hellbenders” (2020), ceramic, wool, PE braid. Photo by Myles Pettengill
“Bandana” (2022), ceramic, underglaze, PE fiber. Photo by Loam
Detail of “Rhinestone Rattlesnakeboy Suit.” Photo by Jack Mauch
“Shorts To Wear While Looking For Pythons” (2019), ceramic, underglaze, glaze, PE fiber, cotton, leather, brass. Photo by Hannah Patterson
“Eternal Cowboy” (2021), ceramic, underglaze, glaze, PE braid, canvas, leather, brass. Photo by Myles Pettengill
“Shirt” (2016), porcelain, underglaze, glaze, canvas, PE fiber, 32 x 18 x 9 inches. Photo by Mercedes Jelinek
Detail of “Shirt” (2016),porcelain, underglaze, glaze, canvas, PE fiber, 32 x 18 x 9 inches. Photo by Mercedes Jelinek
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Misato Sano, “なるほど！ / Oh, I see!” (2025), camphor wood and oil paint
‘Companions’ Celebrates Our Animal Friends and Colleagues
September 22, 2025
ArtPartner
Joy Machine
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“Play between humans and pets, as well as simply spending time peaceably hanging out together, brings joy to all the participants. Surely that is one important meaning of companion species.” –Donna Haraway, ‘Companion Species Manifesto‘
Companions is a group exhibition celebrating our closest animal friends and colleagues. Featuring works across media by Lola Dupre, Debra Broz, Roberto Benavidez, Misato Sano, William Mophos, and Nicolas V. Sanchez, this show revels in the ways we share our lives with non-human species.
Debra Broz, “Horse Boxer” and “Boxer Horse” (2025), secondhand ceramic figurines and mixed media
Each artist translates their furry and feathered subjects in a distinctively human way: Dupre and Broz distort any realistic likeness in favor of surreal, exaggerated amalgamations, while Benavidez translates a small kitten into the celebratory form of a piñata. Sano similarly gouges small pieces of camphor wood to carve a range of expressive pups, which she then paints in oils.
Although their renderings take a more realistic approach, Sanchez and Mophos utilize substrates embedded within human life, the former gravitating toward the blank pages of a sketchbook and the latter scouring the streets of São Paulo for architectural remnants that become small jagged canvases.
In this way, these artists present companionship as a bridge between nature and culture. They see their companions as being both of their own making–in that any relationship is influenced and created by both parties– and as independent beings with big personalities all their own.
Companions opens on September 27, 2025. RSVP to our opening reception from 6 to 8 p.m. on Saturday.
Roberto Benavidez, “Medieval Kitten” (2025), paper, paperboard, wire, glue, crepe paper, fallen cat whiskers, 5.5 x 6 x 3 inches
Lola Dupre, “Geordi” (2025), paper collage, 12 x 16 inches
William Mophos, “Tom Tom” (2025), acrylic painting on wall fragments in an acrylic frame with cement board backing, 16.6 x 21 x 7.5 centimeters
Nicolas V. Sanchez, “Mariana with lambs” (2018), color ballpoint pen on paper, 5.5 x 10.5 inches
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