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    Paper or Porcelain? Saori Matsushita Folds Delicate Ceramic into Playful Objects

    All images courtesy of Saori Matsushita, shared with permission

    Paper or Porcelain? Saori Matsushita Folds Delicate Ceramic into Playful Objects

    January 14, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Grace Ebert

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    It might be tempting to throw one of Saori Matsushita’s paper airplanes across the room, but we promise you the landing would be less than graceful.

    From her Seattle studio, Matsushita transforms delicate sheets of porcelain into vases, mugs, and sculptures that appear as if they were folded from paper. Punctured with binder holes and the fringed edge of a torn-out sheet, the functional objects bear the iconic blue lines of a school notebook. Other works are similarly deceptive, like the cloth sack or collared-shirt vessels that capture the folds, bends, and bulges of fabric in ceramic.

    To create these pieces, Matsushita utilizes nerikomi, a Japanese pottery technique that involves layering colored bodies of clay together and then cutting them to reveal a patterned section. Stripes of blue and pink appear through stacking slabs rather than the glazing process, and the artist builds most works by hand (head to her YouTube to see more).

    When Matsushita began incorporating this labor-intensive method into her practice in 2023, it helped develop what’s now become her signature style. She shares:

    Previously, I focused on Neriage, a technique where colored clays are combined and wheel-thrown. However, I transitioned to Nerikomi and began treating porcelain sheets like origami or leather to create more unique, personal expressions of my vision. I feel this shift has allowed me to establish a style that truly reflects my individuality as an artist.

    One of Matsushita’s pieces will be featured in Saltstone Ceramics’ annual Mug Madness tournament this March. Follow the latest in her practice, along with announcements about new works available in her shop, on Instagram.

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    Nicole McLaughlin’s Mixed-Media Sculptures Celebrate Craft, Heritage, and New Life

    “Fuentes de Vida; Gemela” (2023)

    Nicole McLaughlin’s Mixed-Media Sculptures Celebrate Craft, Heritage, and New Life

    January 8, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    From ceramics and wool fiber, Nicole McLaughlin (previously) summons striking connections between materials, heritage, and personal experiences. She draws upon the rich traditions of historically domestic crafts to reconsider their roles today, merging ceramics and textiles into elegant, cascading wall sculptures.

    Drawing on artisanal trades like pottery and weaving, McLaughlin deconstructs preconceptions about form and function, emphasizing mediums, techniques, and themes through the unexpected pairing of stoneware and fiber. Her works encourage us to think critically about relationships between tenderness and strength or past and present.

    “Cordón de Vida” (2024), ceramic, tencel, indigo, wool, and cochineal, 27 x 60 x 4 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski Gallery

    Many of the pieces shown here are from McLaughlin’s ongoing Indigo Series, which explores the history of the Mayan pigment and its taps into the continuity of life cycles, history, and culture. Streams of wool fiber flow from central openings in glazed ceramic spheres, referencing the life-giving flow of water as a parallel to fertility and maternal care.

    McLaughlin gave birth to a daughter in early 2024, which dramatically shifted how she viewed her studio practice. The work in her most recent exhibition, String of Life at Anderson Yezerski Gallery, merges personal experiences and her Mexican cultural heritage, delving into themes of life and the transformative journey of motherhood.

    “The transformation of organic material echoes the transformative nature of motherhood,” McLaughlin said in a statement for the show. “The range of colors captures an intense emotional spectrum—from the vitality of birth to the softer, more intimate moments.”

    For McLaughlin, cochineal carries an equivalent significance. The brilliant magenta hue emerges from carmine dye, also known as cochineal, which comes from crushing an insect of the same name. The color plays a vital role in Indigenous material culture and heritage of the Americas.

    Detail of “Cordón de Vida”

    For the Aztecs and Mayans, red was symbolic of the gods, the sun, and blood, and the dye was traded throughout Central and South America for use in rituals, producing pigments for manuscripts and murals, and for dyeing cloth and feathers.

    “During the Mayan empire, indigo was combined with clay and incense to create a pigment known as Maya blue,” she says. “The pigment was said to hold the healing power of water in the agricultural community.”

    McLaughlin’s work is in the group exhibition OBJECTS: USA 2024 at R & Company in New York, which continues through tomorrow. The artist is currently taking a short break from the studio in anticipation of working toward a solo exhibition at Adamah Ceramics in Columbus, Ohio, which will open this fall. See more on her website, and follow updates on Instagram.

    “Agua; Sangre de Vida.” Photo by Logan Jackson, courtesy of R & Company

    “La Pequeña” (2024), ceramic, wool, and cochineal, 10.5 x 21 x 1.5 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski Gallery

    “La Marea que me Envuelve II” (2023). All images courtesy of Nicole McLaughlin, shared with permission

    Detail of “Fuentes de Vida; Gemela”

    Detail of “De Mi Vientre” (2024), ceramic, tencel, wool, and cochineal, 17.5 x 73 x 5.5 inches. Courtesy of Anderson Yezerski Gallery

    Untitled (2024), 10 x 10 feet

    Detail of “La Pequeña”

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    Embroidered Ceramic Vessels by Caroline Harrius Merge Disparate Crafts

    All images courtesy of Caroline Harrius, shared with permission

    Embroidered Ceramic Vessels by Caroline Harrius Merge Disparate Crafts

    January 7, 2025

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Through tiny holes puncturing hand-shaped vessels, Stockholm-based artist Caroline Harrius (previously) embroiders delicate designs. She merges two distinct crafts—ceramics and fiber art—that don’t typically share much in common, exploring relationships between form and function, decoration and utility, and historically gendered artisanal practices.

    Harrius opens a solo show this month titled Blue Memories at Kaolin in Stockholm, the culmination of a three-month residency she undertook in Porsgrunn, Norway, after being awarded the municipality’s porcelain grant. The program comprises a collaborative effort between the local porcelain factory and Kunsthall Grenland to support contemporary artistry in the material.

    “The meeting between textile and ceramics is irrational and full of resistance,” Harrius says in a statement for the exhibition. She spent time at the Porsgruns Porcelain Factory with free reign to expand on existing ideas and apply new inspiration.

    “Next to the workshop was an antique dealer with rows of boxes marked ’10 SEK for everything!,’ filled with objects,” she says. From these trinkets, which the dealer had deemed practically worthless, Harrius imagined new floral designs.

    “I embroider in porcelain with cotton thread in an attempt to recontextualize the crafts,” she says. “I want to make an attempt to highlight all the precious and impressive craft objects that are often left behind within the walls of the home, continue to challenge hierarchies in the field, and make visible traditional female craftsmanship.”

    Blue Memories runs from January 11 to 26. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    Photo by Alexander Beveridge

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    Annie Duncan’s Ceramic Sculptures Expand Upon the Modern Feminine Experience

    Detail of “Material Girl” (2023). All images © Annie Duncan, shared with permission

    Annie Duncan’s Ceramic Sculptures Expand Upon the Modern Feminine Experience

    January 6, 2025

    ArtSocial Issues

    Jackie Andres

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    What objects are associated with femininity? Male-dominated art historical eras point to more traditional motifs such as flowers for fertility and dainty, domestic accoutrements like lace and porcelain. A more contemporary perspective might include everyday items from the drugstore, such as disposable shaving razors, claw clips, and lipstick.

    From centuries past to present day, do these objects ultimately embody similar messages about femininity that withstand the test of time? This overarching question is a catalyst for San Francisco-based artist Annie Duncan.

    Installation view from “Looking Glass” (2023)

    Within her work, sculptural assemblages of mascara tubes, necklaces, perfume bottles, and droopy flowers resemble the familiar surface of a cluttered vanity or overcrowded bathroom countertop. Although Duncan carefully places each sculpture in these compositions, their disorder achieves an air of authenticity. From uncapped cherry Chapstick tubes standing as if they were set down in a rush to discarded rings one decided not to wear after all, there is realism and relatability in each considered detail.

    Encountering common goods at an oversized scale prompts the viewer to confront the social impact each item holds. For instance, in “Material Girl,” an enlarged IUD implant is scattered among a variety of ubiquitous products, calling to the desensitization of challenges faced by those with female bodies. “Suddenly, the presence of these objects and everything they evoke—the burden, the beauty, the cultural magnitude that they possess—is too big to overlook,” the artist says.

    Duncan begins each piece by sculpting clay with a playful disposition. “It really is just grown-up play-dough or Sculpey,” she remarks. Also a painter, the artist hones in on brushwork during the glazing stage. Treating the bisque-fired surface as a canvas, her ceramic forms come to life with a lustrous sheen.

    Lately, the artist has been exploring the power of duality and how the idea of expectations versus reality can be communicated through her sculptures.

    “It’s become a really generative theme in my work; this sense that we’re carrying around our hopes and ambitions, and there’s always an adjustment that happens with the real thing. It doesn’t necessarily mean disappointment, but a sort of a flipping or altering of the plan,” Duncan explains. “To me, this feeling is deeply embedded in the feminine experience. Dialing down your initial vision, and learning to be ok with it; saying one thing while meaning another.”

    Duncan is currently working on a forthcoming group show that will take place in Seoul. Find her on Instagram for updates and check out her website for more artwork.

    Installation view from “Looking Glass” (2023)

    “Wilted Lily” (2023)

    “Biological Clock” (2022)

    “Pair of Razors” (2024)

    “Material Girl” (2023)

    “Instant Remedy” (2024)

    “Friendship Bracelet (Blue)” (2024), “Friendship Bracelet (Pink)” (2024)

    Installation view from “Looking Glass” (2023)

    “You’re Welcome” (2022)

    Installation view from “Looking Glass” (2023)

    Installation view from “Looking Glass” (2023)

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    Ceramics and Glass Merge in Christina Bothwell’s Transformative Sculptures

    “Strawberry Garden” (2021), medium-cast glass, ceramic, hand-painted details in oil paint, 26 x 27 x 7 inches. All images courtesy of Christina Bothwell, shared with permission

    Ceramics and Glass Merge in Christina Bothwell’s Transformative Sculptures

    January 6, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    When Christina Bothwell was younger, her primary focus was making the best work she was capable of. “Now, it occurs to me that I am part of a continuum,” she says. “It’s the feeling I have when I am making stuff that is the important thing—the process… That’s what we do as artists, right? Lay the groundwork for the next generation.”

    Bothwell often collaborates with her husband, Robert Bender, who adds wood elements to her dreamlike glass and ceramic pieces (previously). She applies botanical details and other small features in oil paint, creating a mixed-media world of ethereal figures and spiritual, interspecies interactions.

    “Journey” (2021), cast glass and ceramic, 26 x 17 x 16 inches

    Recently, Bothwell experienced a sudden health issue that threw her off her axis and derailed her studio practice. She says, “I felt disconnected from my creativity, and it even seemed pointless to make art at all, like, ‘Why bother?’” Eventually, though, she realized how much she missed being in the studio and how playing around with materials enlivened her mind and spirit.

    “These days, I feel keenly that it is a privilege just to make art, to see and be moved by beauty,” Bothwell says. She began working on a series of seashell sculptures with figures nestled inside them, which were deeply personal, metaphorical visions of emerging from one’s own safety zone to experience the unknown of the wider world. She sculpts each shell out of beeswax, eventually casting them in glass. The figures, on the other hand, are made from raku.

    Bothwell is currently working on sculptures that encourage letting go of the past and making space for new ideas, focusing on themes of ease, change, and courage. Explore more on the artist’s website.

    “Girl in Pink” (2024), cast glass and ceramic, 10 x 5 x 4 inches

    Collaboration with Robert Bender, “Strange Angel #3,” cast glass, ceramic, hand-painted details, wood wings, and antique wood puppet hands, 26 x 15 x 6 inches

    “Sometimes I Dream the Strangest Things” (2022), cast glass, ceramic, and hand-painted details

    Collaboration with Robert Bender, “Antlers” (2023), cast glass, hand-painted detail, and hand carved wood, 40 x 28 x 15 inches

    “Girl in Conch Shell” (2024), cast glass and ceramic, 10 x 4 x 4 inches

    Collaboration with Robert Bender, “Girl with Pink Bow,” (2024), kiln-formed cast glass and ceramic, 18 x 14 x 10 inches

    “Wilderness” (2024), cast glass, ceramic, found objects, wood, and hand-painted details, 38 inches tall

    Collaboration with Robert Bender, “Murmuration” (2022), cast glass, 46 x 12 x 12 inches

    Detail of “Murmuration”

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    Döppel Studio’s ‘Néophore’ Vessels Illuminate Ancient Pottery Traditions with Neon

    Photos by Ophélie Maurus. All images courtesy of Döppel Studio and ToolsGalerie, shared with permission

    Döppel Studio’s ‘Néophore’ Vessels Illuminate Ancient Pottery Traditions with Neon

    December 18, 2024

    ArtCraftDesign

    Kate Mothes

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    In ancient Greece, amphorae were commonly used for carrying or storing liquids and grains like wine, oil, or cereal. A narrow neck and a large, oval body were easily moved with handles on each side. For Paris-based Döppel Studio, a collaboration between Lionel Dinis Salazar and Jonathan Omar, a millennia-old form inspires a contemporary collection.

    Néophore is a series of terracotta and enamel vessels intersected with looping, handle-like tubes of glowing neon. Situated between sculpture, vessel, and lamp, the series takes a sophisticated yet playful approach to the relationship between form and function.

    Salazar and Omar teamed up with ceramicist Aliénor Martineau, who specializes in mineral-based natural glazes, to customize a reflective enamel that would come alive under the light. Find more on Döppel Studio’s website, and if you’re in Paris, you can see Néophore at ToolsGalerie through January 11.

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    Maxwell Mustardo’s Fluorescing Ceramics Merge Ancient Craft with Contemporary Style

    Group of vessels in the ‘Anthropophorae’ series. All images courtesy of Maxwell Mustardo, shared with permission

    Maxwell Mustardo’s Fluorescing Ceramics Merge Ancient Craft with Contemporary Style

    December 11, 2024

    ArtCraft

    Kate Mothes

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    Merging disparate reference points like cartoonish figures, fluorescent pigments, and classical vessels, Maxwell Mustardo’s Anthropophorae and Gadroons glow with personality. The New Jersey-based artist (previously) continues to revisit ancient forms that have been endlessly studied and reimagined over subsequent centuries, like amphorae, kraters, and gadrooning that celebrate tapered shapes.

    “Searching for new forms is mostly rediscovering old forms,” Mustardo tells Colossal. “One of my favorite aspects of ceramics, and the crafts more broadly, is the evolution of surfaces and forms through their constant appropriation in the aggressive exchange that occurs between individuals, studios, cultures, and time periods.”

    ‘Gadroons’

    The artist often turns to archetypes, from mugs and bottles to mathematical shapes—like the torus—to explore myriad relationships between geometry, material, history, and utility. He adds, “Each form provides various constraints that I can push around against and a web of references to tangle with.”

    Mustardo is currently working in the studio of the late Toshiko Takaezu (1922-2011), helping the artist’s foundation to establish a residency program for ceramists, fiber artists, and painters. Find more on his website.

    “Orange Amphora”

    “Blue & White Krater”

    Detail of “Orange Mug”

    Installation view of ‘Quasi-Neoclassical-ish’ at Odem Atelier. Photo by Nikodem Calcyznski

    “Green Amphora.” Photo by Nikodem Calczynski

    Detail of “Blurple Mug”

    The artist in his studio in August 2024

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    Colossal’s Top Articles of 2024

    Image courtesy of Wally Dion

    Colossal’s Top Articles of 2024

    December 10, 2024

    ArtColossalDesignHistoryNaturePhotography

    Colossal

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    Throughout 2024, we were awed by archaeological finds, vibrant paintings, striking sculptures, remarkable photography, immersive installations, and so much more. It’s tough to choose only 10 top articles for the year!

    Lucky for us, dear Colossal readers, you’ve helped pick the best. Below, dive into our most-read stories on the site during the past twelve months, and find hundreds more in the archive.

    “Untitled (after François Gérard)” (2023), oil on canvas, 100 x 80 centimeters. Images © Ewa Juszkiewicz, courtesy of Almine Rech

    Ewa Juszkiewicz’s Reimagined Historical Portraits of Women Scrutinize the Nature of Concealment

    From elaborate hairstyles to hypertrophied mushrooms, an array of unexpected face coverings feature in Ewa Juszkiewicz’s portraits. Drawing on genteel likenesses of women primarily from the 18th and 19th centuries, the artist superimposes fabric, bouquets of fruit, foliage, and more, over the women’s faces.

    Image courtesy of Greg Jensen

    A Rare Cross-Section Illustration Reveals the Infamous Happenings of Kowloon Walled City

    At its height in the 1990s, Kowloon Walled City in Hong Kong housed about 50,000 people. Its population is unremarkable for small cities, but what set Kowloon apart from others of its size was its density. For a now out-of-print book titled Kowloon City: An Illustrated Guide, artist Hitomi Terasawa drew a meticulous cross-sectioned rendering of the urban phenomenon to preserve its memory.

    Image © Isak Finnbogason

    Remarkable Drone Footage Captures a New Volcanic Eruption in Iceland

    In January, photographer and drone pilot Isak Finnbogason captured stunning footage of an eruption on Iceland’s Reykjanes peninsula in December, documenting the nearly two-mile-long lava vent on the first day it was active. 

    “Water Lilies in Bloom” (2023), oil on canvas. Image courtesy of Erin Hanson

    Landscapes Radiate Light and Drama in Erin Hanson’s Vibrant Oil Paintings

    In vivid pinks, blues, and greens, radiant landscapes emerge in Erin Hanson’s impressionistic oil paintings. The artist is based in Oregon’s Willamette Valley, where the rolling hills and surrounding mountain ranges cradle miles of vineyards.

    Image © Richard Johnson

    Framed by Frozen Lakes, Richard Johnson’s ‘Ice Huts’ Capture Wintertime Communities in Canada

    Every year, Ontario’s 279-square-mile Lake Simcoe draws more people for its ice fishing than any other lake in North America, attracting upwards of 4,000 huts each year. The colorful villages caught the eye of Toronto-based architectural photographer Richard Johnson (1957-2021), who captured hundreds of the structures, from the artistic to the ad-hoc, in a series of bold portraits taken between 2007 and 2019.

    Image courtesy of the Italian Ministry of Culture / AFP Photo

    Archaeologists Discover an Extraordinary 2,100-Year-Old Mosaic Near the Colosseum

    Early this year, we shared news that the Italian Ministry of Culture had a remarkable find in the heart of Rome. In the late Republican era, a luxurious townhouse had been laden with designs made from shells, glass, white marble, and Egyptian blue tiles. A large “rustic” mosaic dating to the last decades of the 2nd century B.C.E.—a little over 2,100 years ago—was likely inspired by the decorative styles of Near East monarchies.

    ‘The Whole Booke of Psalmes.’ London: Company of Stationers, 1643. Image courtesy of The Grolier Club

    Spanning Seven Centuries, ‘Judging a Book by its Cover’ Celebrates an Enduring Art

    The Grolier Club’s exhibition, Judging a Book by its Cover, highlighted some of the most unique editions within its collection, including a pigskin- and brass-bound Jewish Antiquities and the Jewish War created for a Benedictine monastery in Bavaria around 1473—the oldest in the club’s library. The collection also features several religious texts, like the miniature book of psalms shown above, made by women at the Royal Exchange in London with a variety of silk and gold threads.

    Image courtesy of Wally Dion, shared with permission

    Vivid, Translucent Quilts by Wally Dion Stitch Together Indigenous Culture and Making Traditions

    For many rural and economically strapped communities throughout history, quilting was a necessity. Tattered clothing and blankets were cut up and refashioned into new blankets, their patchwork styles evidence of the fabrics’ earlier uses. For Indigenous people, though, quilts “hold a particularly important cultural value,” says artist Wally Dion, “appearing as gifts, ceremonial objects, and celebratory markers.”

    “লয় [Loy]” (2019), Arjunpur Amra Sabai Club, Kolkata. Photo by Vivian Sarky. Image courtesy of Asim Waqif

    Immersive Bamboo Installations by Asim Waqif Whirl and Heave in Monumental Motion

    In his monumental, swirling structures, Delhi-based artist Asim Waqif merges tenets of architecture and sculpture into sweeping site-specific compositions. Using natural materials like bamboo and pandanus leaves, he often incorporates found objects, scaffolding, sound elements, cloth, and rope.

    “Animal in the Wind” (2014), clay, 36.7 x 20.8 x 30 centimeters. Image courtesy of JiSook Jung

    From Fire to Wind, JiSook Jung’s Ceramic Sculptures Animate the Elements

    JiSook Jung has long been drawn to clay for its inherent malleability. “Clay has the advantage of being able to quickly mold an image in my head into a visual form because it is soft and plastic,” the Seoul-based artist tells Colossal. “In that sense, I think clay is an intuitive and instinctive material.”

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