More stories

  • in

    Digital Renderings Collage 3D Objects into Futuristic Self-Portraits by Artist Omar Aqil

    
    Art

    #collage
    #digital
    #sculpture
    #self-portrait
    #technology

    May 13, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Omar Aqil, shared with permission
    Lahore, Pakistan-based artist Omar Aqil (previously) digitally assembles technology, 3D objects, and textured masses into figurative collages for his series Self-Portraits 2050. The futuristic characters all sport a pair of glasses but are otherwise distinct, sometimes conveyed through sleek geometric shapes stacked into facial features and others sprouting whimsical florals and various organic elements. Experimentation and play are at the heart of this new series—which Aqil refers to as “profile pictures”—and his practice overall, resulting in an eclectic collection of self-portraits rooted in the current digital era.
    Find more of the artist’s sculptural renderings, which include a variety of abstracted figures and colorful assemblages, on Behance and Instagram.

    #collage
    #digital
    #sculpture
    #self-portrait
    #technology

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Digital Portraits Reinvent Classical Paintings by Enveloping Subjects in Garments and Masks

    
    Art

    #collage
    #digital
    #portraits

    March 24, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Hidden Perronneau” (2020), photocollage. All images © Volker Hermes, shared with permission
    Nearly a decade before masks became a ubiquitous part of our lives, artist Volker Hermes was fashioning lavish face coverings made of flowers, lace, and ornate baubles. In his ongoing series, Hidden Portraits, Hermes digs into the art historical archive and selects classical paintings that he then reinterprets. Elaborate accessories derived from elements in the original works become tools for obscuring the subjects’ faces, which subsequently draws attention to their garments, gestures, and surroundings.
    Since he began the prescient series, Hermes has based his practice in painting even though he realizes each portrait digitally. Time has given him ample opportunities to delve into the original painters’ backgrounds, periods, and the symbolism of various fashions, an experience bolstered by his costuming work for opera productions.
    Now fluent in historical significance, Hermes continues to parse questions of representation in the works and their current-day implications. “Each era has its own symbols,” he says. “I always like to mention the Chanel costume as a metaphor for today’s upper-class affiliation. There are of course more current, more specific ones, but this garment has something of a general visualization of an established elite.”
    Other emblems—like the big, black hats made from beaver fur that many men don in works from the Dutch Golden Age to signify their rank—are more difficult to recognize today. Hermes says:
    Whoever had such a hat, had himself painted with it. But today we don’t know that anymore. We simply see men with black hats, which no longer trigger anything in us. We look the sitters in the face as our natural approach. If I now exaggerate such a hat in my interventions, blocking the access via the face, the focus changes, the viewer is forced, so to speak, to look at the painting under new aspects, taking into account the meanings that determined the painting at that time.
    From his studio in Düsseldorf, Hermes is preparing new pieces for a group show centered around a theme of clerical representation and pilgrimage, which you can keep up with on Instagram.

    “Hidden Pesne” (2021), photocollage
    “Hidden Larkin” (2020), photocollage
    “Hidden Anonymous (Pourbus)” (2020), photocollage
    “Hidden Cranach III” (2019), photocollage
    “Hidden Liotard VI” (2021), photocollage
    “Hidden Pourbus V” (2019), photocollage

    #collage
    #digital
    #portraits

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    New Perspective-Bending Collages by Lola Dupré Distort and Reconfigure Pets and Portraits

    
    Art
    Photography

    #animals
    #architecture
    #collage
    #humor
    #surreal

    March 19, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Cleo” (2020), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. All images © Lola Dupré, shared with permission
    Glasgow-based artist Lola Dupré (previously) continues her practice of slicing and rearranging photographs and art historical works into cleverly surreal collages. Her newest manipulations include a blockheaded Léon Bonnat, an entire row of irresistible puppy eyes, and a twisted rendition of George Stubbs’s “The Kongouro from New Holland.” Dupré’s cat, Charlie, still finds himself as fodder for the unusual works—see two pieces centered on him below—and the artist is currently in the process of creating her 33rd portrait of the orange-and-white feline. Find more of the Dupré’s compositions in the latest issue of Standart Magazine, shop originals and prints on her site, and see the distorted works in person at Portland’s Brassworks Gallery later this year. You also can follow along with the contorted creations on Instagram and Behance.

    “Kayack” (2020), 11.6 x 8.2 inches
    “Roo after Stubbs” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
    Left: “After Leon Bonnat” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. Right: “The Community” (2020), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
    “Charlie 32” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches
    “Hardy” (2020), 16.5 x 11.5 inches
    Left: “Cat after Nathaniel Currier” (2021), 8.2 x 11.6 inches. Right: “Rand” (2021), 11.5 x 16.5 inches
    “Charlie 31” (2021), 11.6 x 8.2 inches

    #animals
    #architecture
    #collage
    #humor
    #surreal

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Six Quirky Houseplants Made from Collaged Photos Spring from a Pop-Up Book by Daniel Gordon

    
    Art
    Photography

    #books
    #collage
    #fruit
    #paper
    #plants
    #pop-ups
    #sculpture

    March 9, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    From Daniel Gordon: Houseplants (Aperture, 2020). All images © Daniel Gordon/Aperture, photographs and video by Black&Steil/Aperture
    Say goodbye to the days of buying succulents only to watch them wilt and shrivel. Just flip open a pop-up book by photographer Daniel Gordon, and find a collection of forever-perky shrubs and greenery sprouting from the pages.
    Published by Aperture, Houseplants features quirky still lifes of potted vegetation and fruit that Gordon developed using photographs found online, a process that’s central to his overall practice. The obviously constructed forms, which were created by self-described paper engineer Simon Arizpe, juxtapose the realistic nature of the plants with saturated colors and unusual depth, resulting in scenes that are distinctly informed by the internet and the melding of digital and analog techniques. “The seamlessness of the ether is boring to me, but the materialization of that ether, I think, can be very interesting,” Gordon says in a statement.
    To add the sculptural greens to your collection, pick up a copy of Houseplants from Aperture or Bookshop, and explore more of the Brooklyn-based photographer’s vibrant, collaged projects on his site and Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

    #books
    #collage
    #fruit
    #paper
    #plants
    #pop-ups
    #sculpture

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Lorna Simpson Photographs Rihanna in an Elegantly Collaged Collaboration for ESSENCE Magazine

    
    Art
    Photography

    #celebrities
    #collage
    #found photographs
    #magazines

    January 25, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Of Earth & Sky (Blue Cumulus)” (2020), collage and ink on paper. All images © Lorna Simpson, courtesy of the artist and Hauser & Wirth
    An extraordinarily glamorous collaboration graces the pages of ESSENCE’s January/February 2021 issue. The print publication paired acclaimed artist Lorna Simpson and pop icon and businesswoman Rihanna for a striking interpretation of modern beauty.
    Within the Of Earth & Sky series are 12 collages and the cover image, which features Rihanna, eyelids coated in bright blue, staring directly at the camera. A diamond collar drapes around her neck, and she’s adorned with a roughly textured crown of crystal derived from 19th-century lithographs.
    Many of the superimposed collages feature the Barbados-born singer framed in archival imagery, from star-studded galactic coiffes to bright bursts of watercolor. Others in the collection stray from hairstyle transformations and instead position her against vintage backdrops, including one shot of Rihanna donning an elaborately feathered headdress and lingerie in front of the city skyline.
    Brooklyn-based Simpson is known for her kaleidoscopic collages centered on Black women that pull imagery from back issues of Ebony and Jet, a treatment she applies to ESSENCE‘s first-ever commission. The layered works are paired with an essay by the artist’s daughter, actress and model Zora Simpson Casebere, about Rihanna’s lasting influence on her own career. For more of Simpson’s collages that intersect contemporary culture and retro imagery, head to her site. (via Artnet)

    “Of Earth & Sky (Nebula)” (2020), collage on paper
    “Of Earth & Sky (Cover)” (2020), collage on paper
    “Earth & Sky #24” (2016), collage on paper
    “Of Earth & Sky (Bivalve)” (2020), collage on paper
    “Of Earth & Sky (Moving Planets) “(2020), collage on paper
    “Of Earth & Sky (Bridge)” (2020), collage on paper

    #celebrities
    #collage
    #found photographs
    #magazines

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Hundreds of Collaged Photographs Form Rich, Botanical Worlds by Artist Catherine Nelson

    
    Art
    Photography

    #collage
    #digital
    #environment
    #nature

    August 21, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Pachira,” 59 x 59 inches.  All images © Catherine Nelson, shared with permission
    A decade ago, Catherine Nelson compiled hundreds of photographs of barren, snow-covered landscapes and autumnal forests for her project Future Memories 2010. The Australian artist, who lives and works between Ghent and Amsterdam, recently revisited that series to create a new body of work with similar world-building techniques. “With the tumultuous events of 2020 still unfolding and the undeniable links to the destruction of the natural world by mankind, it felt timely to return to the themes from that series, which talk about our planet and the importance of protecting what we have,” she says.
    Composed of photographs captured during three years and across four continents, Future Memories 2020 spans “from the lush, tropical flora of Costa Rica and Far North Queensland and the fertile, volcanic mountains of the Azores, to the rolling hills of the Greenland tundra,” Nelson writes. Many of the orb-like digital assemblages feature thick brush and foliage around the outside, while the less-populated centers appear to bulge out. The organic spheres hover effortlessly against a cloudy backdrop, highlighting the rich colors and incredible diversity of every environment. Each piece serves as a reminder that “it is in the flourishing variety of the local that the fate of the world resides,” the artist says.
    Nelson’s work is on view through September 22 at Michael Reid in Sydney and will head to Gallerysmith in Melbourne early next year. Those unable to experience the complexly assembled worlds in person can see more on her site.

    “Cubali,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Sarapiqui,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Terra Nostra,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Tortuguero,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Tropic,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Tundra,” 59 x 59 inches
    “Cartago,” 59 x 59 inches

    #collage
    #digital
    #environment
    #nature

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, help support our interview series, gain access to partner discounts, and much more. Join now!

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Berries, Cookies, and Salami Slices Anonymize Vintage Portraits by Digital Artist Harriet Moutsopoulos

    
    Art
    Food

    #collage
    #portraits
    #surreal

    July 9, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    “Idaeus,” 20 x 24.01 inches. All images © Harriet Moutsopoulos, shared with permission
    Telling someone that there’s an errant herb stuck between their teeth or a dot of sauce just below their lip is likely to spur embarrassment, so noting that they’re covered in egg or raspberry or a gloopy mound of ketchup might be too much to bear. Harriet Moutsopoulos, though, helps her subjects save face by completely masking their distinct features with singular bites of fruit, bowls of ice cream, and slices of salami, ensuring their anonymity.
    The Australian artist, who works under the name Lexicon Love, combines found portraits and edibles into strange collages. Although her techniques are digital, Moutsopolous often considers analog practices, preferring basic technologies to programs like Photoshop or Illustrator. She also imposes limits of two or three elements to maintain the integrity of each piece. “The most significant challenge for me is giving each artwork the slight imperfections of hand and the general look and feel of being made entirely from traditional, analog practices,” she says.
    Moutsopolous tells Colossal that she’s “drawn to the surreal and unsettling and try to inject that into my work where possible, always seeking out the unexpected connections between humor and tragedy.” At times both comical and unsettling, the bizarre compilations inspire questions about the subjects’ identities. “On the surface, this absurd combination appears to reject any sense of reason (an extension of my own twisted sense of humor). However, obscuring the faces of my portraits with food is designed to not only challenge traditional notions of beauty but also to provoke, tease, and confuse the observer,” the artist says.
    Pick up one of Moutsopoulos’s prints on her site, and follow her future food-covered assemblages on Instagram. (via Inag)

    “Protogonus,” 20 x 24.01 inches
    “Carry on Regardless,” 20 x 24.01 inches
    “Cancelled,” 20 x 24.01 inches
    “You Win Again,” 20 x 20 inches
    “First Love,” 20 x 24.01 inches
    “Lorem Ipsum,” 20 × 24.01 inches
    “Dog’s Balls,” 20 x 24.01 inches

    #collage
    #portraits
    #surreal

    Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member and support independent arts publishing. Join a community of like-minded readers who are passionate about contemporary art, apply for our annual grant, and get exclusive access to interviews, partner discounts, and event tickets.

     
    Share this story
      More

  • in

    Women in Motion Energize Dreamy Photographs by Kylli Sparre

     “Wonder Wheels.” All images © Kylli Sparre, shared with permission Often blurring or concealing the faces of her dramatically posed figures, Kylli Sparre (previously) captures magical portraits of young women and girls. The fine art photographer, who is based in Tallinn, captures her lone subjects amidst swirling swaths of fabric or perched atop a […] More