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Nine Massive Waves of Deadwood Surge Across a Forest Floor Near Hamburg
Art
Photography#COVID-19
#installation
#land art
#waves
#woodJune 8, 2021
Grace EbertAll images © Jörg Gläscher, shared with permission
As the fear of a second wave of COVID-19 swept through Germany in the fall of 2020, photographer and artist Jörg Gläscher decided to channel his own worry into a project that felt similarly vast and domineering. “I was working (with the idea of) the pure power of nature, the all-destroying force, which brings one of the richest countries in the world to a completely still stand,” he tells Colossal. “A wave is a periodic oscillation or a unique disturbance the state of a system.”
Between November 2020 and March 2021, Gläscher spent his days in a secluded location near Hamburg, where he gathered deadwood and constructed nine massive crests—the largest of which spans four meters high and nine meters wide—that overwhelm the forest floor in undulating layers of branches and twigs. Each iteration, which he photographed and then promptly destroyed in order to reuse the materials, overwhelms the existing landscape with pools of the formerly thriving matter.
Gläscher’s installations are part of a larger diaristic project he began at the beginning of the pandemic. Since then, he published a few magazines to present the works that range from photography to sculpture in one place, which you purchase along with prints in his shop. Find more of his multi-media projects on his site and Instagram. (via This Isn’t Happiness)#COVID-19
#installation
#land art
#waves
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Gradients and Everyday Objects Reinterpret the Day’s Events by Concealing the Cover of The New York Times
Art#COVID-19
#newspapers
#painting
#sunJune 2, 2021
Grace Ebert“DAFT PUNK,” Monday, February 22, 2021. All images © Sho Shibuya, shared with permission
Last summer, Sho Shibuya began a visual archive of the day’s sunrise by painting vibrant gradients in their likeness over the cover of The New York Times. The smooth, colorful transitions literally masked the daily headlines, offering a reprieve from the news and establishing a morning ritual that the Brooklyn-based artist, who’s also behind the design studio Placeholder, continues today.
Alongside those subtle sunrises, though, Shibuya also has started interpreting some of the day’s events through mixed-media works that similarly block out the articles. Two bandaids adhere to a peach cover, for example, marking widespread COVID-19 vaccinations. Bands of silver and gold splice another piece, which is also overlaid with a shattered mirror that reflects on Daft Punk breaking up after 28 years. No matter how heavy the topic, each of the pieces, Shibuya says, is intended as a visual aid that inspires hope and optimism. “I want to create peace through my work sharing my sympathy and emotion,” he tells Colossal, explaining:
I believed simple color and shape have power to influence emotions, and emotions influence actions. It is important to get the facts and understand the news, but I think my work is meant to make people feel the impact of the world beyond just facts and figures. It is similar to the way The New York Times printed all 100,000 names of the people who died from COVID; art can be a more impactful way of communicating the significance of the news.
Shibuya’s newspapers are on view through January 23, 2022, as part of E/MOTION, a group show at MoMu in Antwerp, and you can keep up with his daily practice on Instagram.“CALIFORNIA,” Wednesday, September 9, 2020
Left: “EVERGREEN,” Monday, March 29, 2021. Right: “SUPER BLOOD MOON,” Wednesday, May 26, 2021
Friday, May 7, 2021
“MARIJUANA,” Wednesday, March 31, 2021
“MARS,” Thursday, February 18, 2021
Friday, February 12, 2021
“BIDEN BEATS TRUMP,” Sunday, November 8, 2020#COVID-19
#newspapers
#painting
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More - in Art
Coronavirus Satirically Tops Kitsch Figurines Sculpted with Porcelain
Art#ceramics
#COVID-19
#porcelain
#satireMay 20, 2021
Grace Ebert“Holland” (2021). All images © Chrystl Rijkeboer, shared with permission
Artist Chrystl Rijkeboer contemporizes sentimental porcelain figurines with a present-day twist: spiky COVID-19 molecules obscure the characters’ facial features, rendering the largely wealthy and ornately dressed figures both anonymous and commonplace in modern contexts.
Whether posing for a portrait or mid-curtesy, Rijkeboer’s pieces satirize the long-crafted Meissen figurines, which have been in production since the 18th Century and often romanticize an antiquated world “where women do not represent any relevance but being nice and glamourous,” she tells Colossal. “For me, it is mostly about the position as a woman and an artist. The pandemic made it quite clear that artists are the first to be labeled as unnecessary.”
Living and working in Haarlem, The Netherlands, Rijkeboer has crafted an extensive COVID-themed collection, which includes ubiquities like Zoom calls and masks, all of which you can see on her site. (via Lustik)“Alice” (2021)
“Will we ever play and dance again together?” (2020)
Left: “Covid Duet #2 Brown” (2021). Right: “Dangerous Liaisons” (2020)
“Girl with Carrots & Rabbit” (2021)
Left: “Covid Couple” (2020). Right: “Covid Duet Blue” (2021)
“La Famiglia” (2021)
Left: “Covid Symphony #3” (2021). Right: Left: “Covid Symphony #4” (2021)
“Music Friends, boy with guitar & girl with flute” (2021)#ceramics
#COVID-19
#porcelain
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150,000 Hearts Representing Lives Lost to Coronavirus in the UK Line the COVID Memorial Wall in London
Art
History
Photography#COVID-19
#health
#heart
#memorial
#public artApril 12, 2021
Grace EbertAll photos © Henri Calderon for Colossal
Nearly 500 meters of small, red hearts will soon cover an expanse of concrete facing the River Thames in London. Now dubbed the National COVID Memorial Wall, the poignant display publicly commemorates the 150,000 lives lost to the coronavirus pandemic in the United Kingdom so far. Each heart represents one victim, with short messages of grief, love, and remembrance scribed by loved ones in their centers. It takes about ten minutes to walk by the entirety of the project, which serves as a staggering reminder of the virus’s devastation.
Coordinated by COVID-19 Bereaved Families For Justice, the two-meter-high wall is situated between the Westminster and Lambeth bridges, opposite the Houses of Parliament. According to The Guardian, Matt Fowler helms the ongoing project, which he began a few weeks ago by painting 15,000 hearts on the facade. His father died from the virus last April. “When you see all the hearts and think what each one represents, it’s absolutely frightening,” Fowler says.
Organizers still are raising money for supplies to complete all 150,000 hearts—although official government statistics currently reflect 149,000 deaths, which is the largest loss in Europe—that volunteers will continue to paint to account for all victims. Talks are also in the works about preserving the memorial to ensure that it’s a permanent fixture in London.
This past weekend, photographer Henri Calderon captured images for Colossal that document the memorial’s progress, which you can see below.#COVID-19
#health
#heart
#memorial
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More - in Street Art
Ben Frost – Open Studio & New Artwork
Australian pop artist Ben Frost is throwing open the doors to his Melbourne studio this week. With over 100 new artworks on display, this is the first time his new workshop has been open to the public.This Saturday April 10, the studio will be open from 12 -6pm, there is no need RSVP, but due to COVID restrictions capacity in the studio will be limited, so get down early!Artwork will be available to purchase and take home on the day and refreshments will be provided. New works include Ben’s signature painted packaging, editions of laser cut board stencils, paintings on board, and brand new XL handmade packaging on board.If you’re not able to make it to the studio, all unsold artwork will be available to order online afterwards, with worldwide delivery.Sign up to Ben’s mailing list here for the latest updates…Ben Frost Studio, 9/177 Beavers Rd, Northcote, VIC 3070, Australiawww.instagram.com/benfrostisdeadwww.benfrostisdead.com More
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Artists Explore Self-Expression Through Bizarre and Whimsical Masks at Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery
Art
Design
History#COVID-19
#masks
#sculptureOctober 26, 2020
Christopher JobsonFelicia Murray, “Our Dying Reefs,” felted COVID mask, 2020. All photos shared with permission.
There is perhaps no symbol more representative of contemporary life than the humble face mask. A simple health device crucial to saving millions of lives around the world from a deadly COVID-19 pandemic spread by invisible airborne pathogens, and yet an object that’s been quixotically politicized at the callous expense of humanity for the gain of an elite few. A new exhibition at the University of Denver’s Vicki Myhren Gallery approaches the lighter side of face coverings: the ancient tradition of masks as self-expression.
Arranged on mannequins lining the gallery space, over 40 artists present interpretations of protective face wear in MASK, currently on view by appointment through December 1, 2020. The collection of whimsical, grotesque, quirky, and beautiful masks are medically non-functional but guaranteed to provoke a reaction through their novel construction. Several designs mimic natural filtration systems like foliage or a coral reef, while others use repurposed objects like zippers or pipes to create wholly unusual face sculptures.
“Through this project, we hope to call attention to the significance and signification of masking as an issue of public health and demonstration of civic responsibility,” the gallery shares in a statement. “As the selected artists show, masking is also a mode of outward self-expression and opportunity for creativity. In turns utilitarian and fantastical, the wearable artworks shown demonstrate how makers and thinkers are engaging with the pandemic and applying their skills and individual styles to a newly important medium.”
As part of the exhibition, Vicki Myhren Gallery has partnered with Denver’s RedLine Contemporary Art Center to fabricate free masks for distribution for those in need. (via Hyperallergic)Scottie Burgess, “Mask for Our Unseen Smiles” (2020)
Serge Clottey, “Mask for Our Times” (2020) (photo by Nii Odzenma)
Elizabeth Morisette, “Beak” (2020)
Liz Sexton, Porcupinefish, 2020.
Freyja Sewell, “Food” from Key Worker Series (2020)
Matt Harris, “Hope” (2020); Cristina Rodo, “Covidus,” wet and needle-felted wool, 2020. Photo courtesy Emma Hunt.
Kate Marling, “Classical Sculpture Mask” (2020)#COVID-19
#masks
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More - in Art
Strength: Pejac Honors Spain’s Health Workers with a Moving Trio of Interventions
Art#COVID-19
#painting
#public art
#trompe l’oeilOctober 16, 2020
Grace Ebert“Overcoming.” All images © Pejac, shared with permission
On the campus of University Hospital Marqués de Valdecilla in Santander, Spain, a trio of interventions by street artist Pejac (previously) simultaneously responds to the ongoing COVID-19 crisis and offers potential paths for healing. The new series, titled Strength, is Pejac’s direct response to the 50,000 people who have died from the virus in his home country. “The idea of the Strength project arises as a gesture of gratitude to the health workers of Valdecilla, for their work in general and during this Covid crisis in particular. Offering them what I do best, which is painting,” the artist says.
In “Social Distancing” (shown below), a horde of people escape from a crevice in the building’s facade. The trompe l’oei artwork is a multi-layered metaphor for the ways the virus has ruptured society and the necessity of community care and compassion. “Caress” features two silhouettes standing six-feet apart, with Monet-style reflections on the ground nearby. The figures, which represent a patient and doctor, stretch their hands toward each other.
Pejac worked in collaboration with young oncology patients to complete the third piece, titled “Overcoming” (shown below), in which a child perched on a wheelchair recreates Van Gogh’s “Wheat Field with Cypresses.” “This is something that we, as a society could do—take this crisis and use it to propel us forward,” he says.
Watch the heartwarming video below that captures the works-in-progress, and find more about the tribute on Pejac’s Instagram.“Social Distancing”
“Social Distancing”
“Caress”
“Caress”
“Social Distancing”
“Social Distancing”
“Overcoming”
“Overcoming”“Overcoming”
“Social Distancing”
#COVID-19
#painting
#public art
#trompe l’oeilDo 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!
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