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    Miniature Mixed Media Lace Works Depict Pastoral Scenes in New Work by Ágnes Herczeg

    
    Art
    Craft

    #found objects
    #lace
    #mixed media

    October 2, 2020
    Christopher Jobson

    All photos © Ágnes Herczeg, shared with permission
    Working within a scale of just a few small inches, Hungarian artist Ágnes Herczeg (previously) threads together fragments of wood, seeds, and wire with delicate lace work to form pastoral scenes inspired in part by her surroundings in a small town near the river Danube. This year Herczeg utilized more tree bark and golf leaf, and developed her abilities with silk thread to create pieces even smaller than before. In a note to Colossal she shares this challenge to work increasingly smaller is “a very good mind game.” You can see lots of her new work on her website, and several pieces are for sale in her online shop.

    #found objects
    #lace
    #mixed media

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    Monumental Ballpoint Pen Portraits Are Rendered on Vintage Collateral by Artist Mark Powell

    
    Art
    Illustration

    #found objects
    #maps
    #portraits
    #postcard

    August 9, 2020
    Grace Ebert

    All images © Mark Powell, shared with permission
    From his Brighton-based studio on the seafront, Mark Powell (previously) pieces together crinkled book pages and postcards laden with travel dispatches. The vintage collages serve as backdrops for the artist’s oversized portraits of older folks, whose pensive stares and deep wrinkles are rendered gently in ballpoint pen. Often magnified, the subjects complement the weathered, ephemeral surfaces that span multiple feet. “I’m currently working on a series of larger works because they have much more impact on the viewer, more confronting yet comfortable I’m hoping. It is also much more tricky because by just using a ballpoint pen no mistakes can be made, and it would be a terrible shame to ruin a map, document, or letter that has survived hundreds of years only to be destroyed by me,” he shares with Colossal.
    Each enlarged illustration—which sometimes depicts famous subjects, like Basquiat and Hunter S. Thompson— takes about a month to complete, and Powell generally works on more than one simultaneously. Recently, he’s started to slow down his artistic production as he shifts away from creating for dozens of shows every year. “The past two years, I’ve taken a step back from shows slightly to allow that evolution space to breathe. It has meant that the quality of the work has increased immeasurably (still much room for improvement of course),” he says.
    Powell’s detailed illustrations will be included in an upcoming show at Hang-Up Gallery in London. Until then, dive into his repurposed projects on Behance and Instagram, and check out the available prints in his shop.

    #found objects
    #maps
    #portraits
    #postcard

    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!

     
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    Barbed Wire, Rusty Knives, and Found Objects Mend Artist Glen Taylor’s Broken Porcelain

     “My grandmother’s china.” All images © Glen Taylor, shared with permission Artist Glen Taylor solders ridges of metal to porcelain fragments, completing a halved teacup or broken saucer with a range of unusual materials: barbed wire, tarnished silverware, old book pages, and multicolored twine form a portion of the household objects. Each intervention contrasts […] More

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    Constellations of Found Electronics Shape Faces on Vintage Rackets by Artist Leonardo Ulian

     All images © Leonardo Ulian, shared with permission London-based artist Leonardo Ulian (previously) merges two disparate elements in his sprawling assemblages: he speckles analog equipment with an array of electronic pieces found in digital devices. Created while in quarantine, Ulian’s Contrived Object series is comprised of vintage tennis rackets displaying intricate constellations of metal […] More

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    Precise Angular Stitches Encase Found Twigs in Natalie Ciccoricco’s New Embroideries

     All images © Natalie Ciccoricco Stitching lengthy, varicolored rows around found twigs, Natalie Ciccoricco juxtaposes the organic forms of nature with her meticulous embroideries. The California-based artist has been crafting her Nesting series on white, handmade paper with unfinished edges. The stark backdrop complements the precisely laid thread that seems to suspend each twig, […] More

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    Vintage Jigsaw Puzzles Blended Piece-by-Piece into Surreal Montages by Tim Klein

     “Pig Jaw Suzzle #2,” 11 x 9 inches. All images © Tim Klein, shared with permission Although there’s seemingly only one way to assemble a jigsaw puzzle, Tim Klein (previously) has diverged from the traditional method of following the photo on the box to assemble unusual arrangements of hybrid animals and everyday objects. The Vancouver, […] More

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    Dense Ecosystems with Flowing Water Sources Packed in Vintage Luggage by Kathleen Vance

     “Traveling Landscape, Grey Samsonite,” vintage train case, resin, artificial foliage, soil, water, water pump, and fluorescent light, 13 x 9 x 9 inches. All images © Kathleen Vance, shared with permission New York City-based artist Kathleen Vance creates lush landscapes brimming with green mosses, foliage, and rocky surfaces all stored in an unusual carrier: […] More