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    Hand-Dyed Paper Seeds Flow Through Sculptural Landscapes and Portraits by Ilhwa Kim

    
    Art
    #abstract
    #landscapes
    #paper
    #portraits
    #sculptureFebruary 2, 2022Grace Ebert“Run” (2021), 132 x 164 x 13 centimeters. All images © Laam Yi, shared with permissionSouth Korean artist Ilhwa Kim describes her meditative sculptural works as analogous to living architecture, “a live plant or the tree in (an) urban or natural space.” Comprised of carefully placed components in parallel lines and dense fields, Kim’s pieces materialize through innumerable rolled paper seeds that form organic, abstract landscapes and portraits—read about the artist’s painstaking process for crafting the individual elements previously on Colossal.In each work, Kim arranges an assortment of depths, colors, and textures: she tucks visible folds among more upright segments and installs thin, sweeping lines evocative of a single brushstroke through vast expanses of white. “When moving from painting to sculpture, I wanted to do everything I was able to use in painting; even brush strokes and all the wide color paints,” she tells Colossal. “But I’d like my works to have a far stronger life presence in the physical surroundings as a sculpture.”Because the dimension of each seed varies, the fluctuating compositions shift in color and texture depending on the perspective of the viewer, animating the scenes with light and shadow. Kim frequently photographs her pieces on sidewalks and in public places, which she shares on Instagram, to present the lively works within similarly bustling environments, and you can see the sculptures in person this October at HOFA Gallery.Seedsystem detail“Spectrum 2” (2021), 119 x 93 x 13 centimeters“The Face of Nature” (2021), 132 x 164 x 13 centimeters“Forrest Keeper” (2021), 164 x 132 x 15 centimeters“Choral Symphony” (2021), 192 x 224 x 13 centimetersDetail of “Choral Symphony” (2021), 192 x 224 x 13 centimeters“My Seed Your Town” (2021), 164 x 132 x 13 centimeters“White Portrait” (2022), 119 x 93 x 12 centimetersSeedsystem detail
    #abstract
    #landscapes
    #paper
    #portraits
    #sculptureDo 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

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    Sublime Plein Air Paintings by Jeremy Sams Are Photographed Against Lush North Carolina Landscapes

    
    Art
    #acrylic
    #landscapes
    #painting
    #plein airJanuary 31, 2022Grace EbertAll images © Jeremy Sams, shared with permissionWhen painting in plein air, artist Jeremy Sams scours the landscapes around his home in Archdale, North Carolina, for a spot that rouses all of his senses. “It begins in your initial journey, whether it’s a hike through a place of natural solitude with all of the smells and cool breezes or just a stroll down a street with the melodies of urban life,” he shares.He then paints sublime interpretations of the nearby landscape, relying on a realistic color palette in acrylic to render slightly blurred edges and the location’s generally serene qualities: overlaid by a dreamy haze, brooks reflect the surrounding trees, a small brood of chickens pecks at spring grass, and snow melts into a rocky stream.In a note to Colossal, Sams says he’s most attracted to places layered with contrast, sometimes in the form of light and shadow or disparities in color and others when natural features are positioned alongside human interventions like pathways and barns. “Whatever it is that draws my attention, there is something truthful about the landscape that begs to be painted,” he shares. “This is one of the reasons that I do very little editing to the scene on my canvas, but I try to capture the essence of that thing which initially drew me in.”Sams tends to photograph his finished paintings against their original source, which you can see more of on Instagram.
    #acrylic
    #landscapes
    #painting
    #plein airDo 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

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    Serene Wooded Landscapes Nestle Inside Introspective Silhouette Paintings by Megan Aline

    
    Art
    #acrylic
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #painting
    #silhouettesJanuary 24, 2022Grace Ebert“Everything Changes,” acrylic on panel, 16 x 12 inches. All images © Megan Aline, shared with permissionIn Unseen Roots, artist Megan Aline fills silhouettes with brush, autumn foliage, and tall, skinny trees that span from torso to crown. Her solo show at Robert Lange Studio in Charleston consists of dozens of acrylic works that expose a small glimpse of a landscape hidden within each figure. “As we become increasingly disconnected from the natural world, I think the memory of nature becomes even stronger inside each of us,” the artist shares. “If you only spent weekends in the woods or summers at your grandmothers or you have a park you visit from time to time, it becomes the quiet space inside you that you can escape to even when you aren’t there.”To render the contemplative works, Aline paints inside a stenciled silhouette on panel, which creates crisp outlines of each figure—she shares videos of this process on Instagram—and visible brushstrokes in pastel and neutral tones comprise the paintings’ backdrops. “As an artist, I spend a lot of time reflecting inwardly as I paint outwardly,” she writes. “I like the idea that we have an ‘inner landscape,’ a map created from emotions, ideas, and sensations collected throughout our lives.”Unseen Roots is on view through January 28, and you can shop prints of Aline’s introspective silhouettes on her site. (via Supersonic Art)“Deepest Pathways,” acrylic on panel, 16 x 16 inches“Deeper Time,” acrylic on panel, 20 x 20 inchesTop: “Constantly Growing,” acrylic on panel, 20 x 30 inches. Bottom left: “Emergence,” acrylic on panel, 18 x 24 inches. Bottom right: “Radiance,” acrylic on panel, 16 x 16 inches“Deeper Change,” acrylic on panel, 20 x 20 inches“Positive Light,” acrylic on panel, 8 x 8 inches“An Underlying Message,” acrylic on panel, 24 x 24 inches“Beyond the Surface,” acrylic on panel, 16 x 16 inches
    #acrylic
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #painting
    #silhouettesDo 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

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    Shipping Containers and Intersecting Lines Clutter Landscapes in Mary Iverson’s Paintings on Globalization

    
    Art
    #acrylic
    #found photographs
    #ink
    #landscapes
    #oil painting
    #paintingJanuary 18, 2022Grace Ebert“Calamity at Cairo,” acrylic and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches. All images © Mary Iverson, shared with permissionLatticed lines and brightly colored boxes overlay the chaotically transformed landscapes by Mary Iverson (previously). Based in Seattle, the artist uses a combination of oil and acrylic paints, ink, and found photographs to render shockingly prescient scenes blighted by globalization and environmental disaster: barges and shipping containers float in the sea and haphazardly occupy beaches, with their contents sometimes spilling out onto the surrounding area.The largely natural scenes and the clean, angled lines and geometric forms clash in Iverson’s superimposed works in a manner that evokes the competition of industry. In a note to Colossal, she shares that given the dramatic changes the world has undergone in the last few years, her “paintings are no longer theoretical.” She explains:Because at the same time as the pandemic was unfolding, the super mega-ships were entering the trade system. Everyone was stuck at home and ordering stuff at an unprecedented pace, the demand for goods got very high, the workforce shrank, and everything got backed up, creating “supply chain issues.” We now have actual real sea-level rise, huge apocalyptic fires, and shipping disasters unfolding before our very eyes. We are at the precipice of an apocalypse. The question is, how are we going to deal with it?Often rendered on images of historically and culturally significant sites like Machu Picchu, the Colosseum, and the pyramids of Cairo, Iverson’s works indicate the evolution of human society with a bleak, discouraging perspective. “I look at photos of lost civilizations and think about their hopes, dreams, and ideals, and I wonder what the end will look like for us,” she says.Iverson shares glimpses into her process and works-in-progress on Instagram, and prints of “Calamity at Cairo” are available in the Juxtapoz shop through January 19.“Sunk 2,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Calamity at Crater Lake,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Lost Shipment,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Calamity at Machu Picchu,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Calamity at the Colosseum,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Point Reyes Lighthouse,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches“Calamity at Summit Lake (Mount Rainier),” oil on canvas, 16 x 20 inches“Rube Beach with Containers,” oil on canvas“Fleet,” acrylic, ink, and found photograph on panel, 12 x 12 inches
    #acrylic
    #found photographs
    #ink
    #landscapes
    #oil painting
    #paintingDo 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

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    Infrared Light Enhances Versailles, Provence, and the Beaches of Normandy with Dreamy Shades of Pink

    
    Art
    Photography
    #France
    #infrared
    #landscapesNovember 29, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Paolo Pettigiani, shared with permissionPreviously having captured the Dolomites and New York City’s Central Park in a candy-colored glow, photographer Paolo Pettigiani now adds urban and rural France to his ongoing collection of infrared images. The magical series documents the rolling lavender fields of Provence in watermelon hues and Versailles’s landscaped terraces or the Gothic abbey of Mont-Saint-Michel in bright, saturated tones. Pettigiani shoots each location with a full-spectrum camera that unveils otherwise invisible wavelengths and enhances the trees, grasses, and stone surfaces that reflect infrared light with varying shades of pink.See more from the France Infraland series on Pettigiani’s Behance and Instagram, and shop prints of the surreal landscapes on Lumas.
    #France
    #infrared
    #landscapesDo 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

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    Miniature Watercolor Works by Ruby Silvious Are Painted on Stained Teabags

    
    Art
    Illustration
    #landscapes
    #miniature
    #painting
    #tea
    #watercolorNovember 26, 2021Grace EbertAll images © Ruby Silvious, shared with permissionRuby Silvious’s quaint seaside scenes and bucolic landscapes nestle between the torn edges and wrinkled folds of a used teabag. The Coxsackie, New York-based artist (previously) paints miniature scenes of everyday life on the stained paper pouches, leaving the string and tags intact as a reminder of the repurposed material’s origin. Silvious sells prints of her watercolor pieces on her site, and you can follow her latest projects and news about upcoming exhibitions—she will be showing her upcycled works in France and Japan in 2022—on Instagram.
    #landscapes
    #miniature
    #painting
    #tea
    #watercolorDo 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

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    Reality and Imagined Meditative States Converge in Tomás Sánchez’s Tranquil Landscapes

    
    Art

    #acrylic
    #graphite
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #painting
    #trees
    #water

    November 16, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “Light: Outside, Inside” (2021), acrylic on linen, 100 x 80 centimeters. All images © Tomás Sánchez, shared with permission
    Through serene, idyllic landscapes, Tomás Sánchez visualizes his long-harbored fascination with meditation. The practice, the Cuban painter says, is “where I find many of the answers to questions that transcend from the personal to the universal. Meditation is not always a fleeting time. Meditation is not a punctual exercise; it is a constant practice.”
    Rather than conceptualize the exercise as a temporary state, Sánchez views mediation as a lens to interpret the world, a recurring theme that has foregrounded much of his work during the last few decades. His acrylic paintings and hazy graphite drawings, which take months if not years to complete, highlight the immensity and awe-inspiring qualities of a forest thick with vegetation or a nearby waterfall and offer perspective through a lone, nondescript figure often found amongst the trees. Distinct and heavily detailed, the realistic landscapes aren’t based on a specific place but rather are imagined spaces available only through a ruminative state.
    If you’re in New York, stop by Marlborough Gallery to see Sánchez’s solo show, which is on view from November 18 to January 22. Titled Inner Landscape, the exhibition encompasses multiple pieces never shown before, including the pristine scenes shown here. Until then, explore more of his works on Instagram.

    “Inner Lagoon…Thought-Cloud” (2016), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 199.3 centimeters
    “La batalla” (2015), acrylic on linen, 200 x 250 centimeters
    “El río va” (2020), acrylic on linen, 121.3 x 99.1 centimeters
    “Aislado” (2015), acrylic on canvas, 199.7 x 249.9 centimeters
    “Diagonales” (2018), conté crayon on paper, 30.5 x 40.6 centimeters

    #acrylic
    #graphite
    #landscapes
    #nature
    #painting
    #trees
    #water

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    Social Issues and the Climate Crisis Intertwine in Subversive Crocheted Works by Jo Hamilton

    
    Art
    Craft

    #crochet
    #landscapes
    #plastic
    #portraits
    #yarn

    November 15, 2021
    Grace Ebert

    “I Crochet Portland” (2006-2009), mixed crocheted yarn, 63 x 114 inches. All images © Jo Hamilton, shared with permission
    From a mix of wool fibers and yarn made from plastic waste, Scottish artist Jo Hamilton crochets large-scale portraits and architectural landscapes delineated with dangling threads. Her knotted pieces push the boundaries of art and craft traditions, bringing the two together in subversive portrayals of powerful women and metropolises marred by production. Unraveling at the edges, the textured works reflect on interlocking issues like unchecked capitalism, social disparities, and the increasingly urgent climate crisis.
    All of the materials Hamilton uses are recycled, whether sourced from estate sales and resalers or created in studio. A few years ago, she started turning grocery bags, videotapes, and other household items into skeins of yarn-like threads—the artist shares some of this process on Instagram—as a way to reduce her impact on the environment, explaining:
    We tend to glorify nature as an eternal and everlasting idea, separate from ourselves and our real-life actions. We’ve held on tightly to these ideas during the last few decades in the throes of late capitalism and globalization, and if we don’t change our thinking, policies and behavior immediately it will be too late. So I channeled my anxieties about over-production, pollution, and climate change into my work, using plastic in some of the works in contrast with the yarn.
    If you’re in Portland, stop by Russo Lee Gallery to see Hamilton’s most recent works as part of her solo show Transitory Trespass, which closes on November 27.

    “Cherry Steel Above and Below” (2017), mixed crocheted yarn, 68 x 122 inches
    “Shinig Mountain Eclipse.” Photo by John Clark
    Left: “Masked Metamorhic.” Right: “Masked Marbled.” Photos by John Clark
    “Death Star PDX” (2018), mixed crocheted yarn, 45 x 52 inches. Photo by John Clark
    “Isaac Montalvo” (2008), mixed yarn, 23 x 22 inches
    “Head & Neck Dietician” (2016), mixed crocheted yarn, 29 x 27 inches
    “Groucho Gia” (2013), mixed crocheted yarn, 51 x 36 inches
    Hamilton with a 2019 outdoor crocheted mural project on SE Foster Road in Portland. Photo by Kevin McConnell
    Hamilton with a 2019 outdoor crocheted mural project on SE Foster Road in Portland. Photo by Kevin McConnell

    #crochet
    #landscapes
    #plastic
    #portraits
    #yarn

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