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    Maria Nepomuceno’s Mixed-Media Sculptures Writhe with Ancient Symbolism

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    “Untitled” (2025), ceramics, strings, necklace beads, and wood, 39 3/8 x 34 5/8 x 11 3/4 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, New York, shared with permission

    Maria Nepomuceno’s Mixed-Media Sculptures Writhe with Ancient Symbolism

    August 22, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

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    Through millennia of artistic expression and within the natural world, the ubiquitous spiral continues to mesmerize. In ancient traditions, the form often represents cycles. The triskele, for example, consists of three interlocking spirals thought to symbolize death, life, and rebirth or the triad of mind, body, and spirit. Spirals also emerge naturally in seashells and plants, sometimes linked to the concept of the golden mean, also known as the “divine ratio.”

    For Maria Nepomuceno, the spiral’s occurrence in nature—along with its spiritual significance relating to time and energy in perpetual flow—underpins a vibrant multimedia practice. Her forthcoming exhibition, Cunhó, which opens next month at Sikkema Malloy Jenkins, emphasizes abundance. Iconographic references to female anatomy, jars, ceramic vessels, baskets, and seashells—the latter of which are emblematic of fertility and wealth—emphasize flourishing interactions and growth.

    “Abraçaço” (2025), strings, necklace beads, straw, ceramics, resin, and wood, 59 x 50 3/4 x 15 3/4 inches

    A made-up word, Cunhó takes its title from a nickname Nepomuceno’s mother gave to her. Employing traditional Brazilian craftsmanship, the artist creates undulating forms that hang on the wall or nestle into the juncture where perpendicular surfaces meet. Her sculptures are simultaneously soft and firm, meandering and structured. From a distance, they can be alternately read like magnified, amorphous, biological cells or what the gallery describes as vast “macrocosmic landscapes.”

    Whorling beaded and woven forms envelop pearlescent bottle gourds or evoke tropical flowers with prominent stamens. In “Abraçaço,” for example, which in Portuguese means “hug” or “embrace,” a faceless female figure with a serpentine tongue encircles a large white shell and other amorphous shapes with long, slender arms. Other pieces, like “Mar Amor,” evoke an ouroboros, an ancient symbol usually consisting of a snake or dragon eating its own tail, which represents self-creation, interconnection, and eternal cycles.

    Incorporating ceramics, wood, beads, straw, string, and other found materials, Nepomuceno merges the organic and inorganic in shapeshifting pieces that represent a continuous cycle of reproduction, nourishment, plenitude, and care.

    Cunhó runs from September 2 to October 11 in New York City. Explore more by the artist on Instagram.

    Detail of “Abraçaço”

    “Mar Amor” (2025), strings, necklace beads, resin, and wood, 42 1/2 x 41 3/8 x 9 7/8 inches

    “Planta desejo” (2025), wood, straw, necklace beads, resin, string, and ceramic, 74 3/4 x 68 7/8 x 65 inches

    Detail of “Planta desejo”

    “Lingua Espiral” (2025), string, beads, wood, glass, fabric, paint, and ceramics, 59 x 65 x 13 3/4 inches

    “Untitled” (2025), necklace beads, straw, ceramic, and resin, 35 3/8 x 27 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches

    “Untitled” (2025), strings, necklace beads, wood, paper, and resin, 51 1/8 x 35 3/8 x 11 3/4 inches

    “Untitled” (2025), braided straw, necklace beads, ceramics, and resin, 55 1/8 x 45 1/4 x 23 5/8 inches

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      Steve Keister Conjures Mythological Creatures from Clay, Wood, and Cardboard

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      “Moondog” (2024), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, 16.5 x 11.5 x 28.5 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Derek Eller Gallery, shared with permission

      Steve Keister Conjures Mythological Creatures from Clay, Wood, and Cardboard

      August 19, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      From glazed ceramic, coated cardboard, wood, and acrylic paint, Steve Keister summons mythical beings and enigmatic animal-human hybrids. The artist’s current exhibition, Split Level at Derek Eller Gallery, is a survey of work made during the past eight years, glimpsing the artist’s ongoing exploration of Pre-Columbian art and architecture.

      Keister’s mixed-media sculptures initially emerged from experiments with salvaged styrofoam and cardboard packing cartons, which evoked the bold, blocky forms of Mesoamerican architecture like Aztec stone carvings and Mayan step pyramids.

      “Leaf-Nose Bat” (2025), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, 23 x 33 x 6.5 inches

      Through ongoing series like Bio Meso, Batz, and Masked Figures, Keister merges painting, sculpture, and craft techniques into three-dimensional portrayals of what the gallery describes as “bespoke deities that pay homage to Pre-Columbian myth.” Some creatures, like “Xoloitzcuintle,” represent real animals—in this case, a species of hairless dog.

      Hybrid creatures like “Standing Bat II” and “Coyote Man” tap into oral histories and belief systems that span North America. Bats are historically emblematic of the boundary between life and death. And Coyote, a potent character in the folklore of numerous Indigenous North American peoples, is variously a magician, creator, glutton, and trickster.

      Keister’s compositions range from wall reliefs to freestanding, monument-like sculptures to sprawling floor pieces. “At the core of his ethos is a profound interest in human and animal consciousness,” the gallery says. “Keister extrapolates his subjects from Central American mythology to develop a complex ecosystem of mystical fauna.”

      Split Level continues through August 22 in New York City. Explore more on the artist’s website.

      “Coyote Man” (2025), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, cement, 66 x 16.5 x 17.5 inches

      “Xoloitzcuintle” (2025), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood with found object, 25 x 20 x 33 inches

      “Red Tabby” (2024), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, 11 x 14 x 3.5 inches

      “Cosmic Crocodile” (2017), coated cardboard, glazed ceramic, cement and acrylic on wood, 5 x 32 x 55 inches

      “Contrapposto” (2024), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, 30 x 24 x 4 inches

      “Standing Bat II” (2022), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, cement, 65 x 48 x 12 inches

      “Mictlantecuhtli” (2017), coated cardboard and acrylic on masonite on wood, 37.25 x 41 x 6.25 inches

      “Lateral Bat” (2024), glazed ceramic and acrylic on wood, 40.25 x 24 x 4.25 inches

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    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover

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      “Clickthrough rate” (2024), mixed media, 24 x 15 x 15 centimeters. All images courtesy of Thomas Doyle, shared with permission

      In Miniature Models, Thomas Doyle Envisions an Unsettling Future of Technological Takeover

      July 29, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      If we were to travel 500 years into the future, what would the monuments decorating public parks and town squares commemorate? Thomas Doyle takes us on an unnerving journey to imagine the culture we might encounter should our endless fascination with technology continue.

      The New York-based artist (previously) toys with perception as he sculpts miniature works at 1:43 scale and smaller. His new dystopian series, Clear History, invokes classical Greek and Roman sculpture, although the venerated figures appear more as a warning than an ideal. Sharp rays pierce through a woman’s head in “Clickthrough rate,” for example, while the hunched protagonist of “Opt in” demonstrates the neck-cranking posture many of us know all too well.

      “Infinite scroll” (2024), mixed media, 22 x 13.8 x 13.8 centimeters

      Interested in the long tail of culture, Doyle frequently looks to the past to better understand the consequences of our present. “I’m fascinated by the way we are hurtling toward what seems to be a new way of being human, leaping without looking, hoping for the best,” he says.

      In each of the mixed-media scenes, tiny figures peer up at or sit near the weathered statues as they consider a world that’s come and gone. “The trappings of past cultures are all around us, morphed and made nearly unrecognizable over centuries,” the artist adds. “I’ve tried to trace the ways in which today’s technologies will reverberate over time. What will grow from the seeds we plant today? What becomes a venerated symbol? What serves as a cautionary myth?”

      Doyle currently has a few models on view at the Ukrainian National Museum in Chicago, and he very generously shares glimpses behind the scenes on Instagram.

      “Acceptance criteria” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 15 x 15 centimeters

      “Opt in” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 20 x 20 centimeters

      “Switch profile” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 12.5 x 12.5 centimeters

      “Show hidden” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 30 x 30 centimeters

      “Session timeout” (2024), mixed media, 25 x 14.5 x 14.5 centimeters

      “Bad gateway” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters

      “Use case” (2024), mixed media, 20 x 14 x 14 centimeters

      “Temporary redirect” (2024), mixed media, 21 x 26 x 26 centimeters

      “We value your privacy” (2024), mixed media, 28 x 17.5 x 17.5 centimeters

      “Rollback” (2024), mixed media / 20 x 16 x 16 centimeters

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    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Werner Bronkhorst’s Tiny Beachgoers and Sailors Wade Through Chunky Blue Expanses

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      Detail of “Walk On Water” (2025),
      archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69. All images courtesy of Dellaposa, shared with permission

      Werner Bronkhorst’s Tiny Beachgoers and Sailors Wade Through Chunky Blue Expanses

      July 23, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      In a world constrained by rising sea levels and the climate anxiety that comes with a warming planet, it’s not far-fetched to imagine a life surrounded by the blue ocean. For Werner Bronkhorst, the overwhelming nature of this potential future inspires a collection of mixed-media works that find minuscule figures amid broad expanses.

      Bronkhorst’s new body of work, Sail Away, on view at Dellaposa, visualizes solitary protagonists as they trudge to the beach or surf on a seemingly endless tide. Thick impasto strokes in varying shades of blue provide an abstract backdrop for each piece and minimize the already tiny characters. “I pour layers of gel, then wait for landscapes to emerge—mountains, waves, ice. Only then do I add the figures,” the artist shares.

      “Mockney” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm canvas, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      Given their rare communion with other humans, Bronkhorst’s subjects also seem to embody the dissociation and disconnection of a post-digital world. Like a blip when viewed from afar, the figures emerge from their gestural environments as if in low resolution, their distinctive features impossible to discern.

      Raised in Pretoria, South Africa, Bronkhorst now lives and works in Australia. You can find more of his practice on Instagram.

      “Sail Away” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395 gsm canvas, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      Detail of “Sail Away” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395 gsm canvas, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      Detail of “Mockney” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm canvas, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      Detail of “Blue Water High” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, 100× 100 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      “Blue Water High” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, 100× 100 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      “Diamond Sea” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, signed by the artist, 100× 100 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      “Walk On Water” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, 33 × 43 centimeters framed, edition of 69

      Detail of “Diamond Sea” (2025), archival pigment print on heavyweight 395gsm matte Canson Infinity PhotoArt ProCanvas, made with long-lasting Epson archival inks, hand-stretched over FSC-certified, finger-jointed New Zealand pine, and float framed in FSC-certified Meranti with a painted white finish, signed by the artist, 100× 100 centimeters framed, edition of 69

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    • 125 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      African Mythology and Ancestry Merge in Zak Ové’s Exuberant Sculptures

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      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Images courtesy of Zak Ové and Library Street Collective shared with permission

      African Mythology and Ancestry Merge in Zak Ové’s Exuberant Sculptures

      June 20, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Merging themes of interstellar travel and cultural convergences, Zak Ové creates large-scale sculptures and multimedia installations that explore African ancestry, traditions, and history. The British-Trinidadian artist’s practice is deeply rooted in the narratives of the African diaspora, focusing on traditions of masquerade. He delves into its role in performance and ceremony, as well as masks as potent instruments for self-emancipation and cultural resistance.

      Ové’s interdisciplinary work spans sculpture, painting, film, and photography, exploring links between mythology, oral histories, and speculative futures. “His sculptures often incorporate symbols, iconography, and materials drawn from African, Caribbean, and diasporic traditions, merging them with modern aesthetics to celebrate the continuity and adaptability of culture,” his studio says.

      Detail of “Black Starliner” (2025), stainless steel, aluminium, fiberglass, and resin, 40 x 22.6 x 27.4 feet

      Ové often delves into the relationship between contemporary lived experiences and the spirit world, like in “Moko Jumbie” or a glass mosaic installation in London titled “Jumbie Jubilation.” In these works, the artist brings an ancestral spirit rooted in African and Caribbean folklore known as a Jumbie to life as a spectral dancer, cloaked in banana leaves with a torso of a golden, radiant face.

      The motif of rockets has emerged in Ove’s recent installations, like “The Mothership Connection” and “Black Starliner,” which feature totem-like stacks of African tribal masks and lattice-like Veve symbols—intricate designs employed in the Vodou religion to represent spiritual deities known as Lwa.

      “The Mothership Connection” combines architectural elements referencing the Capitol Building in Washington, D.C., and a ring of Cadillac lights nodding to Detroit, “Motor City.” The crowning element is a giant Mende tribal mask that glows when the 26-foot-tall sculpture is illuminated at night, with a pulsing rhythm suggestive of a heartbeat.

      The title is also a reference to the iconic 1975 album by Parliament-Funkadelic, Mothership Connection, in with outer space is a through-line in the group’s celebration of what BBC journalist Frasier McAlpine described as a response to the waning optimism of the post-civil rights era. Mothership Connection soared at a time when “flamboyant imagination (and let’s be frank, exceptional funkiness) was both righteous and joyful,” he wrote.

      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Installed at Frieze London 2023

      Ové echoes this exuberance through vibrant colors, repetition, and monumental scale. Library Street Collective, which exhibited “The Mothership Connection” on the grounds of The Shepherd in Detroit late last year, describes the work as a nod “to a future where Black people are included in all possible frames of reference.”

      In a monumental assembly of African masked figures titled “The Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness,” Ové conceived of 40 graphite sculptures organized in a militaristic grid, each six-and-a-half feet tall, that have marched across the grounds of Somerset House, Yorkshire Sculpture Park, San Francisco City Hall, and Los Angeles County Museum of Art.

      The title of this piece references two groundbreaking works in Black history—Ralph Ellison’s 1952 novel Invisible Man, which was the first novel by a Black author to with the National Book Award, and Ben Jonson’s 1605 play The Masque of Blackness, noteworthy for being the first time blackface makeup was used in a stage production.

      “Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness” (2016), graphite. Installed at Yorkshire Sculpture Park

      Ové reclaims and reframes dominant narratives about African history, culture, and the diaspora, interrogating the past to posit what he calls “potential futures,” where possibilities transform into realities. “By fusing ancestral wisdom with Afrofuturist ideals, Ové ensures that the voices of the past remain integral to shaping the futures we envision,” his studio says.

      “The Mothership Connection” will be exhibited later this summer and fall at 14th Street Square in New York City’s Meatpacking District, accompanied by a gallery show at Chelsea Market. Dates are currently being confirmed, and you can follow updates on Ové’s Instagram.

      “Moko Jumbie” (2021), mixed media, overall 560 centimeters

      Detail of “Moko Jumbie” (2021), mixed media, overall 560 centimeters, installed at Art Gallery of Ontario, commissioned with funds from David W. Binet and Ray & Georgina Williams, 2021. Photo courtesy of AGO

      “Jumbie Jubilation” (2024), glass mosaic panels, dimensions vary around 11.5 x 1.2 meters per panel

      Detail of “Jumbie Jubilation” (2024)

      “Virulent Strain” (2022), graphite, 22-carat gold leaf, and bronze, 120 centimeters in diameter

      “Invisible Man and the Masque of Blackness” (2016), graphite. Installed at Somerset House, London

      “Black Starliner” (2025), stainless steel, aluminium, fiberglass, and resin, 40 x 22.6 x 27.4 feet. Installed at Louvre Abu Dhabi

      “The Mothership Connection” (2022), stainless steel, bronze, resin, and mixed media, 9 x 1.8 meters. Photo courtesy of Library Street Collective

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    • 138 Shares169 Views

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      In Immersive Mixed-Media Tapestries, Lillian Blades Reflects on Pattern and Presence

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      Detail of “Perennial” (2024). Photo by Cydney Maria Rhines. All images courtesy of the artist and SAM, shared with permission

      In Immersive Mixed-Media Tapestries, Lillian Blades Reflects on Pattern and Presence

      June 18, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Reveling in the interplay of light, material, and space, Lillian Blades creates expansive and immersive installations that reflect on how we experience pattern and texture. Through the Veil, now on view at Sarasota Art Museum, marks the artist’s first institutional solo exhibition, bringing together a sweeping array of the Atlanta-based artist’s large-scale works.

      Blades takes a multimedia approach to tapestry, combining fabric, stained glass, wood, acrylic, and found materials to create glimmering surfaces. She suspends some pieces from the ceiling, meandering through the gallery space like mixed-media curtains, while other assemblages hang on the wall. Colored light bounces onto the floor, and the loose latticework casts dramatic shadows onto the surrounding walls.

      “Perennial” (2024)

      “My patchwork veils are wired tapestries of images and texture…I want it to feel complex but simple at the same time,” Blades says. “I want the details and the objects to carry memory and trigger viewers into thinking about their associations with certain patterns and textures.”

      Through the Veil continues in Sarasota through October 26. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      Installation view of ‘Through the Veil’ at Sarasota Art Museum

      The artist working in her studio. Photo by Marie Thomas

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    • 163 Shares199 Views

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      Josh Dihle Toys with Reality in His Topographic Paintings Akin to Fever Dreams

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      “Moreau/Detrick Reliquary” (2024),
      walnut, paper pulp, plaster, foam, faux fur, found objects, acrylic, and oil on panel, 40.25 x 31 x 13 inches. All images courtesy of Andrew Rafacz, shared with permission

      Josh Dihle Toys with Reality in His Topographic Paintings Akin to Fever Dreams

      June 16, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      “The model railroader is the truest creator: engineer, architect, and master of his own timetable,” reads a statement about Josh Dihle’s feverish exhibition, Basement Arrangement.

      Armed with hundreds of minuscule objects from coral to LEGO, Dihle concocts dreamlike worlds in which figures become topographies and every cavity houses a surprising detail. Peek inside the cheek of “Moreau/Detrick Reliquary,” and find a wooly mammoth with lustrous stones embedded in its wooden tusks. “Confluence” is similar as carved fish jut out of the foam-and-plaster ground alongside trees and palms with widespread fingers.

      Detail of “Confluence” (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches

      Evoking model railroads and dollhouses, Dihle’s sculptural paintings incorporate recognizable objects but with an uncanny, if not skewed, perspective. Stretching nearly five feet tall, the large-scale works hang on the wall and draw a contrast between the overall composition, viewed straight on, and the miniature vignettes best taken in at a 90-degree angle. Step back and see an aerial landscape with hills shaped like lips or a sunken nose, while close-up inspection becomes a dizzying hunt for unlikely items tucked into every crevice.

      The exhibition title originates with hermit hobbyists, who seem to come alive when cloistered in worlds of their own making. What appears to outsiders as an escape from reality is, for them, an attempt to organize the chaos and take control, even if in the form of toys and make-believe.

      If you’re in Chicago, see Basement Arrangement at Andrew Rafacz through July 18. Find more from Dihle on his website.

      Detail of “Confluence” (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches

      “Moreau/Detrick Reliquary” (2024), walnut, paper pulp, plaster, foam, faux fur, found objects, acrylic, and oil on panel, 40.25 x 31 x 13 inches

      Detail of “Moreau/Detrick Reliquary” (2024), walnut, paper pulp, plaster, foam, faux fur, found objects, acrylic, and oil on panel, 40.25 x 31 x 13 inches

      “Brittle Star” (2025), oil, acrylic, casein, colored pencil, Legos, fossils, rocks, plastic toys, marbles, mosaic tile, buttons, carved walnut, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, and plywood on panel, 47 x 21 inches

      “Confluence” (2025), oil, acrylic, colored pencil, resin, fossils, rocks, LEGO, marbles, beach glass, plastic toys, coral, paper pulp, plaster gauze, foam, cherry, and carved walnut on panel, 57 x 45 x 19 inches

      “Sighting” (2025), casein, colored pencil, rocks, fossils, eyeball agate, agate, amber, found objects, plastic toys, mosaic tile, marbles, LEGO, beads, thumb tacks, and beach glass on carved basswood, 18 x 14 x 1.5 inches

      “Falls” (2025), acrylic, turquoise, meteorite, fossil, marble, rocks, plastic toy, paper pulp, plaster gauze, twine, maple, and foam on panel, 42 x 32.5 x 11 inches

      “Radon” (2025), casein, acrylic, resin, turquoise, rocks, LEGO, found jewelry, plastic Micro Machine, fossil, beach glass, and walnut on panel, 13.25 x 10.25 x 1.25 inches

      Detail of “Radon” (2025), casein, acrylic, resin, turquoise, rocks, LEGO, found jewelry, plastic Micro Machine, fossil, beach glass, and walnut on panel, 13.25 x 10.25 x 1.25 inches

      Installation view of ‘Basement Arrangement’

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    • 138 Shares199 Views

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      In ‘Pu$h Thru,’ Yvette Mayorga Examines Latinx Experience Through Rococo Maximalism

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      “She’s in the cake/Put out the fire, after Nicolas
      Lancret” (2025), collage, glitter, buttons, textile, birthday candles,
      pastel, cardboard, gold foil, silver foil, gold flakes, stickers, cake
      toppers, acrylic marker, acrylic nails, nail charms, and acrylic piping on canvas, 60 x 120 inches. all images courtesy of the artist and Monique Meloche Gallery, Chicago, shared with permission

      In ‘Pu$h Thru,’ Yvette Mayorga Examines Latinx Experience Through Rococo Maximalism

      June 11, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Known for her delectable, frilly, occasionally ominous acrylic paintings made with bakery tools, Yvette Mayorga (previously) nods to memories of her mother working as a baker and references Baroque and Rococo art while critically examining family, community, and notions of prosperity.

      Mayorga’s pieces are “dominated by shades of pink to critically examine the American Dream and the Latinx experience, often borrowing compositions from personal and family photos and art history,” says Monique Meloche Gallery, which presents a solo show of the artist’s work opening this weekend.

      “W3 R TIR3D” (2025), collage, rhinestones, plastic butterflies, acrylic marker, pastel, silver foil, gold foil, pen, acrylic nails, car sticker, butterflies, glitter, gold flakes, silver flakes, textile, belt, rhinestones, nail charms and acrylic piping on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

      Pu$h Thru, the artist’s first show with the gallery and the first in her hometown of Chicago since 2018, takes a semi-autobiographical approach by reflecting on her experiences during the last decade in the city. Beyond her characteristic confection-inspired works, she has created large-scale compositions incorporating found objects like lampshades, clothing, and jewelry, along with bits of ceramic, pastels, gold foil, acrylic nails, and more.

      Many of these works draw on Mayorga’s personal memories, like snapshots of the artist as a child during a birthday party or sitting in her family’s living room. Converging with romantic Rococo aesthetics and style, like portraits modeled after Elizabeth Vigee Le Brun or Jean-Honoré Fragonard, the artist addresses the Euro-centric narrative of art history and its overarching omission of other identities. Mayorga has even coined a term to describe her approach, “Latinxoco,” which merges Latinx identity with Rococo aesthetics.

      “Pink, a color that has a long history with Mayorga’s practice, is deployed as a conceptual strategy to destabilize Western ideals of skin tone, evoking questions of race, class, and gendered embodiment while also referencing cosmetic and domestic aesthetics—an ironic and radical reclamation of softness as strength,” the gallery says.

      Pu$h Thru runs from June 14 to July 26. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      “La Ursupadora Not 4 Me” (2025), collage, textile, glitter, lamp shade, pen, electrical outlet, hoop earrings, shoes, jeans, marker, pastel, drawer handles, lampshade, ceramic, belt, felt, pastel, clock, stickers, gold flakes, gold foil, mirror, acrylic nails, textile, nail charms, TV control, and acrylic piping on canvas, 60 x 120 inches

      “What’s Hidden Beneath (Remnant Series)” (2025), found objects, nail charms, and acrylic piping on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

      “Hot and Ready” (2025), collage, rhinestones, acrylic marker, silver foil, gold foil, pen, pastel, mirror, acrylic nails, stickers, rhinestones, gold flakes, nail charms, collage, glitter and acrylic piping on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

      “Self Portrait of the Artist After Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun” (2025), textile, collage, stickers, gold flakes, silver flakes, pen, lace, buttons, acrylic nails, nail charms, and acrylic piping on canvas, 72 x 60 inches

      “The Portal (Remnant Series)” (2025), found objects and acrylic piping on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

      “Rhinestone Vaquero After Élisabeth Louise Vigée Le Brun” (2025), textile, rhinestones, buttons, belt buckle, gold flakes, silver flakes, glitter, and acrylic piping on canvas, 72 x 60 inches

      “Taffy Taffy (Remnant Series)” (2025), found objects and acrylic piping on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

      “PU$$H PU$$H THRU” (2025), collage, rhinestones, glitter, acrylic marker, silver foil, gold foil, pen, toy boat, mirror, marker, acrylic nails, stickers, textile, leather, nail charms, and acrylic piping on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

      “La Serpiente (Remnant Series)” (2024), found objects and acrylic piping on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

      Installation view of ‘Pu$h Thru’ at Monique Meloche Gallery

      “Party Favor (Remnant Series)” (2025), found objects, nail charms, party favor, and acrylic piping on canvas, 16 x 12 inches

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.

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    • 138 Shares189 Views

      in Art

      Natural Motifs Entwine the Monumental Figures of Robert Pruitt’s Divine Portraits

      by

      “Portrait of Herman
      Smith from Atlantic
      City” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 120 inches. All images © Robert Pruitt, courtesy of the artist and Salon 94, New York, shared with permission

      Natural Motifs Entwine the Monumental Figures of Robert Pruitt’s Divine Portraits

      June 6, 2025

      Art

      Grace Ebert

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      Through tight, circular marks and soft shading, Robert Pruitt creates portraits that invite viewers into a magical world. Rendered in a mix of charcoal, conté, and pastel, his works are rooted in storytelling and how personal narrative offers insight into broader, more collective questions about Southern culture, rituals, and enmeshed identities.

      The artist brings models into his Harlem studio and photographs them donning elaborately constructed costumes. His drawings emerge from these sessions, although Pruitt prefers a monumental scale. Rendered on paper dyed with coffee, the portraits stretch upwards of seven feet, their meticulous shading and linework backdropped by washes of the characteristically warm hue.

      “Eve hiding in the Garden of Eden” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      A recent self-portrait presents the artist in his signature novelty glasses, the swirling X-Ray lenses resting on his forehead. His hands, rather than his face, are the subject of this ten-foot-wide work, and each wears gold jewelry, his hometown represented on a Houston Rockets ring. The title nods to the character of Herman Smith, played by Richard Pryor in the 1978 retelling of The Wonderful Wizard of Oz, The Wiz.

      Adornment is prominent in Pruitt’s works and serves a dual purpose: it provides a means to excavate questions about identity, culture, place, and time and also offers a chance to find something “fun and weird to draw,” he says. Recurring motifs like lemons, mushrooms, snakes, and birds are a more recent addition to his portraits, and they often envelop the central figure. In “Princess with a plague of Grackles,” for example, the quintessential Texan creature perches on a seated woman’s shoulders and arms.

      “Lately, I’ve been thinking more about the body as continuous with the world. Our bodies take things in, let things out—and that process, to me, signals a kind of equality with everything around us,” Pruitt tells Colossal.

      “Figure Crowned in T.S.U. Ceramic Headdress (After Roy Vinson Thomas)” (2024), charcoal, conté, coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      Connecting to nature also invokes the divine and alludes to the artist’s constellation of references, whether it be his interest in science fiction, comic books, music, or his enduring love for “swampy, humid Houston, Texas,” he adds.

      I think part of it is nostalgia, especially in contrast to my life now in New York City. I miss home…On some level, these works feel like staging grounds for my own origin story—coming from a complicated metropolis that also feels deeply rural. A kind of Eden, but one filled with mosquitoes and stray dogs. Nature not as cute or comforting but indifferent—and still sacred.

      If you’re in New York, you can see Pruitt’s work in a solo exhibition named after a Sun Ra libretto, …Son…Sun…Sin…Syn…zen…Zenith, at Salon 94. Find more from the artist on his website and Instagram.

      “Lemon Tree” (2024), conté, pastel, and coffee wash, 84 x 60 inches. Photo by Brica Wilcox, courtesy of the artist and Vielmetter Los Angeles

      “Princess with a plague of Grackles” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and coffee wash on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      “Y’all Are Just Gon Have to Make Amends” (2021), conté, charcoal, and pastel on coffee wash on paper, 87 1/4 x 63 1/8 x 2 inches. Photo by Dan Bradica

      “Man born with a veil” (2024), charcoal, conté, pastel, and fabric dye on paper, 84 x 60 inches

      Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member now, and support independent arts publishing.

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