mountains

Subterms

    Latest story

    138 Shares45 Views

    Blasting Books with High-Pressure Water, Guy Laramée Scales Mountains of Knowledge

    by

    “Livros 2” (2025), water-carved books, inks, pigments, acrylic sealer, and metal clip, 12.99 x 10.63 x 8.27 inches. Photos by by Ivan Macedo Dias. All images © Guy Laramée, courtesy of JHB Gallery, New York, shared with permission

    Blasting Books with High-Pressure Water, Guy Laramée Scales Mountains of Knowledge

    March 31, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    From his mountainside studio in Nova Friburgo, Brazil, Guy Laramée (previously) creates otherworldly sculptures that mirror nearby peaks like Pico da Caledônia. Using a unique method of blasting antique books with high-pressure water and stripping them of their covers, he manipulates the bound text blocks into craggy cliff faces and rocky promontories.

    When viewed from certain angles, each sculpture’s identity as volumes of text nearly vanishes as we perceive mountains in miniature. As one moves around the pieces, the rigid form of stitched binding appears or printed pages ruffle and hint and the contents.

    Detail of “Livros 3”

    Laramée’s sculptures tread the line between object and landscape, juxtaposing themes of knowledge, history, and archives with geology, time, and the environment. The artist often employs dictionaries and encyclopedias, which constantly evolve and require updates, exploring the tension between physical representations of information and learning and our relationship with the natural world.

    The works shown here are part of Laramée’s online exhibition presented by JHB Gallery, Livros, which continues through May 4. Find more on the artist’s website.

    “Livros 3” (2025), waterblasted books, inks, pigments, and acrylic sealer, 9.06 x 10.63 x 8.27 inches

    “Livros 6” (2025), waterblasted books, inks, pigments, and acrylic sealer, 7.87 x 14.17 x 5.91 inches

    “Livros 6”

    “Livros 2” (2025), water-carved books, inks, pigments, acrylic sealer, and metal clip, 12.99 x 10.63 x 8.27 inches

    “Livros 1” (2025), water-carved books, inks, pigments, acrylic sealer, and metal clip, 6.66 x 9.84 x 5.91 inches

    “Livros 5” (2025), waterblasted books, inks, pigments, and acrylic sealer, 11.4 x 15.75 x 9.06 inches

    Detail of “Livros 5”

    “Livros 4” (2025), waterblasted books, inks, pigments, and acrylic sealer, 9.84 x 15.75 x 9.06 inches

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

    Hide advertising

    Save your favorite articles

    Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop

    Receive members-only newsletter

    Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms

    Join us today!

    $7/month

    $75/year

    Explore membership options

    Previous articleNext article More

    More stories

    • 150 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      In a Resounding ‘Renaissance,’ Conrad Jon Godly’s Acrylic Paintings Scale Alpine Peaks

      by

      “RENAISSANCE # 21” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 39 3/8 x 47 1/4 inches. All images courtesy of JD Malat Gallery, shared with permission

      In a Resounding ‘Renaissance,’ Conrad Jon Godly’s Acrylic Paintings Scale Alpine Peaks

      November 27, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

      Share

      Pin

      Email

      Bookmark

      Through the deft manipulation of thick acrylic paint on canvas, Conrad Jon Godly summons snow-capped peaks, tumbling mountain springs, and shifting weather.

      At JD Malat Gallery, the Swiss artist (previously) presents his largest body of work to date, RENAISSANCE, which follows a four-year hiatus. Godly is open about the mental health struggles that prevented him from painting, and in addition to his return to the gallery setting, the title refers to his experience of a “rebirth” as he overcame personal strife.

      “RENAISSANCE # 03” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      Godly is known for his dramatic impasto depictions of mountain landscapes, which were historically created using oil paint. In this new series, he has transitioned to acrylic, which dries much faster and lends itself to opacity. He conveys the striking beauty of the Swiss Alps through fundamental compositional elements like texture, form, and tonal shifts.

      Viewed up close, Godly’s paintings melt into near-abstraction as our attention is drawn to the qualities of the paint and the interaction of light and shadow. Farther away, the meticulously formed edges and gestural brush strokes reveal the crisp outlines of snow, rock, waterfalls, and storms.

      RENAISSANCE will inhabit both floors of the gallery in London and run from December 12 to January 18. In the meantime, see more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

      “RENAISSANCE # 06” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 34” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 59 x 51 1/8 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 25” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 47 1/4 x 39 3/8 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 43” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 70 7/8 x 90 1/2 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 29” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 59 x 51 1/8 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 07” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 28” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 47 1/4 x 39 3/8 inches

      “RENAISSANCE # 05” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

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

      Hide advertising

      Save your favorite articles

      Get 15% off in the Colossal Shop

      Receive members-only newsletter

      Give 1% for art supplies in K-12 classrooms

      Join us today!

      $7/month

      $75/year

      Explore membership options

      Previous articleNext article More