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      Mantra’s Murals Collect Enormous Butterflies in Building-Size Specimen Cases

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      Mural on the Southeast Financial Center building in Miami, Florida. All images courtesy of Mantra and Justkids.art, shared with permission

      Mantra’s Murals Collect Enormous Butterflies in Building-Size Specimen Cases

      January 10, 2025

      ArtNature

      Kate Mothes

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      French artist Youri Cansell, a.k.a. Mantra (previously) continues to brighten neighborhood streets and large cities alike with his vivid insect murals. Drawing on a fascination with nature and its preservation, he creates monumental specimen cases on buildings around the world, filled with a wide variety of butterflies.

      The artist recently completed his largest mural to date in Miami, positioned on the rooftop of the Southeast Financial Center building. Nestled into the surface of a characteristically organized case, a range of colorful butterflies rest alongside the structure’s utility systems.

      Detail of progress on mural in Miami

      The mural features numerous species, including the endangered Miami blue butterfly that’s native to South Florida. “It’s always a pleasure to paint in Miami, a city that thrives on its vibrant mix of people and cultures—much like the butterflies in my mural, which represent a diverse selection of specimens,” the artist says.

      Additional recent projects include a giant glass-fronted display on the side of a building in Brooklyn and a towering, narrow composition in downtown Houston. Find more on Mantra’s website and Instagram.

      Houston, Texas

      Brooklyn, New York

      Crans-Montana, Switzerland

      Breda, The Netherlands

      Detail of progress on mural in Miami

      Rombas, France

      Detail of progress on mural in Miami

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    • 188 Shares129 Views

      in Art

      Tens of Thousands of Individual Dots Bring Ornamental Rugs to Life in Antonio Santín’s Paintings

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      “Momo” (2024), oil on canvas, 63 x 86 5/8 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Marc Straus Gallery, New York

      Tens of Thousands of Individual Dots Bring Ornamental Rugs to Life in Antonio Santín’s Paintings

      January 9, 2025

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      From grid-like woven patterns to intertwined strands of fringe, Antonio Santín’s hyperrealistic oil paintings (previously) look incredibly similar to the ornamental carpets they’re modeled on. By studying real rugs and the way they scrunch, fold, and interact with light, he transfers these qualities to canvas. The overall designs, however, are a product of the artist’s imagination.

      Santín trained as a sculptor, and his eye for shapes and the power of contrast lent itself to paintings with tactile textures and a dimensionally illusory quality. “In the past two years, as his technical skills allowed for far more detail than is found on a sewn carpet, he began to invent the entire image,” says Marc Straus, who is presenting Santín’s work in the artist’s seventh solo show with the gallery.

      Detail of “Puente de plata”

      The artist continues to employ a precisely calibrated pneumatic compressor that allows him to apply oil pigments millimeters at a time. Tens of thousands of individual dots are arranged to create a consistent rhythm across the entire surface.

      New paintings in Puente de plata, or “silver bridge,” celebrate the relationship between abstraction and pure pattern, reveling in vibrant color and intricacy in works that are more personal. The show opens tomorrow and continues through March 1 in New York. Explore more on the gallery’s website and Santín’s Instagram.

      “Puente de plata” (2024), oil on canas, 63 x 85 5/8 inches

      “Tafalla” (2023), oil on canvas, 23 5/8 x 19 3/4 inches

      “Victoria” (2024), oil on canvas, 94 1/2 x 78 3/4 inches

      Detail of “Victoria”

      Detail of “Victoria”

      “Carambola” (2024), oil on canvas, 70 7/8 x 78 3/4 inches

      “Aldealengua” (2024), oil on canvas, 25 3/8 x 21 1/2 x 2 inches (framed)

      Detail of “Aldealengua”

      “Puente de plata” (2024), oil on canas, 63 x 85 5/8 inches

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    • 100 Shares129 Views

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      Gertrude Abercrombie’s Autobiographical Surrealism Traverses Dreams and Reality

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      “Where or When (Things Past)” (1948), oil on canvas, 21 1/2 x 35 1/2 inches. All images courtesy of the Carnegie Museum of Art and Colby Museum of Art, shared with permission

      Gertrude Abercrombie’s Autobiographical Surrealism Traverses Dreams and Reality

      January 6, 2025

      ArtHistory

      Kate Mothes

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      “Surrealism is meant for me because I am a pretty realistic person but don’t like all I see,” Gertrude Abercrombie (1909-1977) once said. “So I dream that it is changed. Then I change it to the way I want it.”

      Abercrombie’s stark, symbol-rich landscapes and enigmatic portraits painted in oil were influenced by the European Surrealist movement, magical realism, and her own dreams. A leading figure in Chicago art, she was also involved in the city’s jazz scene, counting musical greats like Dizzy Gillespie, Charlie Parker, and Sarah Vaughan among her friends.

      “Queen and Owl in Tree” (1954), oil on masonite, 4 1/2 x 6 inches (unframed)

      The artist’s mystical works “suggest a life of wistful introspection and emotional struggle,” says a statement for the forthcoming exhibition Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery at the Carnegie Museum of Art. The show and accompanying catalog present an opportunity for visitors to experience the artist’s highly personal work in significant depth, with access to artworks held in a range of private and public collections all gathered in one place.

      Born in Austin, Texas, Abercrombie grew up in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and spent some time in her father’s hometown of Aledo, Illinois. The small town in the northwestern part of the Midwestern state eventually became a source of inspiration for her atmospheric paintings.

      The artist studied the Romance languages at the University of Illinois—Urbana-Champaign and then pursued a course in commercial art at the American Academy of Art in Chicago, where she may also have briefly attended the School of the Art Institute.

      In 1932, Abercrombie began her career as a professional artist, which was spurred soon after by the support of the Federal Art Project of the Works Progress Administration (FPA/WPA). The program ran from 1935 to 1943 and provided economic relief to artists and craftspeople during the Great Depression. Along with Abercrombie, a slew of notable artists participated, from Arshile Gorky and Lucile Blanch to Jackson Pollock and Diego Rivera, among many others.

      “Demolition Doors” (1964), oil on masonite, Masonite, 20 x 25 1/2 inches (unframed)

      The Federal Art Project set up community centers around the U.S., sustaining the careers and livelihoods of around 10,000 artisans who contributed an estimated 400,000 easel paintings, prints, murals, posters, and other works during the program’s eight-year run.

      Abercrombie participated in the FAP/WPA from 1935 to 1940. Around this time, she showed her work widely, including in annual exhibitions presented by the Art Institute of Chicago and venues like Katharine Kuh Gallery, one of the city’s first commercial galleries to feature avant-garde work.

      Motifs like solitary women, dead trees, forking paths, stark landscapes, doors, cats, towers, and shells recur in her work. Abercrombie remarked that the scenes were always “pretty real,” merging facets of reality and the fantastic. “Only mystery and fantasy have been added,” she said. “All foolishness has been taken out. It becomes my own dream.”

      “Split Personality” (1954), oil on masonite, 8 x 10 inches

      In “Demolition Doors” (1964), for example, a black feline parks in front of a series of three multi-colored panels occupying most of the frame, behind which sits a gray, mostly empty landscape that could be either indoors or outdoors. Portal-like, the doors represent choices one makes about what direction to take, what threshold to cross. The cat stands sentry, waiting on the viewer’s—and by extension, the artist’s—ultimate decision. “The whole world is a mystery,” she had said.

      Abercrombie associated some of her recurring symbols with a witch’s persona—historically an identity connected predominantly to women—which she sometimes embraced in her own fashion choices. She occasionally donned a pointed velvet hat to accentuate her sharp features and tall stature. The female figure, including Abercrombie’s own likeness, is often shown traversing barren terrain, reclining in pensive quietude, or interacting with otherworldly forces.

      In an interview with Studs Terkel shortly before her death, Abercrombie said that “it is always myself that I paint.” For example, in “Split Personality” (1954), a woman in a blue dress, standing inside an unadorned room, has been cut in half at the waist. Her torso and head hover over a pitcher, and she reaches out toward her legs, but the shadow on the wall to the left depicts a complete figure—the sum of two parts—as a way of suggesting that looks can be deceiving.

      “The Ivory Tower” (1945), oil on masonite, 15 x 19 inches

      “With a deft hand, a concise symbolic vocabulary, and a restrained palette, she created potent images that speak to her mercurial nature and her evolving psychology as an artist,” says an exhibition statement.

      Later in life, Abercrombie’s artistic output gradually waned as ongoing health issues related to arthritis and alcoholism took a toll. She became more reclusive as she eventually required a wheelchair, before being confined to bed. A major retrospective of her work was held at the Hyde Park Art Center the year she died, and her will established the Gertrude Abercrombie Trust, which distributed her work and pieces by others in her collection to cultural institutions across the Midwest.

      Gertrude Abercrombie: The Whole World Is a Mystery opens in Pittsburgh on January 18 and continues through June 1. The exhibition then travels to Colby College Museum of Art in Waterville, Maine, opening on July 12 and running through January 11, 2026. Find more on the Carnegie website.

      “Winding Road” (1937), oil on board, 7 7/8 x 10 inches (unframed)

      “Letter from Karl” (1940), oil on canvas, 24 x 30 inches

      “The Countess Nerona” (c. 1945), oil on masonite, 8 x 10 inches (unframed)

      “Self-Portrait Brooch” (1954), oil on board, set in wire mount, 1 x 1 inch overall

      “The Church” (1938), oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches

      “Shell and Drape” (1952), oil on canvas, 24 x 36 inches (unframed)

      “Charlie Parker’s Favorite Painting” (1946), oil on masonite, 17 15/16 x 21 7/8 x 1 1/8 inches

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    • 138 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Near Liverpool, a One-of-a-Kind Art Environment by Ron Gittins Is Saved

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      “The Minotaur Room.” All images courtesy of Historic England, shared with permission

      Near Liverpool, a One-of-a-Kind Art Environment by Ron Gittins Is Saved

      January 3, 2025

      ArtDesignHistory

      Kate Mothes

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      Behind the unassuming red brick facade of a gable-roofed flat in Birkenhead, England, sits a home like no other. The only clue passersby would have had, until recently, was a pair of hand-sculpted figurative columns that flanked the wooden front door. But to step inside this corner flat near Liverpool is to be transported into the imaginative world of Ron Gittins.

      A gifted artist who also dabbled in local acting groups and music, Gittins was a complex character. He took day jobs here and there, but he was much more inclined to work for himself, on his own terms. Anecdotally, he was known for his zest for life and determination to do great things; his sister recounts that he once exclaimed to their brother, “I will not be ignored!” His creativity shone through in every facet of his life, and his home is no exception.

      Hallway

      In a ground floor rented flat, which he let in 1986, Gittins created monumental hearths in the shapes of a lion, minotaur, and relief-adorned Roman altar. He painted bright murals inspired by ancient Greece, Rome, and Egypt, including a central hallway adorned with hieroglyphs. The columns at the front door were reminiscent of palatial stone depictions of pharaohs and deities.

      Gittins turned to the era of English romantic portraiture in one room’s Georgian era-inspired murals, which feature framed paintings in a row above an ornate hearth. And in the bathroom, the walls swim with aquatic-themed images.

      “Although Ron was extremely proud of his artwork, he generally refused entry to landlords, maintenance staff, and any kind of officialdom in order to protect the fantasy world he had created for himself,” says a statement from Wirral Arts & Culture Community Land Trust, which now owns and manages the property. It adds, “After all, not every property owner would allow their tenant to build an epic concrete lion fireplace in their living room.”

      Gittins’ tenancy agreement permitted him to “decorate the interior of the property to his own taste and the external porch in classical style without the prior written consent of the Landlord.” He also had access to the garden, which he was able to landscape at his own expense.

      “The Lion Room”

      Few people were granted the privilege of seeing Gittins’ creations during his lifetime, as he was protective of his art and preferred to maintain his privacy. He continued to collect unique objects and transform his home into his ultimate fantasy, his self-described “villa.” Then, following his unexpected death in 2019, its fate was suddenly uncertain.

      In December 2021, artist Jan Williams—who is also Gittins’ niece—along with Chris Teasdale of The Caravan Gallery, launched a campaign to save the flat. Along with a dedicated team of volunteers comprising family, friends, and experts in arts and heritage, a last-minute purchase at auction was successful in March 2023. Since then, the team has continued caring for the installations and sifting through the artist’s eclectic collection of books, magazines, videos, clothes, furniture, and trinkets.

      The Wirral Arts & Culture Community Land Trust continues to catalogue Gittins’ belongings and work to preserve this unique environment for years to come. Learn more and take a virtual tour on the organization’s website.

      “The Georgian Room”

      Ceiling of “The Georgian Room”

      The “Roman Altar” in the kitchen

      Bathroom

      “The Minotaur Room”

      “The Georgian Room”

      Exterior of Gittins’ flat in Birkenhead, England

      Front door columns

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    • 175 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      In Paintings and Quilts, Stephen Towns Spotlights Black Leisure in the Jim Crow South

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      “Looking for Lorraine” (2024), natural and
      synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Rockwell Museum, shared with permission

      In Paintings and Quilts, Stephen Towns Spotlights Black Leisure in the Jim Crow South

      January 2, 2025

      ArtHistorySocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      In central Florida, Ocala National Forest is dotted with more than 600 lakes and rivers. A nearby recreation hub, Silver Springs, has capitalized on the tourism potential of these glistening, clear bodies of water for decades, offering sandy riverside beaches and taking visitors on jaunts in glass-bottom boats.

      Until 1968 and the passing of the Civil Rights Act, Silver Springs—similar to many other places in Florida and the South more broadly—was racially segregated and only open to white patrons. In 1949, the owners of Silver Springs opened Paradise Park a mile down the road as a destination “for colored people,” as the welcome sign read, who were prohibited from the other resort.

      “Swimming Lessons” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches

      Paradise Park was one of three beaches in Florida open to Black visitors during this time and also offered sandy beaches, rides in glass-bottom boats, a petting zoo, a dance pavilion with a jukebox, performances, games, and a softball field. It remained in operation until 1969, shortly after desegregation, and became a subject of fascination for photographer Bruce Mozert (1916-2015), who documented happenings at both recreation areas.

      For artist Stephen Towns, Mozert’s images and the history of Paradise Park provide the foundation for Private Paradise: A Figurative Exploration of Black Rest and Recreation, now on view at the Rockwell Museum. Through paintings and quilted compositions, the artist explores how certain parks could be places of refuge and leisure for Black Americans during the Jim Crow era.

      “Black people had to set up their own spaces in order to find recreation and to find peace,” Towns says in a video accompanying the exhibition. “This show is a way of illuminating that. It gives people a sort of way into history that’s not as scary as it can be in other forms.”

      Towns’ paintings portray groups of children swimming, sunbathing, and playing on the sandy shoreline. His fabric compositions are imagined scenes of respite and togetherness, which come across as disarming and candid.

      “Motown in Motion” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, 55.5 x 68 inches

      “Motown in Motion,” for example, depicts a group of young people gathered on the beach, and “I Will Follow You My Dear” trails two women swimming underwater—another nod to Mozert’s work as a pioneer in underwater photography.

      The figures in Towns’ paintings are more posed, drawn directly from Bruce Mozert’s snapshots, depicting smiling kids at play. Towns often uses reflective materials like metal leaf that emanate light back toward the viewer, reiterating a sense of brightness. “I want people to feel that warm, reflective energy when they see the show,” he says.

      Explore more on Towns’ website and Instagram, and if you’re in New York, you can see Private Paradise in Corning through January 19.

      “Taking Flight” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches

      “I Will Follow You My Dear” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, and acrylic and crystal glass beads, and shells, 55 x 72 inches

      “When We Were Young” (2022), acrylic, oil, and metal leaf on panel, 40 x 40 inches

      “A Taste of Lemonade” (2024), natural and synthetic fabric, polyester and cotton thread, crystal glass beads, metal and resin buttons, 55.5 x 68 inches

      Photograph of visitors at Paradise Park by Bruce Mozert

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    • 163 Shares169 Views

      in Art

      Community, Traditions, and Resilience Ring Through New Public Works for Tbilisi Mural Fest

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      Community, Traditions, and Resilience Ring Through New Public Works for Tbilisi Mural Fest

      December 31, 2024

      Art

      Kate Mothes

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      Residents and commuters alike can now enjoy more than 20 new, large-scale public artworks across five Georgian cities thanks to the 2024 Tbilisi Mural Fest (previously). The sixth edition facilitated new installations in Kutaisi, Batumi, Gori, and Gurjaani—in addition to its namesake community—by nearly a dozen artists from around the country and beyond.

      Many of the works reference local traditions, like Afzan Pirzade’s depiction of vintners holding a basket of grapes, representing a form of agriculture common in the eastern region of Kakheti. Tina Chertova incorporated a traditional lace-like pattern into a stunning, blue, multistory mural featuring birds, people, deer, and other decorative motifs. And in others, figures assume mythical personas, prepare food, and portray togetherness.

      This year, the monumental compositions adorn the sides of buildings that range from two stories tall to more than a dozen, the largest painting reaching 65 meters tall and 20 meters wide. Through vibrant splashes of color, the works celebrate resilience, community, and local customs in an array of styles.

      Explore more on the festival’s website.

      Innefields, Batumi

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    • 150 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      Sonya Kelliher-Combs Merges Collective Knowledge and Native Alaskan Heritage in Mixed Media

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      “Goodbye” (2018), installation from Anchorage Museum’s Collection. All images courtesy of the artist and Hirmer Verlag, shared with permission

      Sonya Kelliher-Combs Merges Collective Knowledge and Native Alaskan Heritage in Mixed Media

      December 26, 2024

      ArtBooksHistorySocial Issues

      Kate Mothes

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      Raised in the Alaska community of Nome, which sits on the coast of the Bering Sea, Sonya Kelliher-Combs traces her family lineage to the northernmost reaches in Utqiaġvik and the central inland city of Nulato. Now based in Anchorage, her Iñupiaq and Athabascan ancestry, cultural heritage, and relationship to the land constitute the nucleus around which her multidisciplinary work revolves.

      Growing up in a rural community, Kelliher-Combs observed and learned “time-honored traditional women’s and collective labor—skin sewing, beading, and food preparation—that taught her to appreciate the intimacy of intergenerational knowledge and material histories,” says an artist statement in the foreword of the artist’s new monograph, Mark.

      “Credible Small Secrets” (2021-present), sculpture, printed fabric, human hair, nylon thread, glass beed, and steel pen, variable dimensions. Photo by Chris Arend

      Published by Hirmer Verlag, the volume explores the breadth of Kelliher-Combs’s practice, from paintings, sculptures, and installations to her curatorial and community advocacy work.

      Drawing on the materials and symbolism of ancestral, Indigenous knowledge, Kelliher-Combs addresses what she describes as “the ongoing struggle for self-definition and identity in the Alaskan context,” delving into history, culture, family, and long-held customs.

      The works “also speak of abuse, marginalization, and the historical and contemporary struggles of Indigenous peoples in the North and worldwide,” her statement continues. In “Goodbye,” for example, 52 gloves and mittens are gathered together as if waving a collective farewell.

      The poignant installation aimed to open the dialogue about the sensitive subject of suicide, the rate of which at the time Kelliher-Combs made the piece was nearly 52 Native Alaskans per 100,000—more than triple the age-adjusted rate among Americans in general. The mitts were all handmade and lent by local community members.

      “A Million Tears” (2021), painting and mixed media, variable dimensions. Photo by Chris Arend

      Through delicate, tactile sculptures and atmospheric paintings, the artist venerates ancient ancestral practices, like animal hide preparation, while exploring the way contemporary materials like plastic and fossil fuels are transforming the landscape. She often incorporates maps, thread, beads, hair, and fabric.

      Kelliher-Combs also combines organic and synthetic materials, merging the traditional with the new; the local with the imported. She describes how she pushes “beyond the binary divisions of Western and Indigenous cultures, self and other, and man and nature, to examine the interrelationships and interdependence of these concepts.”

      See more of the artist’s work on her website, and find your copy of Mark on Bookshop.

      “Credible II” (2022), painting installation, mixed media. Photo by Chris Arend

      “Credible, Fairbanks” (2019), painting, mixed media, 16 x 16 inches. Photo by Minus Space, courtesy of the Denver Art Museum, Denver, Colorado

      “Credible Small Secrets”

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    • 163 Shares139 Views

      in Art

      Through Gestural Oil Paintings, Maria Calandra Guides Her Stream of Consciousness Onto Canvas

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      Images courtesy of Courtesy of Fredericks & Freiser, NY, shared with permission

      Through Gestural Oil Paintings, Maria Calandra Guides Her Stream of Consciousness Onto Canvas

      December 21, 2024

      ArtNature

      Jackie Andres

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      While traditional plein air painters capture their surroundings while outdoors, artist Maria Calandra takes a different approach. By roaming the coastal headlands of Maine, exploring the waters of Florida, and venturing out to the rolling fields of Southern France, Calandra finds inspiration in nature for her dynamic oil landscapes.

      The artist’s Brooklyn studio is laden with energy after she returns from such invigorating excursions. “I paint while reflecting on that moment during a hike when you start to feel Earth’s vibrations pulse through your feet and up your spine, letting memory, intuition, and those leftover vibrations take the reins,” she describes.

      Calandra’s painting style mimics this intensity as she translates a stream of consciousness through fluid brushstrokes and oscillating organic forms. Instinct guides the artist, who describes the act as “automatic painting.”

      This January, the artist will be in a group show at Half Gallery in New York followed by a solo show in June at the gallery’s Los Angeles location. Find more on Calandra’s website and follow along on Instagram.

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