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      Tufts of Printed Fabric Form Colorful Mixed-Media Portraits by Marcellina Oseghale Akpojotor

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      Art

      #acrylic
      #mixed media
      #painting
      #portraits
      #textiles

      October 12, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Eyes on the Gold IV” (2018), 5 x 4 feet. All images courtesy of Rele Gallery, shared with permission
      Using scraps of vibrant Ankara fabric, Lagos-based artist Marcellina Oseghale Akpojotor fashions intimate portraits that consider the fragmented and varied inner lives of her subjects. The intricately composed depictions rely on a cacophony of patterns arranged in loose ripples and tufts, creating a patchwork of color and texture. Although the textiles are Dutch in origin—they’re colloquially known as “African print fabrics”—they have a strong cultural significance, and by piecing together the assorted motifs, Akpojotor establishes a shared visual memory.
      Set against uncluttered, domestic backdrops rendered in acrylic, the fiber-based figures are often disrupted with small spots of paint as a way to “speak to the influence our environment has in shaping us as individuals,” Akpojotor shares. “They represent the connections we have with our background and immediate society and how these often ignored elements form a part of our being.” Navigating the links between subjects and their surroundings is an ongoing concern for the artist, whose work delves into the effects of the current moment, in addition to the ways personal histories and the actions of previous generations have lasting impacts.
      Akpojotor is represented by Rele Gallery, where her work will be on view later this month, and she’s currently working on pieces that explore how education affects women’s empowerment, which you can follow on Instagram. (via Women’s Art)

      “Set to Flourish I” (2021), fabric and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
      “Bright bright light II” (2020), mixed media, 2 x 2 feet
      “Papa’s Girl (Kesiena’s Diary)” (2021), fabric, paper, and acrylic on canvas, 60 x 48 inches
      Detail of “Bright bright light II” (2020), mixed media, 2 x 2 feet
      “Eyes on the Gold VI” (2018), 5 x 4 feet
      “Ovoke (Kesiena’s diary)” (2019-2020), fabric and acrylic on canvas, 5 x 4 feet

      “Dear Brother II” (2020), mixed media, 2 x 2 feet

      #acrylic
      #mixed media
      #painting
      #portraits
      #textiles

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      Marred with Dark Hole Punches, Monochromatic Drawings and Paintings Evoke Depression-Era Negatives

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      Art

      #charcoal
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

      October 8, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images courtesy of Hashimoto Contemporary, shared with permission
      Nearly a century since it began, the Great Depression is still largely associated with the iconic imagery that’s come to define the era. Dorothea Lange’s “Migrant Mother” and Walker Evans’s portrait of the distinctly tight-lipped Allie Mae Burroughs are two foundational shots that establish the period’s visual record, and they accompany the approximately 175,000 photographs also commissioned by the U.S. Farm Security Administration during those years.
      While vast in number, this collection is understood today as being limited in scope, particularly in relation to its failure to reflect racial diversity, because the head of the FSA from 1935 to 1941, Roy Stryker, effaced images he felt didn’t align with the agency’s goals. When he wanted to reject a photo and prevent its dissemination, he would mark it with a hole punch, an erasure that Tulsa-based artist Joel Daniel Phillips evokes in his striking series Killing the Negative Pt. 2.
      The ongoing project reimagines intimate portraits and wider shots from that period as meticulous graphite and charcoal drawings and oil paintings in shades of red. Monochromatic and ranging from small portraits to life-sized renderings, Phillips’s works complicate the narratives expunged from the historical record by focusing on a wider and more diverse swath of the population. “When the black voids of Roy Stryker’s hole punch are placed front and center, the reality of just how much power that a single, White man had to shape the narrative re-frames and re-defines the entire discussion,” the artist said in an interview about the first part of the project.
      Included in Killing the Negative Pt. 2, which runs from October 9 to 20 at Hashimoto Contemporary’s new Los Angeles gallery, are glimpses into both rural and urban life with large-scale paintings of an older farmer, young girl outfitted in a frilly dress, and a panoramic shot of a migrant family and their makeshift living quarters. One smaller work (shown below) recreates a selfie that FSA photographer John Vachon snapped “in a hotel room mirror while on assignment. He took several of these, and apparently, Roy Styker (the head of the FSA) particularly hated this one, since he punched it twice,” the artist writes.
      To see more of Killing the Negative, head to Phillips’s site and peek into his process on Instagram.

      #charcoal
      #drawing
      #graphite
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

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      Patterns and Geometric Shapes Disrupt Kaleidoscopic Portraits in Georgie Nakima’s Murals

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      Art

      #murals
      #portraits
      #public art
      #street art

      October 6, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Georgie Nakima, shared with permission
      Using geometric motifs and vibrant hues that contrast their brick and concrete backdrops, multi-disciplinary artist Georgie Nakima paints oversized portraits that use color to convey “divinity, resilience, strength, and beauty.” The Charlotte-based artist, who works as Garden of Journey, gravitates toward bright reds and blues to form stripes, facial features, and various plants and animals in a manner that connects the central subjects to their environments. “The color is totally freestyle, and I really like to start with a base color or gradient,” she tells Colossal. “Especially in urban societies, it’s not always inspiring when you’re surrounded by gray and brown buildings.”
      A studio artist primarily, Nakima creates smaller works on paper in addition to her more monumental projects, all of which are tied to ideas of Afrofuturism and countering media narratives with positive messages. Her practice has evolved in recent years from strict hyperrealism to a more abstract style that uses patches of color and patterns. “It’s still proportionately realistic, but there’s more depth,” she says, sharing that she focuses equally on her subjects and their surroundings. “My murals are really playing to the ecosystem. I am a portrait artist. However, I don’t seek for my work to be focused on humans existence. (I want to) put some of the focus off of the human ego and think holistically about who we are on this planet.”
      Nakima is currently working on a piece at Mechanics and Farmers Bank, Charlotte’s first Black-owned financial institution, and you can see more of her outdoor projects, portraits on paper, and basketball court transformations on Instagram.

      #murals
      #portraits
      #public art
      #street art

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      Flora and Fauna Intertwine with Strands of Hair in Miho Hirano’s Dreamy Portraits

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      Art

      #animals
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

      September 15, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Heart Beating” (2020), oil on canvas, 33.3 x 33.3 centimeters. All images courtesy of Gallery Sumire, shared with permission
      Wrapped within the piecey curls surrounding Miho Hirano‘s subjects are twigs, vine fragments, and clusters of pink blossoms. Using a cool color palette tinged with blues, the Japanese artist (previously) paints ethereal, introspective portraits of women enveloped in movement whether through small fish swimming around their torsos or branches growing from under their hair. Hirano tells Colossal that she tends to center her oil-based works around finding harmony and the inevitability of change, particularly in relation to life’s fragile nature.
      Many of the pieces shown here are on view at Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and Hirano is currently preparing for a solo show in London next year. You can see more of her dreamy paintings on Instagram.

      “Blooming Relaxedly” (2021), oil on canvas, 41 x 32 centimeters
      “Rest” (2021), oil on canvas, 41 x 32 centimeters
      “My Wishes” (2021), oil on canvas, 33.3 x 33.3 centimeters
      “Fragrance” (2021), oil on canvas, 53 x 45.5 centimeters
      “Spring Breeze Blowing Through” (2020), oil on canvas, 33.4 x 33.4 centimeters

      #animals
      #oil painting
      #painting
      #portraits

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      Fragmented Blocks of Color and Texture Overlap in Lui Ferreyra’s Layered Portraits

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      Art
      Illustration

      #animals
      #colored pencil
      #digital
      #drawing
      #portraits

      August 24, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Awear Glasses,” digital drawing for Charmant USA. All images Lui Ferreyra, shared with permission
      Curved patches and geometric blocks comprise the layered portraits by Denver-based artist Lui Ferreyra (previously). Working both digitally and with colored pencil on paper, Ferreyra overlaps outlined fragments filled with thin lines to convey shadow and light, creating nuanced portrayals of his subjects. The prismatic works shown here are some of the artist’s more recent personal projects and commissions, which show the development of his distinct style during the last few years, in addition to the contrast he continues to draw between densely composed fields of color and larger expanses of negative space.
      Ferreyra is currently a resident in The Ramble Hotel’s Art Can program, and his illustrations will be on view at the Denver location’s pop-up gallery through September 7. A few prints are available in his shop, and you can follow his work on Instagram.

      “Unfinished Series 1,” digital drawing
      “Marc Maron,” digital drawing
      “Open Hand,” digital drawing
      “Psyche,” color pencil on black paper
      “Rainbow Series 1,” digital drawing
      “Rainbow Series 3,” digital drawing
      “Jasmin,” digital drawing for Scholarship America

      #animals
      #colored pencil
      #digital
      #drawing
      #portraits

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      Textured Patchworks of Sequins, Plastic Beads, and Oil Paint Comprise Trevon Latin’s Dazzling Portraits

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      Art

      #collage
      #fabric
      #painting
      #portraits
      #sculpture
      #textiles

      August 10, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Untitled” (2021), oil on canvas, fabric stretched on panel, plastic beads, and barrettes, 50 1/4 x 58 1/2 x 4 inches. All images by Guillaume Ziccarelli, courtesy of the artist and Perrotin, shared with permission
      Through a patchwork of glitzy sequins and humble cottons, New York-based artist Trevon Latin renders a fantastical world fit for an equally nuanced ensemble of characters. His mixed-media portraits and stuffed sculptures, which uniquely contrast color, texture, and medium in striking collaged pieces, draw their founding characteristics from queer nightlife, virtual reality, and mythology.
      Having completed an MFA in painting and printmaking at Yale in 2020, Latin expands on his classical training by utilizing various found materials, including swatches of patterned fabric, multi-color beads, plastic barrettes, and sequins. His portraits center on spliced, abstracted figures stretched on a round frame or couples mid-embrace, with lush, rolling fields occupying the foreground. These green expanses evoke the landscapes of southeastern Texas, which the Houston-born artist and performer knows well, and offer a contrast to the otherwise ostentatious subjects.
      The plush sculptures highlight the more mythical qualities of Latin’s practice, portraying shimmering hybrid characters elevated on pedestals. His 2021 work “I Break Too Easily” is similarly fantastical, featuring an aqua 3D-printed mask with long beaded tendrils hanging from its mouth. Whether depicted on canvas or as a fully-formed figure, each of the works is a flamboyant and elaborate embodiment of Shaturqua Relentless, a non-binary character the artist has performed in recent years. The resulting works reveal an inherent intimacy and idiosyncrasy, marking an entry point into an evolving narrative.
      All of the pieces shown here are part of Trinket Eater, Latin’s first solo exhibition at Perrotin’s New York gallery. It’s on view through August 13. (via Hyperallergic)

      Detail of “I Break Too Easily” (2021), 3D printed PLA mask, beads, barrettes, 52 x 36 x 36 inches
      Left: “Perched” (2021), fabric, earrings, sequins, wood, 81 x 23 x 23 inches. Right: “Lil’ boi blu” (2021), fabric, glass, sequins, wood, 87 1/2 x 34 x 18 inches
      Detail of “Untitled” (2021), oil on canvas, fabric stretched on panel, plastic beads, and barrettes, 50 1/4 x 58 1/2 x 4 inches
      “Untitled” (2021), oil on canvas and fabric stretched on panel, 83 x 51 x 10 inches
      Left: “Untitled” (2021), oil on canvas and fabric stretched on panel, 39 x 42 x 3 1/2 inches. Right: “Untitled” (2021),oil on canvas and fabric stretched on panel, 53 x 36 1/4 x 11 inches
      Detail of “Lil’ boi blu” (2021), fabric, glass, sequins, wood, 87 1/2 x 34 x 18 inches
      “I Break Too Easily” (2021), 3D printed PLA mask, beads, barrettes, 52 x 36 x 36 inches

      #collage
      #fabric
      #painting
      #portraits
      #sculpture
      #textiles

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      Clusters of Bright Balloons Envelop Photographer Fares Micue in Her Expressive Self-Portraits

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      Art
      Photography

      #balloons
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

      July 26, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      “Contagious energy.” All images © Fares Micue, shared with permission
      In her ongoing series of self-portraits, Spain-based photographer and artist Fares Micue (previously) trades her usual monarchs and lush, leafy botanicals for bright airborne balloons. The perfectly round vessels appear suspended in motion as they encircle Micue’s torso, conceal her face, or lead her up a painted stairway. The amorphous clusters follow the artist’s distinct use of color, adding either a stark contrast to her clothing and the backdrop or blending with the existing architectural palette.
      In a note to Colossal, Micue shares that while she brings in organic elements like flowers and leaves to evoke the earth’s seasonal patterns, the ballons are derived from the universe’s more foundational and constant elements, like the sun, the moon, and the planets. She explains:
      For me, the round shape represents perfection, feelings, energy, and the natural flowing of things…(It) has the ability to move easily like a ball and helps us to move forward like a wheel. They are delicate and soft. Nothing can be hidden around a circle cause it has no edges or pointy corners, and that’s what they represent in my work: the pureness and naturality of our feelings and how they help us to move forward, the energy we share with the world, and how they are always surrounding us shaping our everyday life
      Limited-edition prints of many of the pieces shown here are available from Saatchi Art, and you can explore an extensive archive of Micue’s exquisitely composed portraits on Instagram.

      “Chasing illusions”
      “Endless options,” in collaboration with Artstar
      “Winter blues,” in collaboration with Artstar
      “Too many expectations”
      “The happiness source”
      “Revive your curiosity”
      “I choose you”

      #balloons
      #portraits
      #self-portrait

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      Expressive Portraits Made as Scrap-Metal Mosaics Question Societal Notions of Value

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      Art

      #metal
      #mosaics
      #portraits

      July 19, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Matt Small, shared with permission
      At the heart of Matt Small’s practice is the idea that “there’s always potential within everything.” The British artist gravitates toward an overarching theme of disregard in both subject matter and material, choosing oxidized hunks of iron, bits of patinaed copper, and crinkled aluminum strips that have been relegated to the trash to construct his metallic portraits.
      Expressive and emotionally charged, the corroded mosaics link rampant overconsumption and widespread tendencies to throw away what’s deemed obsolete or undesirable to the ways adolescents are marginalized and subsequently not seen as viable members of society. “Because of the social backgrounds they come from, young people find themselves overlooked, disregarded, and left uninvested in,” the artist says. “Marrying the discarded item and painting a portrait of a young person on it or utilizing the material to construct a mosaic face, I hope that the viewer sees that everybody and everything has a right to be viewed as valuable and of worth. It’s just up to us to see that.”

      Detail of “Jake” (2020), assembled metal on wooden board, 35.5 x 35.5 inches
      In a conversation with Colossal, Small references Marcel Duchamp’s urinal and the way that readymade sculpture upended long-standing notions of worth as a foundational concept he draws on his own practice. By turning debris and seemingly useless materials into works of significance, he hopes to prompt questions about the arbitrary values assigned to objects and people alike, explaining:
      The scrap metal has worth because of what I did with it, not because I say it is of worth. The rusted tin can becomes a tone in the face. The shiny metal brings out a highlight on the forehead. All these worthless items have been incorporated into something that someone may now appreciate, and the potential of this scrap item can now be realized.
      Small, who lives in his hometown of Camden, currently has work on view as part of Vanguard, which is considering the role of Bristol-area artists who’ve had an outsized impact on British street art since the 1980s. The extensive exhibition, which includes memorabilia and dozens of originals works, is open at M Shed through October 31. If you’re in London, watch for a large-scale mural portrait of the young British entrepreneur Jamal Edwards that Small is working on in Acton, and follow the artist on Instagram to stay up to date with his latest projects.

      “Jake” (2020), assembled metal on wooden board, 35.5 x 35.5 inches

      #metal
      #mosaics
      #portraits

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