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Here’s What We’re Excited to See at EXPO CHICAGO 2025
by Aurelia Butler 21 April 2025, 17:44
Wangari Mathenge, “Re-Membering (Folded In Time)” (2025), oil on canvas, 57.99 x 82.01 inches
Here’s What We’re Excited to See at EXPO CHICAGO 2025
April 21, 2025
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Grace Ebert
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This week marks the beginning of Chicago’s art world Olympics as the largest fair returns to Navy Pier. From April 24 to 27, EXPO CHICAGO will host hundreds of galleries, site-specific projects, talks, and multi-disciplinary programming both downtown and across the city.
To help you navigate, we’re sharing the artworks we’re most looking forward to seeing. And, if you haven’t gotten your tickets yet, use the code COLOSSAL25 for $5 off.
1. Wangari Mathenge with Pippy Houldsworth Gallery (London)
The Chicago-based, Kenyan artist will present a collection of vivid new paintings that speak to the immense amount of information generated through her intensive research process. Surrounded by books, plants, and brightly patterned East African Kanga fabrics, Mathenge’s figures lounge among objects that transcend colonial narratives.
Ilhwa Kim, “Calculative Flight” (2024), hand-dyed hanji paper, 132 x 164 x 13 centimeters
2. Ilhwa Kim, Gordon Cheung, and Zheng Lu with HOFA (London)
We’ve long been enamored by Kim’s roving, rolled-paper compositions that delineate dense pathways through broader expanses. Her dynamic works will be on view alongside Cheung’s decadent paintings and Lu’s stainless steel splashes.
Florence Solis, “Makahiya VI” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches
3. Florence Solis with The Mission Projects (Chicago)
Beginning with digital collage before moving to acrylic and canvas, Solis renders ethereal portraits of women infused with Filipino folklore. Delicate leaves and flowers entwine with coiled hair, while veils shroud the figures in luminous coverings, binding each with a protective, yet restrictive layer.
Suntai Yoo, “The Words” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 91 x 117 centimeters
4. Suntai Yoo with Galerie Gaia (Seoul)
Fragmented, surrealist landscapes figure prominently in Yoo’s paintings, which frequently pair common objects like books, bicycles, and apples with Korean letters. The artist is particularly interested in metaphor and how distinct items interact to create meaning.
Desmond Beach, “The Guardian of the Small & Sacred” (2025), digital painting, woven Jacquard loom, hand and machine sewn pieceworked fabric, 47″x 47 inches
5. Desmond Beach with Richard Beavers Gallery (Brooklyn)
Mixing digital painting with patchwork quilts, Beach creates bold, forward-looking portraits. The Baltimore-born artist invokes the ways that trauma can be harnessed for resistance and collective solidarity.
Jimmy Beauquesne, “Phase 3. Knight of infinite resignation” (2023-2024), colored pencils on paper, hand-cut metallic frame, 62 x 41 x 2 centimeters
6. Jimmy Beauquesne with Fragment (New York)
Nested inside hand-cut metallic frames, Beauquesne’s colored-pencil works imagine a dreamy, apocalyptic world that drips with fantastic details. The nine pieces form a narrative of humanity’s transformation sparked by phantasmagorical change.
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Geometric Scaffolding Structures Geoffrey Todd Smith’s Gouache-and-Ink Portraits
by Aurelia Butler 10 April 2025, 17:13
“Harmonizing With an Architect” (2025), gouache and ink on paper, 42 1/2 x 60 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and Western Exhibitions, shared with permission
Geometric Scaffolding Structures Geoffrey Todd Smith’s Gouache-and-Ink Portraits
April 10, 2025
Art
Grace Ebert
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From the center of a gridded structure made of striped orbs and oblong shapes are two elements redolent of eyes. Seeming to peer out from the largely abstract composition, these facial features are augmented by forms that mimic ears, noses, and mouths all nested within the vivid patterns.
The work of Chicago-based artist Geoffrey Todd Smith, these ambiguous portraits rendered in gouache and ink reference masks or mirrored reflections, revealing a distant figure without a defined identity. “To be honest, I keep thinking of them as evolving forms,” he tells Colossal. “I try to find new things in them when I look at them. I’m not entirely sure I want to figure them out because I probably won’t want to make them if I understand them.”
“Picture of Dorian Greige” (2024), gouache and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches
Continually drawn to abstraction and geometry, Smith is known for his mesmerizing works that infuse elaborate, often zigzagged motifs with simple structures. Vibrant spheres seem to spill across the paper, creating trippy, symmetric compositions bursting with energy.
The artist departs from pure abstraction in this new body of work as he incorporates humanoid components amid his interlocked shapes. Geometry still provides a scaffolding, though. He adds:
If there is a break from logic, that sense of order can quickly collapse, creating tension, sort of like removing the bottom pieces in a game of Jenga. Either way, geometry helps me construct a sort of game board to which I respond with more decorative or ornamental decisions. Even the decorative hand-drawn elements play an optical and structural role. They either assert or interfere with order, depending on how I manipulate them.
These ornamental additions are the product of a slow, introspective process. Smith prefers not to mix colors and instead layers materials to achieve a particular palette.
“Medieval Knievel” (2025), gouache and ink on paper, 33 x 29 inches
“The mark from a gel pen is so immediate and relatable. I like that they were marketed to teenagers because nobody feels quite as deeply as they do at that age,” he says. “I think of the intensity and rigor of my marks as mysterious emoting or like writing a gut-wrenching, abstract love letter.”
If you’re in Chicago, you can see Smith’s solo show Assembly at Western Exhibitions through April 12. Otherwise, find more of his work on his website and Instagram.
“Frock Of Regals” (2023), gouache and ink on paper, 22 x 30 inches
“King Cobralabra” (2024), gouache, acrylic and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches
“Beastmaster General” (2024), gouache and ink on paper, 24 x 22 inches
“Mixed-Message Magician” (2025), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 37 1/2 x 29 inches
“Chicago Armadillo” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 30 x 22 1/4 inches
“Atom Bomb Boom Box” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 30 x 22 1/4 inches
“Molotov Pineapple” (2023), acrylic, gouache, and ink on paper, 22 1/4 x 30 inches
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In Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings, Chloe West Summons Magical Realism in the American West
by Aurelia Butler 10 April 2025, 15:14
“Gored Cowboy” (2024-25), oil on linen, 84 x 68 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and HARPER’S, New York, shared with permission
In Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings, Chloe West Summons Magical Realism in the American West
April 10, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Set against mountains, desert plains, and the cobalt blue skies one finds at high elevations, Chloe West’s striking oil paintings merge Dutch Golden Age iconographies with both mythic and everyday motifs of the American West.
West was born and raised in Wyoming, the peaks and pastures of which continue to influence her hyperrealistic figurative works. In her current solo exhibition, Games of Chance at HARPER’S, the artist draws on European portraiture and still life traditions in a series of self-portraits and tableaux challenging stereotypes of the West as a frontier molded by machismo.
“Cowboy Philosopher” (2024-25), oil on linen, 84 x 68 inches
“Cowboy Philosopher,” for example, portrays the artist in direct confrontation with the viewer, seated beside a mountain lion skull at a table covered with a celestial tapestry. The painting evokes Salomon Koninck’s “A Philosopher” (1635) and works by other Flemish artists of the 17th and 18th centuries, who often depicted alchemists and scholars in their studies accompanied by skulls, devices, and documents.
West subverts our understanding of cowboy culture as predominantly masculine, juxtaposing her own body with bones, small weapons, and fabric backdrops that establish a tension between life and death, folklore and daily life, and the sacred and the profane. Animal bones, thorns, and knives nod to memento mori, a reminder of the impermanence of life, while also invoking the supernatural and a sense of cyclical time. Casting deep, dark shadows, the glaring sun reveals all.
Portraying herself in western wear, West bonds to the continuum of the landscape and its customs and narratives while considering the way European attitudes and actions like Manifest Destiny shaped our understanding of the region. The artist taps into legend, history, and magical realism to blur distinctions between the past and contemporary experience. “Ultimately, throughout Games of Chance, West confronts the idealization of frontier heroism, dismantling its pre-established boundaries and expanding upon the legacy it left behind,” the gallery says.
Games of Chance opens today and continues through May 10 in New York City. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Hand with Opossum Skull” (2024-25), oil on linen, 24 x 20 inches
Detail of “Gored Cowboy”
“Trapper’s Still Life” (2024-5), oil on linen, 48 x 38 inches
“Pearled Back” (2024-25), oil on linen, 58 x 46 inches
“Portrait with Capped Skull” (2024-25), oil on linen, 58 x 48 inches
“Pocketknife” (2024), oil on linen, 16 x 12 inches
“St. Veronica at the Geyser Basin” (2024-25, oil on linen, 48 x 38 inches
“Hand with Thorn” (2024-25), oil on linen, 24h x 20w in
Detail of “Cowboy Philosopher”
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Sebas Velasco’s Dreamy Oil Paintings Illuminate Cinematic Urban Landscapes
by Aurelia Butler 9 April 2025, 14:36
“Somewhere in Time,” oil on canvas, 195 x 195 centimeters. All images courtesy of Sebas Velasco and the History Museum of Bosnia and Heregovina, shared with permission
Sebas Velasco’s Dreamy Oil Paintings Illuminate Cinematic Urban Landscapes
April 9, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Sebas Velasco (previously) has long been drawn to the landscapes and cultures of the Balkans and former Yugoslavian countries in southeastern Europe, where he has spent the past decade traveling and researching for his large-scale paintings and murals.
The Morning Will Change Everything at the History Museum of Bosnia and Heregovina marks the Spanish artist’s first institutional exhibition. Inspired by the title of a song by Sarajevo-based band Indexi, the show continues Velasco’s exploration of urban landscapes and themes of relationships and passing time.
“Wherever I May Roam,” oil on canvas, 195 x 195 centimeters
Rendered in oil on wood or canvas, Velasco’s paintings depict figures, architecture, and old cars illuminated by street lamps or headlights in a realistic yet dreamlike world. Taking cues from photography through the use of cinematic lighting effects and portraiture, he often juxtaposes contrasting elements like grassy meadows with brutalist high-rises or derelict cars with wildflowers.
Whether glowing under an orange street light or spotlit against a fuzzy smattering of brake lights and apartment windows, Velasco’s subjects are relaxed, poised, and unhurried. One can imagine the din of car horns, music, and other city noises in the background, yet Velasco emphasizes brief, self-assured interactions as if momentarily, time is at a standstill.
Nighttime plays a starring role in Velasco’s compositions, which tap into dualities of the known and unknown, revelations and secrets, individuality and anonymity, and the quotidian and the extraordinary. He conjures “gateways to complex socio-economic narratives,” the museum says, emphasizing the power of humanity amid ever-evolving identities and the tumult of globalization.
Find more on Velasco’s website and Instagram.
Detail of “Wherever I May Roam”
“Golf II,” oil on wood, 41 x 27 centimeters
“The Morning Will Change Everything,” oil on wood, 120 x 120 centimeters
“Agata,” oil on wood, 81 x 65 centimeters
Detail of “Agata”
“Yugo 45 III,” oil on wood, 24 x 35 centimeters
“Interior Night Sarajevo II,” oil on wood, 46 x 33 centimeters
Velasco working on a painting in his solo exhibition at the History Museum of Bosnia and Heregovina
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Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian
by Aurelia Butler 3 April 2025, 14:39
“The Dreamers” (2019), acrylic on canvas, 230 x 360 centimeters. All images © Marc Padeu, courtesy of Larkin Durey, London, shared with permission
Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian
April 3, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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Foregrounding vibrant patterns, swathed in bright fabrics, and illuminated by the sun, the figures in Cameroonian artist Marc Padeu’s paintings are imbued with beguiling gravitas. His large-scale works stem from a fascination with the power of narrative, connecting the Western art historical canon—especially Renaissance titans like Caravaggio—with contemporary experiences of life in Cameroon.
Padeu was trained by the church as a fresco painter. He draws on dramatic biblical stories to juxtapose momentous religious and spiritual accounts with quotidian moments that emphasize Black joy, leisure, family, and fraternity.
“Au baptême 2” (2024), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 300 centimeters
Through the immediacy of acrylic, Padeu renders figures in everyday yet memorable scenes, whether gathered outdoors to relax, witnessing a baptism, or solemnly coexisting amid vivid surroundings.
Many of Padeu’s paintings take inspiration from Renaissance compositions, like “La réunion syndicale,” which bears hints of da Vinci’s “The Last Supper” (1495-1498) or Caravaggio’s “The Supper at Emmaus” (1601). Portrayed nearly life-size, the artist’s tableaux immerse us in rites of passage and moments of togetherness.
Find more on the artist’s Instagram.
“La réunion syndicale” (2021), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 280 centimeters
“La bague de Roxane” (2023), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 280 centimeters
“All the light on me” (2021), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 338 centimeters
“La Balançoire 2” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 200 x 230 centimeters
“Au pique-nique” (2022), acrylic on canvas, 220 x 200 centimeters
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In Vivid Reliquaries, Stan Squirewell Layers Anonymous Portraits and Patterned Textiles
by Aurelia Butler 28 March 2025, 15:30
All images courtesy of Stan Squirewell and Claire Oliver Gallery, shared with permission
In Vivid Reliquaries, Stan Squirewell Layers Anonymous Portraits and Patterned Textiles
March 28, 2025
ArtPhotography
Grace Ebert
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Through intimate, mixed-media collages, Stan Squirewell excavates the stories of those who might otherwise be lost in anonymity. The artist gathers images from the Smithsonian’s archives and from friends and family that he then reinterprets with vibrant prints and patterns. Layering unknown pasts with present-day additions, Squirewell explores how everyday traditions and rituals remain through generations.
His new body of work, Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease, invokes ubiquitous items like the over-the-counter decongestant and hair care. “Growing up, I was shaped by elders around me, and everyday objects like Robitussin, hotcombs, and grease became vessels for the rituals that anchored me to my heritage,” the artist says. “These items transcend their mundane uses: they embody traditions passed down through generations, grounding me in a collective identity.”
“Girls on Saturn” (2025)
Squirewell cuts and collages images and fabrics from his collection before photographing the composition, which then undergoes a digital editing process. An elaborate frame complements each piece with charred shou sugi ban edges—a Japanese burning technique—and hand-carved details. The sides bear various inscriptions connecting past and present, including lines from Langston Hughes’ poems and glyphs from ancestral African languages that have fallen out of use.
Because the identities and histories of many of the subjects are unknown, Squirewell’s work adds a new relevance to their images. How have daily, domestic practices and the legacies of previous generations informed the present? And how do these traditions create a broader collective experience? Rooted in these questions, the dignified works become reliquaries that honor what’s been passed down and how that continues to inform life today.
Robitussin, Hotcombs & Grease is on view through May 24 at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. Find more from Squirewell on Instagram.
“Teddy” (2024), artist-printed photos collaged with paint and glitter in a hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 43 x 35 x 3 inches
“Teddy’s Lil Sisters” (2024), artist-printed photos collaged with paint and glitter in a hand-carved shou sugi ban frame, 29 x 24 x 2 inches
“Girls on Saturn” (2025)
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Inhabitants of a Fictional World Search for Understanding in Damien Cifelli’s Vibrant Paintings
by Aurelia Butler 28 March 2025, 09:00
“A guide to the Unknown Other.” All images courtesy of Damien Cifelli, shared with permission
Inhabitants of a Fictional World Search for Understanding in Damien Cifelli’s Vibrant Paintings
March 28, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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In Tarogramma, the imaginary world conceived by Damien Cifelli (previously) as a setting for his vibrant paintings, plants are plentiful, but animals don’t exist. The landscapes are as diverse and enigmatic as its inhabitants, who commune with bodies of water, traverse the desert in a suit, and size up an enigmatic object on a dinner plate.
Cifelli’s stylish figures investigate their environment to try to understand their place within it. Many of the paintings shown here were recently exhibited at Spinello Projects in Miami, emphasizing the artist’s recent focus on analyzing what life is like in this fictive world.
“I make a map in my mind but each time I raise my head it disappears”
“In Tarogramma, symbols are imbued with disassociated meanings unrelated to what we think they could be,” says a statement for his show. “Iconography, such as flags or emblems, represent regions that exist not as physical places but as ideas or states of mind.” This world is devoid of ethnic, cultural, or gender hierarchies, and identity is fluid and chosen, which encourages constant transformation.
Occasionally, Cifelli’s paintings reference famous artworks like “Wanderer before the Sea of Ice,” which nods to German Romanticist artist Caspar David Friedrich’s 1818 painting, “Wanderer Above a Sea of Fog.” Capturing the solipsism of the 19th-century work, Cifelli translates the view into an arctic scene of jagged ice, with the central figure wearing a coat decorated in symbols evocative of biological forms.
Explore more on Cifelli’s website and Instagram.
“The trick is to know what you are looking for”
“A new route to the interior”
“Everything that happens will happen today”
“Dream Animal”
“Green Fingers, Unit 14”
“Infinite Ground”
“At the foot of the mountain, the land speaks”
“Wanderer before the Sea of Ice”
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Robert Peterson Summons Black Resilience and Tenderness in Vibrant Portraits
by Aurelia Butler 20 March 2025, 13:26
“The Prophet” (2025), oil on canvas, 48 x 30 inches. All images courtesy of the artist and albertz benda, New York and Los Angeles, shared with permission
Robert Peterson Summons Black Resilience and Tenderness in Vibrant Portraits
March 20, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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In characteristically glistening blue hues, Robert Peterson’s striking portraits invite us into emotionally complex inner worlds.
Peterson centers the Black body in paintings that challenge dominant narratives surrounding Black lives, celebrating beauty, compassion, and resilience. Tender portraits reveal the essential humanity of vulnerability and individuality with an emphasis on themes of empathy and togetherness.
“Protect Those Tears” (2025), oil on canvas, 14 x 11 inches
Peterson’s choice of oils, a traditional portrait medium, embeds his work in the continuum of Western painting. However, instead of highly stylized scenes or elaborate ornamentation, his figures are often set against bold, flat backgrounds and they appear half-dressed or in casual clothes, unguarded and relaxed.
In his forthcoming solo exhibition, We Are Forever at albertz benda, Peterson examines familial connections, paying homage to the strength and dedication inherent in the relationships between siblings and parents and their children.
“At the core of this new body of work is a profound sense of intimacy, offering a thoughtful reflection on presence and the enduring significance of his subjects’ stories,” the gallery says.
We Are Forever runs from March 27 to May 3 in New York. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
“Untitled (Purple)” (2025), oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches
“Water Me” (2025), oil on canvas, 24 x 20 inches
“Hamsa Tattoo” (2025, oil on canvas, 28 x 22 inches
“Untitled (Black)” (2025), oil on canvas, 18 x 14 inches
Installation view of works at the Dallas Art Fair
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portraits

More stories

Here’s What We’re Excited to See at EXPO CHICAGO 2025

Geometric Scaffolding Structures Geoffrey Todd Smith’s Gouache-and-Ink Portraits

In Hyperrealistic Oil Paintings, Chloe West Summons Magical Realism in the American West

Sebas Velasco’s Dreamy Oil Paintings Illuminate Cinematic Urban Landscapes

Drawing on Religious Renaissance Art, Marc Padeu’s Paintings Monumentalize the Quotidian

In Vivid Reliquaries, Stan Squirewell Layers Anonymous Portraits and Patterned Textiles

Inhabitants of a Fictional World Search for Understanding in Damien Cifelli’s Vibrant Paintings

Robert Peterson Summons Black Resilience and Tenderness in Vibrant Portraits

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