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Five Latinx Artists Explore Materiality, Identity, and Belonging in ‘Los Encuentros’
by Aurelia Butler 23 July 2025, 14:58
Facade mural by Ozzie Juarez. Photos by Alex Marks. All images courtesy of Ballroom Marfa, shared with permission
Five Latinx Artists Explore Materiality, Identity, and Belonging in ‘Los Encuentros’
July 23, 2025
ArtSocial Issues
Kate Mothes
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Marfa sits at the crossroads of US-90 and US-67 in the expansive Chihuahua Desert of far West Texas. About 60 miles from Mexico, U.S. Border Patrol trucks are a common sight along the roads, in addition to an unmissable, otherworldly tethered surveillance blimp that hovers near the highway between the town center and one of its most iconic installations, Elmgreen & Dragset’s “Prada Marfa.”
As the current administration’s immigration policy has taken effect, the politics of identity and geography have again been thrust front and center—often violently. In this remote borderland, where the one-stoplight-town has been redefined by influential art world personalities for several decades in an idiosyncratic convergence of ideas and lifestyles, there is a unique opportunity to engage with themes of community, narrative, socio-economic realities, and a sense of place.
Justin Favela
Ballroom Marfa’s summer exhibition, Los Encuentros, gathers the work of Latinx artists Justin Favela, Ozzie Juarez, Antonio Lechuga, Narsiso Martinez, and Yvette Mayorga. The gallery describes an aim of the show, the title of which translates to “the meetings” or “the gatherings,” as “the representation of Latinx culture to confront the accessibility of art spaces, colonial art histories, the conditions of labor, and lived experience.”
Amid daily news reports of ICE raids around the nation, the work in Los Encuentros is a timely and provocative exploration of today’s societal complexities along with being a way of “responding to the experiences of the people and places they engage with and depict,” a statement says.
All the artists employ a wide range of materials and techniques, from Mayorga’s frosting-like, piped paint to Favela’s vibrant ruffled paper installations redolent of piñatas. Lechuga uses Mexican blankets, or cobijas, creating sewn textile collages that explore a wide range of experiences and perspectives amid the current political climate.
Martinez continues to create intimate, candid portraits of farm workers by using produce boxes, bags, and repurposed plastic as his substrates as a reminder of the often invisible labor that goes into putting food on Americans’ tables. And Juarez has completely transformed Ballroom’s facade in to a giant painting derived from ancient Mesoamerican motifs.
Narsiso Martinez
Los Encuentros is curated by Texas-based Maggie Adler, who expressed delight at being able to collaborate “with artists whose practices center on allowing a broad range of community members to see themselves represented in art spaces.”
The show continues through October 12. Find more on the gallery’s website. And during open hours, keep an eye out for Rachel Hayes’ colorful patchwork flag that flies out front.
Ozzie Juarez
Narsiso Martinez
Justin Favela
Antonio Lechuga
Detail of a work by Antonio Lechuga
Yvette Mayorga
Detail of a work by Yvette Mayorga
Antonio Lechuga
Detail of a work by Antonio Lechuga
Narsiso Martinez
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Six Activist Trolls Tromp Through a California Woodland to ‘Save the Humans’
by Aurelia Butler 22 July 2025, 17:32
“Kamma Can: The Treasure Troll.” All images courtesy of Filoli, shared with permission
Six Activist Trolls Tromp Through a California Woodland to ‘Save the Humans’
July 22, 2025
ArtNature
Grace Ebert
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As visitors wander through a mile-stretch of Filoli’s Natural Lands this summer, they’ll encounter a group of eager wooden characters ready to share their wisdom. Trolls: Save the Humans is a playful, yet urgent exhibition by Danish artist Thomas Dambo (previously), who’s known for creating enormous fairytale characters from reclaimed wood.
At Filoli, Dambo has installed six creatures, each with a distinct personality and agenda. There’s the innovative “Kamma Can,” a “treasure troll” that enjoys teaching people to turn their leftover wrappers and disposable containers into vibrant creations. “Ibbi Pip: The Birdhouse Troll” is similarly concerned with transforming the environment by installing avian homes, while “Sofus Lotufs: The Listening Troll” directs our attention to the forest floor and asks us to be mindful of the changes happening all around.
“Sofus Lotus: The Listening Troll”
“I’m so happy my Trolls get to spend some time amongst the giant redwoods at Filoli,” Dambo says. “I spent a day hiking in the forest, and it is a magical place where I know my Trolls will feel at home.”
Staggering in stature and inviting in presence, the characters are activists at their core and passionate about teaching sustainability. Like much of the artist’s practice, this exhibition utilizes the charm and wonder of fairytales to convey critical messages about the climate crisis and human behavior.
Trolls continues through November 10 in Woodside, California. Follow Dambo’s passionate personalities on Instagram.
“Ronja Redeye: The Speaker Troll”
Detail of “Sofus Lotus: The Listening Troll”
“Ibbi Pip: The Birdhouse Troll”
“Basse Buller: The Painting Troll”
“Sofus Lotus: The Listening Troll”
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Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures
by Aurelia Butler 22 July 2025, 13:24
Group of anatomical felt brooches. All images courtesy of Hiné Mizushima, shared with permission
Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures
July 22, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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From the spiral shells of prehistoric ammonites to uncanny depictions of organs and fish, Hiné Mizushima has a knack for combining cuteness and humor with the unusual and unseen. The Vancouver-based artist (previously) continues to create vibrant dioramas and wall sculptures that toy with textiles, anatomy, and taxidermy.
Using felt, sequins, embroidery thread, and yarn, Mizushima builds colorful displays of coral, animals, and botanicals. A mounted moray eel, for example, mimics a natural history display, showing a cutaway of its belly revealing a—rather lively—baby eel.
“Squids”
Recently, the artist also sewed a series of brooches in the form of microscopic organisms like Daphnia and Paramecium and anatomical human organs. Nerves and blood vessels extend along the root and crown of a tooth, complete with a filled cavity.
Mizushima is currently preparing for a group show at Ranbu Gallery in Osaka this fall, plus another group exhibition at Beinart Gallery in Melbourne in early 2026. The artist looks forward to experimenting with some new craft techniques and focusing on her Etsy shop, where original pieces and prints are available for purchase. Explore more on her website, Instagram, and Behance.
Anatomical felt brooch
“Anatomical Moray Eel”
Detail of “Anatomical Moray Eel”
“Phantom Squid”
“Ammonite”
Anatomical felt brooch
“Turtleback Twin Beasts”
Anatomical felt brooch
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Tender, Cute, and Absurd, Rong Bao’s Inflatable Sculptures Plug Into the ‘Emotional Wobble’
by Aurelia Butler 17 July 2025, 14:19
“Alien Babe No.2.” All images courtesy of Rong Bao, shared with permission
Tender, Cute, and Absurd, Rong Bao’s Inflatable Sculptures Plug Into the ‘Emotional Wobble’
July 17, 2025
Art
Kate Mothes
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From PVC, silicone-coated fabrics, nylon mesh, electronics, and other found or manipulated materials, Rong Bao creates oddly personable inflatable sculptures. “My fascination with inflatable structures began when I realized how absurd, tender, and unstable they could be—all at once,” the artist tells Colossal. “Unlike rigid materials, inflatables breathe, wobble, collapse, and revive. They seem alive, with a sense of humor and vulnerability that deeply resonates with me.”
Rong’s ongoing series of alien-like creatures tread the boundaries between humor and discomfort, abstraction and representation, and what she describes as “cuteness and existential instability.” The artist takes on a role akin to a playful mad scientist—just imagine Frankenstein’s unpredictable monster as a bouncy, neon pink confection.
“Alien Babe No.1”
Rong spends several weeks to months getting each composition just right by sketching, prototyping elements, testing inflation behavior and structural integrity, then fabricating the final piece. “It often involves a lot of trial and error—and a lot of laughter and despair in between,” she says.
Rong was recently featured in an episode of the BBC’s children’s television program, Go Get Arty, and is currently working on a commission for Harper’s Bazaar China that incorporates a traditional, lightweight silk fabric with deep cultural roots in China.
“I see my practice as a playground of soft contradictions—between seriousness and silliness, desire and failure, monumentality and deflation,” Rong says. “Many of my pieces are meant to be touched, entered, or even played with. I love it when viewers smile and laugh, and then suddenly feel a little unsettled. That moment of emotional wobble—that’s the space I’m after.”
Rong’s work was recently on view in Selfridges’ display windows, part of a series titled New Age in which the department store showcased 15 emerging artists. And she also recently completed a large-scale commission titled “Carnivorous Bloom” for Pinacoteca Agnelli in Torino, Italy. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.
Selfridges installation view of “Crown of Perception”
Detail of “Alien Babe No.1”
“Enigma”
“Sanctuary of the Unclaimed”
“Pink Roundabout”
“Triple Bills”
Detail of “Alien Babe No.2”
“Unnamed Directory”
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Thijs Biersteker’s Digital Sculptures Translate Climate Data into Urgent Calls to Action
by Aurelia Butler 16 July 2025, 16:29
“ORIGIN.” All images courtesy of Thijs Biersteker, shared with permission
Thijs Biersteker’s Digital Sculptures Translate Climate Data into Urgent Calls to Action
July 16, 2025
ArtClimateDesignFoodNatureScience
Kate Mothes
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An unassuming cacao tree in Indonesia has made a unique connection to a high-tech artwork in China. Thanks to multimedia digital artist Thijs Biersteker, “ORIGIN” is a sculpture — a “digital twin” — that reflects the elemental experiences of the tropical tree through pulses of light.
“When it rains in Indonesia, you see the sap flow through the sculpture in real time,” the artist says. “When the air quality shifts, the flows respond. During a heatwave, the tree visibly struggles. This real-time installation reveals just how fragile the cacao supply chain has become.”
A majority of cacao, the primary ingredient in chocolate, is cultivated in places that are also the most vulnerable to the effects of the climate crisis. Extreme weather, habitat destruction, and other issues also mean that global food resiliency is increasingly threatened.
For Biersteker, data provides unique insights into changes on the ground, and through a recent collaboration with the Indonesian Coffee and Cocoa Research Institute (ICCRI), he devised a way to literally illuminate environmental impacts.
The artist is particularly interested in the relationship between data and nature, especially our scientific understanding of climate change and how it affects biodiversity, food, and habitats. Hooking up sensors to a specimen at ICCRI’s research site in Java, Bierksteker created a translucent, sculptural mirror of the tree, which is currently installed at Zaishui Art Museum in the city of Rizhao, Shandong Province.
Another work, “WITHER,” in collaboration with UNICEF, comprises a tropical installation with flickering leaves representing rainforest loss. Each flicker symbolizes 128 square meters of deforestation, based on data from Amazon rainforest watch groups. And “ECONTINUUM,” a collaboration with Stefano Mancuso, invites us into a kind of “conversation” occurring between tree roots in a twinkling digital composition. The work nods to recent scientific discoveries that suggest trees communicate with one another via their intricate subterranean systems to provide or request nutrients or warn others of dangers like disease or infestations.
“WITHER”
For “ORIGIN,” the live cacao tree in Java transmits information, its digital copy animating with fluctuating light. “This mirrors the role of the institutions behind it: making the invisible visible and reconnecting people with the systems that feed them,” Biersteker says in a statement. “It is where data begins to speak to the imagination and where data-driven art becomes a new language for change.”
Explore more on Bierksteker’s website and Instagram. If you enjoy pieces that explore the intersection of data and nature, you’ll also like Marshmallow Laser Feast’s “Of the Oak” installation at Royal Botanic Gardens, Kew.
Details of cacao tree in Java and “ORIGIN”
Detail of “ORIGIN”
Detail of “ECONTINUUM”
Detail of “ORIGIN”
Detail of “ORIGIN”
“WITHER”
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Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 18:52
Casa Mahala installation. All images courtesy of Expanded Eye, shared with permission
Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials
July 9, 2025
ArtCraft
Kate Mothes
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Blurring the distinction between abstraction and figuration, Expanded Eye’s recent works explore themes of the divine feminine and “the peaceful power of the Earthmother,” the duo says. Comprising Lisbon-based artists Jade Tomlinson and Kevin James, Expanded Eye is known for characteristically geometric, figurative tattoos and assemblages (previously) that incorporate wood and repurposed materials into bold compositions. Through large-scale installations and framed pieces, the artists explore the possibilities of texture, pattern, and color.
Tomlinson and James have put their tattoo practice on hold to focus on sculptural reliefs. Ceramic, in particular, has become a central tenet of their practice, inspired by the rich tile tradition of Portugal, known as azulejo—an exemplification of cross-cultural exchange. The artists are interested in “using this grounding, ancient material from the earth to depict serene guardians in earth tone colors, to evoke stillness and calm in this fast-paced world.”
“Earth Flow” (2025), glazed hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 58 x 48 centimeters
Past and present converge in Expanded Eye’s compositions, channeling an interest in timelessness and the continuum of clay, carving, and building methods. The graphic elements and fragmented features also call to early 20th-century art historical Modernism, especially the Cubist movement. It’s this “fusion of traditional materials with a unique modern approach that excites us—connecting the past to the present,” the artists tell Colossal.
Expanded Eye is currently working on their largest tile commission to date and plans to further merge ceramics with other facets of their practice. Explore more on the artists’ website and Instagram.
Casa Mahala installation
Detail of Casa Mahala installation
“Earth Mother” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tile panel in wooden tray frame, 117 x 71 centimeters
“Lunar Guardian” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 34.5 x 24 / 13 x 24 centimeters
“Guardians series 3” (2024), glazed and hand-cut tiles in wooden tray frame, 54.5 x 24 centimeters
“Earth Dance” (2025), glazed ceramic tile panel in wooden tray frame, 128 x 71 centimeters
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Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
by Aurelia Butler 9 July 2025, 14:32
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints. Photos by Robin Zahler. All images courtesy of the artists and the National Festival of Making, shared with permission
Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry
July 9, 2025
ArtCraftDesign
Kate Mothes
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Every year, in the town of Blackburn, Lancashire, a vibrant festival erupts with creativity in a celebration of art, craft, and industry. This year marked the seventh edition of the National Festival of Making, organized along the theme of “Art in Manufacturing.” Acclaimed artists and designers teamed up with industry leaders to create works using a variety of materials, from Morag Myerscough’s collaboration with Crown Paints for a vibrant new mural to Liaqat Rasul’s partnership with textile producer Herbert Parkinson for an optical installation.
Locality played a central role in the festival, as artists were paired with manufacturers in Lancashire. Matter at hand, the design practice of Lewis Jones, teamed up with Darwen Terracotta and Faience, which focuses on traditional glazed earthenware for home products and restoration (faience is a type of tin-glazed pottery).
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope”
Matter at hand created a large-scale installation titled “Poured Earth,” which takes an architectural approach to materials in the northern transept of Blackburn Cathedral. The piece invites visitors to walk through an archway of wooden crates and around cast elements in various shapes and sizes, emphasizing the timelessness and continuity of earthen building materials and styles.
Morag Myerscough transformed a corner building into a characteristically vivid, geometric floral mural with complementary garden boxes and a water tank. Rasul’s piece, a multifaceted textile assemblage suspended in the Blackburn Cathedral crypt, features a friendly face made of independent elements that merge into a full visage when viewed from the front.
Titled “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope,” the piece was created from scraps salvaged from Herbert Parkinson’s factory floor in addition to the artist’s own archive. Rasul tenderly embroidered the Urdu, Hindu, and Welsh words for “hope” amid various found elements like cord and safety pins.
The National Festival of Making features a program of more than 100 workshops, performances, artist talks, markets, and more across more than 20 Blackburn venues. Emphasizing the power of collaboration, cross-disciplinary exploration, and community, the festival aims to empower people of all ages to lean into curiosity and get making.
Rasul and Lewis’s work will be on view through July 12, with Myerscough’s mural intended for long-term display. Find more on the festival’s website.
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth”
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
Liaqat Rasul in collaboration with Herbert Parkinson, “Umeed (Oh-meed) امید – Gobaith – Hope” (detail)
Matter at hand in collaboration with Darwen Terracotta, “Poured Earth” (detail)
Detail of a mural by Morag Myerscough in collaboration with Crown Paints
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From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
by Aurelia Butler 7 July 2025, 14:47
All images courtesy of Larysa Bernhardt, shared with permission
From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths
July 7, 2025
ArtCraftNature
Kate Mothes
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“Mythology and folklore surrounding moths and butterflies carries complex and sometimes contradictory symbolism,” artist Larysa Bernhardt says. “I was always attracted to their paradoxical nature.” While on one hand, she dreads certain types of the winged creatures turning up in her house because of the risk they pose to textiles, she is fascinated by their variations and loves to see them thrive.
Dualities abound in Bernhardt’s sculptural, embroidered textile moths. Her creative process begins outdoors in a seemingly unrelated aspect of the studio—her garden. The artist tends to a “moon garden” every summer, comprising fragrant botanicals like tobacco, moonflower, datura, and jasmine that perfume the air and blossom with small white flowers that “glow in the dark like stars,” the artist says. Sphinx and luna moths often visit, accompanied by thousands of fireflies.
When the sun comes up, the garden transforms into a riot of color, with zinnias, poppies, and roses attracting daytime pollinators like butterflies and bees. “It’s the duality of it—night and day, sun and moon, moths and butterflies” that fascinates Bernhardt. She adds, “It’s an incredibly complex balancing act I am forever mesmerized by.”
Mirroring the supple fuzziness of the insects’ wings, the artist enjoys working with velvet to achieve the moths’ elegance and whimsy. It’s a challenging material because the pile can be unforgiving; make a mistake and the ghost of the stitch will remain as a mark on the fabric. Bernhardt stitches freehand when applying motifs to the wings, starting with a loose sketch but allowing intuition to guide her in creating star-like patterns and symbolic objects like vases or eyes.
Bernhardt also loves working with vintage needlepoints and old tapestries. “I find textile pieces in dusty corners of antique stores; I love these discoveries,” she says. “And I love giving them another chance to go back up on a wall and be admired again, cherished.”
The artist’s work is currently included in Daughters of Eve at Quirky Fox in Taranaki, New Zealand, and Beyond the Sea at Nanny Goat Gallery in Petaluma, California. In August, Bernhardt will be part of a show with Beinart Gallery in Melbourne, and she’s currently working toward a solo exhibition at Haven Gallery in Long Island, New York. Find more on her website and Instagram.
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More stories

Six Activist Trolls Tromp Through a California Woodland to ‘Save the Humans’

Anatomy and Ancient Sea Creatures Converge in Hiné Mizushima’s Felt Sculptures

Tender, Cute, and Absurd, Rong Bao’s Inflatable Sculptures Plug Into the ‘Emotional Wobble’

Thijs Biersteker’s Digital Sculptures Translate Climate Data into Urgent Calls to Action

Wood and Ceramic ‘Guardian’ Assemblages by Expanded Eye Emphasize Earthy Materials

Blackburn’s National Festival of Making Celebrates Collaborations Between Art and Industry

From Velvet and Vintage Textiles, Larysa Bernhardt Embroiders Otherworldly Moths

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