More stories

  • in

    Stéphanie Kilgast’s Book ‘Utopia’ Chronicles Ten Years of Vibrant, Post-Apocalyptic Sculptures

    “LoFi Girl” (2024). All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission

    Stéphanie Kilgast’s Book ‘Utopia’ Chronicles Ten Years of Vibrant, Post-Apocalyptic Sculptures

    September 22, 2025

    ArtBooksNature

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    In Stéphanie Kilgast’s vibrant yet poignant pieces, a speculative future without humans gives rise to unusual relationships. “In my artwork, humanity is absent, leaving behind its legacy of objects, buildings, and trash,” the artist says. She continues:

    Flora and fauna are taking over. Animals, mushrooms, lichens, plants, and corals are inhabiting every nook and cranny, thus creating new habitats. This symbiosis between the object and the growing environment reflects the balance and respect that humanity has lost, and that I symbolically recreate in my work by expressing hope, joy, and the beauty of nature in an explosion of color.

    Kilgast’s lighthearted, vivd, post-apocalytpic sculptures often include objects we tend to find discarded along the side of the road, like aluminum cans or glass bottles. Uncanny habitats also emerge around outmoded items like VHS tapes, portable CD players, or alarm clocks, which people rarely have a need for anymore thanks to smartphones or streaming services.

    “Cycle” (2025)

    The artist has also recently announced a new book, Utopia, which chronicles the last ten years of her work. The volume brings together a decade of sculptures, paintings, and sketchbook pages, complemented by essays and a complete catalogue of her pieces.

    Utopia will print if at least 150 pre-orders are made by October 3. Dibs your copy today via Dashbook. Orders are anticipated to ship in December. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    Front view of “Plastic Play” (2022)

    “Alice Following the White Rabbit” (2023)

    “Chemical Candy Dragonfly” (2024)

    “Snapshot” (2024)

    “Moving Pictures” (2024)

    “Copper” (2024)

    Rear view of “Plastic Play” (2022)

    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

    Next article More

  • in

    Elmgreen & Dragset’s Uncanny Sculptures Make Reality Feel Like ‘Alice in Wonderland’

    “The Other David” (2025), marble, 33
    7/16 × 59 1/16 × 33 7/16 inches. All images © Elmgreen & Dragset/Artists Rights Society (ARS), New York, courtesy of Pace Gallery, shared with permission

    Elmgreen & Dragset’s Uncanny Sculptures Make Reality Feel Like ‘Alice in Wonderland’

    September 18, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    Dysmetropsia is a neurological condition that distorts size and perception, often causing objects to appear smaller or larger than they really are. Also called Alice in Wonderland Syndrome, the disorder is the basis of a disorienting exhibition by Berlin-based duo Elmgreen & Dragset.

    Collaborating since 1995, Michael Elmgreen and Ingar Dragset are behind a slew of iconic works, perhaps most famously the full-sized boutique in the middle of the Texan desert known as “Prada Marfa.” This destination installation is representative of the artist’s enduring interest in recontextualizing seemingly common objects to explore how our interpretation and perception change.

    “September 2025” (2025), silicone figure, clothing, chair, dimensions variable

    For their exhibition at Pace Gallery in Los Angeles—their first solo show in the city—the duo continues this line of inquiry. The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome opens with a silicone gallery attendant dozing on her desk, an undrunk cup of coffee and stack of books nearby. Like the adventurous tale it references, the large-scale show invites viewers to ask whether what unfolds is real or all a hallucinatory dream.

    Farther inside is a series of white marble figures recreated on two different scales. Wearing headphones and VR headsets, these nondescript characters appear perpetually distracted and immersed in their technologies of choice. On the gallery walls is a collection of circular works from the artist’s Sky Target series, which varies mirrors and cloudy expanses in stripes or concentric rings. These patterned pieces reflect the wide, open space and fragments of the sculptures, albeit through a distorted view.

    As we collectively grapple with the strange, often concerning effects of living in an increasingly digital world, Elmgreen & Dragset prompt us to consider how physical presence shapes our understanding and can lead to an uncanny experience all on its own.

    The Alice in Wonderland Syndrome is on view through October 25. Explore more of the artists’ work on the gallery’s website.

    Detail of “September 2025” (2025), silicone figure, clothing, chair, dimensions variable

    Detail of “September 2025” (2025), silicone figure, clothing, chair, dimensions variable

    Detail of “Close” (2025), marble, 71 1/8 × 26 × 20 1/4 inches

    “Close” (2025), marble, 71 1/8 × 26 × 20 1/4 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

    Next article More

  • in

    Hangama Amiri Stitches Memories of Migration into Vivid Textile Portraits

    “Man with Vase of Tulips” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, velvet, polyester, silk, suede, and linen, 62.5 x 53.5 inches. All images courtesy of Hangama Amiri, shared with permission

    Hangama Amiri Stitches Memories of Migration into Vivid Textile Portraits

    September 16, 2025

    Art

    Grace Ebert

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    Hangama Amiri translates fragments of her teenage years and family history into quilted portraits and tender tableaus. The artist, who resides in upstate New York and maintains a studio in Red Hook, is interested in recollection and the stories that make us who we are. “There’s an innocence and a special quality in revisiting and reminiscing those memories, especially that my family and I spent those years in migration across Central Asia,” she adds.

    At just 7 years old, Amiri left her native Kabul and traveled to various countries before settling in Canada as a teenager. This itinerant experience continues to inform the artist’s work, particularly as she seeks to build a larger narrative about “women’s importance socially, politically, economically, and culturally.”

    Detail of “Portrait of Kern Samuel at Yale Art Gallery” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, silk, linen, and velvet, 52 x 34.5 inches

    Amiri begins with a drawing that she slices into shapes and traces onto velvet, silk, polyester, and other textiles sourced from Afghan-owned shops, online sources, and the occasional gift from friends and colleagues. Once cut out, these individual pieces layer onto a muslin backdrop, creating vivid portraits and domestic scenes with visible seams. Doing so “adds another layer of mark-making and texture,” she shares, noting that she utilizes a machine for this final step.

    Often focusing on the decorative elements of a space or a figure’s sartorial choices, Amiri captures a particular moment in time, highlighting a sense of familiarity and intimacy with her fleeting subject matter. Several works portray a meal shared among friends, while “Man with Vase of Tulips” depicts the titular character cradling a bouquet, a small photograph peeking through the cluster of vibrant flowers.

    Although we don’t know the location—perhaps he’s sitting in Afghanistan, Canada, or elsewhere—the piece exudes a sense of longing, exemplifying the artist’s enduring interest in preserving and resurfacing moments otherwise bound to the past.

    In addition to her quilts, Amiri has a neon sculpture on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin. She’s working toward several upcoming exhibitions this fall, including at the National Gallery of Canada, Konsthall C in Stockholm, and Paris International Art Fair. Follow along on her website and Instagram.

    “Portrait of Kern Samuel at Yale Art Gallery” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, silk, linen, and velvet, 52 x 34.5 inches

    Detail of “Dastarkhwān” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, canvas, denim, linen, silk, polyester, suede, inkjet-print on silk-chiffon, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 77.5 x 54 inches

    “Dastarkhwān” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, canvas, denim, linen, silk, polyester, suede, inkjet-print on silk-chiffon, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 77.5 x 54 inches

    “Still-Life with Sushi and Red Wine” (2025), muslin, cotton, chiffon, linen, silk, polyester, suede, block-print, color-pencil, and acrylic paint on fabric, 47 x 64 inches

    “Nakhoonak-e Aroos/ Bride’s Nail” (2022), neon and glass. Image courtesy of John Michael Kohler Arts Center

    “Dominic Chambers with His Portrait Painting of Trevon Latin” (2024), muslin, cotton, chiffon, linen, velvet, denim, and silk, 52 x 42 inches

    “Departure” (2022), muslin, cotton, polyester, clear vinyl, faux leather, chiffon, and found fabric, 68.5 x 85 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

  • in

    Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih’s Mosaic Sculptures

    “Toy Building (1915–1939)” (2025), Chinese export porcelain, crowdsourced and found objects, archaeological ceramic fragments from a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay (c. 1850–1906), stained glass, ceramic, polished stones, glass rods, resin, enamel, and grout on ferrocement, steel, and polystyrene. Image courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center

    Fragments of the Chinese Diaspora Converge in Stephanie Shih’s Mosaic Sculptures

    September 15, 2025

    ArtFood

    Grace Ebert

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    Known for trompe l’oeil ceramic sculptures of pantry staples and domestic life, Stephanie Shih has further entrenched her largely culinary-focused repertoire in material culture. In two exhibitions, the Brooklyn-based artist (previously) embraces mosaic as she nests small glass fragments and pottery sherds into vivid compositions that explore production and labor.

    Shih’s architectural work on view at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, draws on the Midwestern grotto tradition with a pagoda-style structure. Broken porcelain dinnerware, polished stone, and ceramic sherds uncovered in a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay cloak the facade, while hundreds of crowd-sourced knick-knacks and figures embellish the rooftop.

    Titled “Toy Building (1915–1939),” the six-story sculpture reinterprets a historic spot in downtown Milwaukee that a Chinese immigrant owned and once housed a dancehall, restaurant, and various businesses. A collective portrait of the Chinese diaspora, Shih’s work pieces together archaeological, vintage, and contemporary objects into an eclectic array that bridges the mundane and divine.

    Detail of “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

    The artist continues her more recent venture into mosaic in Invisible Hand, a solo exhibition opening this week at SOCO Gallery. A wide, produce promotional in colorful stained glass, “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” depicts a woman marveling at the ripe fruit. As a statement from the gallery says, Shih directs us to consumption, portraying the luscious commodity once it’s been harvested by an unacknowledged laborer.

    Invisible Hand pairs the vintage-style advertisement with the artist’s ceramic fare. Included are typical grocery store finds like a carton of Tropicana and Smucker’s jelly, along with popular fast food remnants like a box from Kentucky Fried Chicken. The seemingly mundane nature of the objects lends itself to one of the artist’s enduring questions: who’s behind the conveniences and sustenance we’ve come to expect and rely on?

    As conversations about immigration and labor take center stage, Shih’s work reflects the long history of U.S. policy targeting essential workers. She references the Chinese Exclusion Act of 1882, which barred Chinese immigration for 10 years and largely targeted those who would occupy low-wage jobs. “This act set the stage for a broader pattern of racialized labor exploitation that continues to shape the U.S.’s immigration and labor policies today,” the artist adds.

    Invisible Hand runs from September 18 to November 8 in Charlotte. If you’re in Sheboygan, you can see “Toy Building (1915–1939)” as part of A Beautiful Experience: The Midwest Grotto Tradition through May 10, 2026. Explore more of the artist’s work on her website and Instagram.

    A collection of works from ‘Invisible Hand’

    “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

    Detail of “Carolina’s Pride Peaches” (2025), stained glass and cement mortar on aluminum, 18 x 48 inches

    Detail of “Toy Building (1915–1939)” (2025), Chinese export porcelain, crowdsourced and found objects, archaeological ceramic fragments from a Chinese fishing village on Monterey Bay (c. 1850–1906), stained glass, ceramic, polished stones, glass rods, resin, enamel, and grout on ferrocement, steel, and polystyrene. Image courtesy of the artist and John Michael Kohler Arts Center

    “Kentucky Fried Chicken” (2025), ceramic, 9 x 9 x 7 inches

    “Whitman’s Sampler” (2025), ceramic, 2.5 x 9 x 5.5 inches

    “Campbell’s Condensed Soups” (2025), ceramic, 12 x 10.5 x 3 inches

    “McCormick Spices” (2025), ceramic, 5 x 9 x 1.5 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

    Next article More

  • in

    Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

    “Illuminated Piñata No. 19” (2021), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 x 20 x 12 inches. Photos by Paul Salveson. All images courtesy of the artist and Perrotin, shared with permission

    Uncanny Papier-Mâché Creatures by Roberto Benavidez Mingle in ‘Bosch Beasts’

    September 15, 2025

    ArtHistory

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    Most often associated with Mexico, the piñata’s origins may actually trace back to China. By the 14th century, the celebratory tradition of breaking open a container filled with treats had arrived in Europe. Then, Spanish colonists and missionaries imported the custom to Mexico during the 16th century, although a similar practice was already in use within Indigenous Mayan and Aztec communities in observation of special events. Today, piñatas are an integral element of cartonería, the Mexican craft of papier-mâché.

    For Los Angeles-based artist Roberto Benavidez, the art of the piñata is a central tenet of a practice exploring intersecting themes of race, sexuality, humor, sin, and beauty. He draws upon the paper art form’s early religious significance in Mexico, when Spanish missionaries used a seven-pointed version as a tool for converting Indigenous people to Christianity. This motif, which appears in some of Benavidez’s distinctive sculptures, nods to its past colonial use.

    “Bosch Bird No. 11” (2022), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 24 x 60 x 18 inches

    “The points of the star represented the seven deadly sins, the blindfold worn by the bat-wielding assailant represented faith, and the treats found inside were the rewards for blind and unwavering belief,” Diva Zumaya says in an exhibition essay for the artist’s current solo exhibition, Bosch Beasts, at Perrotin.

    Benavidez continues to make piñata-like sculptures that resemble uncanny, hybrid creatures, often inspired by the marginalia of illuminated manuscripts and the surreal characters in Hieronymus Bosch’s “The Garden of Earthly Delights,” which the Netherlandish artist painted between 1490 and 1510.

    Bosch Beasts highlights Benavidez’s ongoing fascination with the rare and extraordinary, exhibiting new works alongside pieces he’s made throughout the past decade. Installed on the floor or suspended from the ceiling, his creatures appear independently occupied and immersed in an esoteric group activity.

    Each piece comes to life through papier-mâché, using a balloon to create the central form before adding more structure with Bristol board and additional layers of glue-slathered paper. Wire supports more delicate limbs and appendages, and to achieve the final texture, Benavidez cuts and attaches every tiny feather or scale.

    “Bosch Beast No. 14” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 33 × 19 × 14 inches

    “Drawing from his personal experience as a queer and mixed-race MexicanAmerican, Benavidez starts from a foundation of hybridity in which these monsters are the perfect actors,” Zumaya says, continuing:

    Every mixed-race person who has become well acquainted with the question, “What are you?” is all too familiar with how it feels to live at the borders of identities, appearances complicating the compulsion to categorize. The way Benavidez uses these hybrid bodies to conjure ideas around race echoes their meaning in sixteenth-century Europe, where notions of the monstrous were profoundly intertwined with early formations of race.

    Bosch Beasts continues through October 18 in Los Angeles. See more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

    “Bosch Beast No. 16” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, crepe paper, 23 × 23 × 19 inches

    “Bosch Beast No. 10” (2020), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 3 1/2 x 26 1/2 x 7 inches

    Installation view of ‘Bosch Beasts’

    “Bosch Bird No. 12” (2025), paper, paperboard, glue, wire, and crepe paper, 71 x 11 x 11 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

  • in

    Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments

    “Accommodation:Occupation.” All images courtesy of Steve Messam, shared with permission

    Giant Inflatable Sculptures by Steve Messam Reimagine Everyday Environments

    September 11, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    From bubble-like bulges amid the arches of London’s iconic Old Billingsgate to a 15-meter-tall red droplet frozen in the center of a disused swimming pool in Aberdeen, Steve Messam explores scale, form, and our experiences of the built environment in large-scale installations.

    Messam is known for his large-scale inflatable works that reinterpret architecture and explore human influence over the landscape. Often, he fills apertures like arcades or underpasses with forms that balloon and billow, drawing attention to structural forms while considering their fundamental function as places to enter or move through.

    “Facade”

    In “Accommodation:Occupation,” Messam delves into the history of 19th-century infrastructure in the U.K. through an exploration of what are known as accommodation and occupation bridges—railroad crossings designed for rural areas that provided a tunnel beneath, so that farmers could still access their land on the other side of the tracks. Some of these historic bridges still exist, often on private land, such as two in County Durham along the former route of the Stockton & Darlington Railway.

    For “Below,” which Messam situated under a bridge in Tianfu Art Park in Chengdu, China, the site’s use as a thoroughfare is retained by creating two symmetric forms with a gap between them, which people can walk through while immersing themselves in the installation.

    Whether popcorn-like, spiked, bubbling, or cascading, Messam’s playful interventions prompt us to view our surroundings with renewed attention. Explore even more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

    “Below”

    “Facade”

    “Packaged”

    “Cascade”

    “Accommodation:Occupation”

    “Accommodation:Occupation”

    “Below”

    “Below”

    “Packaged”

    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

  • in

    ‘No One Knows All It Takes’ Invites Community Healing at the Haggerty Museum of Art

    All images courtesy of Haggerty Museum of Art, Marquette University, shared with permission

    ‘No One Knows All It Takes’ Invites Community Healing at the Haggerty Museum of Art

    September 8, 2025

    ArtColossalPartnerSocial Issues

    Grace Ebert

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    A core component of the Colossal-curated exhibition, No One Knows All It Takes, is community participation. Each of the artists—Bryana Bibbs, Raoul Deal, Maria Gaspar, and Swoon (previously)—is deeply engaged with the people they portray and collaborate with, a commitment that inspires nuanced, insightful projects and a truly communal process.

    As part of the exhibition at the Haggerty Museum of Art, we’ve considered how to reflect this mode of working through programming and a participatory project. The final piece in the show is Bibbs’ “Weaving Stories,” which consists of a large loom mounted on the gallery wall, along with threads, a paper shredder, and other materials nearby. Once viewers have considered each of the artists’ works, they’re invited to contribute to a collective tapestry on the loom or create a smaller, individual piece to take home.

    Installation view of “Weaving Stories”

    Attuned to the sensitive subject matter of the exhibition, Bibbs asks participants to explore their own feelings and memories in response to the artworks. Viewers can even write down their thoughts and interlace their shredded notes into the final work.

    In addition to “Weaving Stories,” No One Knows All It Takes also offers an opportunity to engage with Gaspar’s “Disappearance Jail (Wisconsin)” in a public event on October 9. Following a discussion about the intersection of art and incarceration with Dr. Robert S. Smith, the artist will lead attendees in a “punch party,” a workshop in which participants use a hole punch to obscure images of jails, prisons, and detention facilities. The completed works will then be re-hung in the gallery.

    And lastly, Colossal will also be hosting a conversation with Deal and Dr. Sergio M. González about immigration, wellbeing, and making art in this increasingly precarious moment. We encourage attendees to spend time with Deal’s works in the exhibition prior to joining us for that discussion, which will be held on September 24.

    No One Knows All It Takes is on view through December 20 in Milwaukee, with an opening reception on September 11. Find all of the programming on the museum’s website.

    Installation view of two works by Raoul Deal

    Installation view of Bibbs’ works

    Detail view of Gaspar’s “Disappearance Jail (Wisconsin)”

    Installation view of Gaspar’s “Disappearance Jail (Wisconsin)”

    Installation view of works by Raoul Deal

    Installation view of works by Raoul Deal

    Installation view of Swoon’s “Medea”

    Installation view of Swoon’s “Medea” and Bibbs’ works

    Next article More

  • in

    Song Dong’s Monumental Installations Mirror Memories, Globalization, and Impermanence

    “A Quarter” (2021-2024), interactive installation of steel, mirrors, collected daily objects and furniture from different
    households, lighting fixtures, small stools, and carpets. All images © Song Dong, shared with permission

    Song Dong’s Monumental Installations Mirror Memories, Globalization, and Impermanence

    September 5, 2025

    Art

    Kate Mothes

    Share

    Pin

    Email

    Bookmark

    Mirrors, lights, and household furnishings converge on a grand scale in the luminous installations of Song Dong. The Chinese artist’s interdisciplinary practice often combines performance, sculpture, painting, video, and calligraphy to summon memories and create monumental immersive experiences.

    Themes of transition and ephemerality often appear in Song’s pieces, like a series of installations and performances in which tabletop constructions reminiscent of metropolitan skylines were constructed from edible treats, dismantled brick by brick—or biscuit by biscuit—as visitors passed by. Playful and saccharine on the surface, these works examine the artist’s own childhood experiences of food scarcity along with themes of ephemerality and globalization.

    “Waste Not” (2009), installation performance, Museum of Modern Art, New York

    “Waste Not” —which was shown initially at Beijing Tokyo Art Projects before being exhibited in major institutions in the U.S., U.K., Australia, and Germany—explores related themes of consumption and impermanence. Incorporating more than 10,000 items his mother had accumulated over the course of five decades, the installation-performance became “an act of physical and psychological unpacking,” says Pace Gallery, which represents the artist. Viewers were presented with “a veritable landscape of commodities, ranging from bottle caps, shoes, blankets, toothpaste tubes, metal pots, and toys.”

    Through the use of old wooden windows, bed frames, doors, mirrors, lamps, color-coated glass, porcelain, and other found objects and “daily necessities,” Song composes elaborate, structural installations. These evoke dreamy notions of home, belonging, security, and migration while exploring the relationships between memory and fact, humor and trauma. He culls his materials from the streets of Beijing, sourcing discarded furniture, architectural elements, and quotidian objects.

    “These collaged remnants of people’s homes carry with them the history of a city and the lives of its people,” Pace says. “As viewers are invited to peek inside, they are transformed into voyeurs: imagining their homes, their stories, and perhaps identifying shared experiences, and primed to think of the future.”

    Now on view as part of the vibrant 36th São Paolo Biennial, Song’s work appears among ambitious installations by dozens of artists from around the world. His commissioned piece “Borrow Light” takes the form of a mirrored world brimming with lamps that reflect from every surface, not unlike one of Yayoi Kusama’s Infinity Mirror Rooms.

    “Borrow Light” (2025). Installation view of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, ‘Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice’ © Levi Fanan / Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

    The artist considers the concept of “borrowing” in terms of its inherent temporality. He positions it as something of an ethos for understanding our short time on Earth, whether life’s cycles or even the presence of humans at all over the course of millions of evolutionary years.

    Song draws inspiration “from both a carnival’s house of mirrors and the traditional Chinese feng shui method of using mirrors and windows to expand interior space by ushering in the external world,” says an exhibition statement. “Borrow Light” becomes a participatory experience, where visitors’ movements are reflected and illuminated throughout the space. Chairs and lamps, all lent from private homes, provide places for rest and contemplation.

    “Playing with fluid elements such as light, reflection, and illusion, Song’s installation immerses the audience into an infinite universe, where our images and minds become entwined in a silvery, glowing light,” the biennial says.

    Explore more exhibitions and learn about the artist on Pace Gallery’s website.

    Detail of “Same Bed Different Dreams No. 3.” Photo by Damian Griffiths, courtesy of Pace Gallery

    Detail of “Same Bed Different Dreams No. 3.” Photo by Damian Griffiths, courtesy of Pace Gallery

    “Borrow Light” (2025). Installation view of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, ‘Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice’ © Levi Fanan / Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

    “Borrow Light” (2025). Installation view of the 36th Bienal de São Paulo, ‘Not All Travellers Walk Roads – Of Humanity as Practice’ © Levi Fanan / Fundação Bienal de São Paulo

    Detail of “Same Bed Different Dreams No. 3.” Photo by Damian Griffiths, courtesy of Pace Gallery

    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

    Next article More