Interview: A Prison Art Community On the Power of an Annual Exhibition in Michigan to Support More Than 700 Incarcerated Artists

“Self Portrait: Free Inside” by Jamal Biggs

As abolitionists and activists fight to end mass incarceration and the horrifying conditions of life in U.S. prisons, individuals and organizations have taken it upon themselves to help those trapped in the unjust system. The Prison Creative Arts Project has been undertaking such work for decades, bringing its community at the University of Michigan together with those directly affected by the carceral system through workshops, learning opportunities, and an annual exhibition.

Art was an out-of-body experience because when you’re in that type of environment, there’s usually a lot of violence or just a bunch of sad stuff. Art was a pathway to freedom on the outside.—Josh Herrera

In this conversation, Colossal managing editor Grace Ebert speaks with two formerly incarcerated artists, Johnny Van Patten and Josh Herrera, and faculty director Nora Krinitsky about how creative practices function while incarcerated, why exhibiting and selling work is essential to the process, and what the humanity of art means in a system built on dehumanization.

Read the interview.

 

“Fence” by Kenneth Gourlay, a member of the Linkage Project

The 2022 exhibition ‘Shared Humanity.’ Photo by Nathan Kennedy

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Lithe Figures Cast in Bronze by Coderch & Malavia Mimic Gracefully Choreographed Movements

“Kymo.” All images © Coderch & Malavia, shared with permission

From their recently relocated studio in Ribarroja de Turia, Valencia, Coderch & Malavia (previously) sculpt dancers and precariously posed figures frozen mid-movement. Swirling locks of hair sweep upward into the air, a long scarf billows sideways in folds and wrinkles, and a childlike character balances on a totemic stump with crows perched nearby. Mimicking the grace and exactitude of skilled ballerinas, the sculptures are poetic and intimate as they capture fleeting moments in patinaed bronze.

A new work, “Giant of Salt,” is a collaboration with the Costa Rican dancer Fred Herrera, whose known for his production of the same name. Spanning nearly four meters and weighing 1,350 kilos, the large-scale sculpture depicts a nude figure in a low backbend, head resting on the ground with hands upturned toward the sky. Coderch & Malavia derived the pose from Herrera’s choreographed piece, which is created in the style of Japanese dance theatre known as Butoh and features slow, writhing movements.

Currently, the duo is working on a collection of works related to Russia’s war in Ukraine and preparing for a February exhibition at an outdoor sculpture park in Almacelles, Spain, and a solo show slated for April in Paris. Follow updates on their latest projects on Instagram.

 

“Galene”

Detail of “Galene”

“Ashia”

“Kymo”

“Ashia”

“Espantapajaros”

Detail of “Espantapajaros”

Detail of “Espantapajaros”

The artists with “Giant of Salt”

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Ethereal Light Suffuses Domestic Interiors with Surreal Hues in Alfie Caine’s Paintings

“House through the Ferns” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 90 centimeters. All images © Alfie Caine, shared with permission courtesy of the artist and JARILAGER Gallery

Imbued with otherworldly light and a jewel-toned palette, Alfie Caine’s dreamscapes tuck domestic architecture into the idealized surroundings of manicured neighborhoods, country gardens, and lush woodland. The East Sussex-based artist draws on his formal training in architecture to render homes and their environs in vivid hues, playing with perspective and the relationship between light and shadow in an interplay of interior and exterior.

In Caine’s vignettes of domestic life, clues to the inhabitants are found in details like a potted plant propping a door open, a pet awaiting attention, or a glimpse of a figure in the corner, nearly out of view. The precision of linear perspective and bold contrasts meet the surreal, organic forms of wispy flora and streams of chimney smoke in scenes that emphasize small moments of pleasure in everyday life, such as taking a hot bath, strumming a guitar, or lighting a candle. These instances of familiarity are often countered by uncanny light sources, which illuminate bouquets of flowers, cast long shadows, and portend an incoming storm or some mysterious, unknown event.

Caine’s solo show titled Moments of Calm is on view through February 23 at JARILAGER Gallery. Find more of the artist’s work on his website and Instagram.

 

“Before the Storm” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 170 centimeters

“Foxglove Farmhouse” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 90 centimeters

“Bath by Candlelight” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 170 centimeters

“Bathroom off the Corridor” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 152.4 x 121.9 centimeters

“Entrance Overlooking the Bay” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 177.8 x 203.2 centimeters

“Lacquer Staircase” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 177.8 x 152.4 centimeters

“Red Dining Room” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 152.4 x 121.9 centimeters

“Riverside Porch” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 90 centimeters

“Two Blue Trees” (2022), vinyl and acrylic paint on canvas, 120 x 90 centimeters

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From Chicago to Detroit, Yashua Klos Presents Black Resilience, Defiance, and Tenderness

“You See Through It All” (2021), paper construction of woodblock prints and graphite on archival paper, 41 x 54.5 inches. All images © Yashua Klos, shared with permission

Chicago continues to rank among the most segregated cities in the United States, with Black and brown populations living across the south and west sides that lack the investment and resources of the white-dominated northern neighborhoods. Caused by more than a century’s worth of inequitable governance, redlining, and various forms of discrimination, this enduring racial separation has irrevocably shaped the city and its residents, impacting those who came to the area during the Great Migration and those who call it home still today. It’s often said that the history of Chicago is also the history of segregation.

This infamous legacy is an essential component of Yashua Klos’s evolution as an artist. “I’m from the city of Chicago, and Chicago’s urban planning was designed for segregation, to separate Black and white,” he shares with Colossal. “That segregation is baked into the ‘redlining’ housing ownership policies and the geography of the city.”

 

“Your Strength Is In Your Shadow” (2021), paper construction of woodblock prints and graphite on archival paper, 41.5 x 51 inches

Now based in the Bronx, Klos frequently reflects on his hometown and brings the gridded structure of its streets into his works. A 2021 solo show at UTA Artist Space exhibited portraits bisected by angular blocks textured like wood, brick, and cinder, allowing fragments of the uniform roadways to emerge through facial features. “In art history, the grid is a kind of tool for optical democracy. There’s no visual hierarchy in a grid—you can enter any space at any time. So, I’m interested in that grid’s proposal of democracy and how that’s failed Black folks, especially where I’m from and how Chicago is constructed,” he says.

The collaged portraits evoke the ways identities are an amalgam of both genetics and surrounding influences. They mimic three-dimensional forms that surface from the flat plane of the paper, and Klos portrays the subjects as breaking free from constraint or relying on the structure for support. “I’m considering Black folks who are forming a defiant sense of self in order to survive in an often unjust environment. This is why these head forms often appear built of construction materials and suggest that they are sculptures or even monuments,” the artist writes, referencing the art historical use of statues and portraits to convey value and respect.

 

“Vein Vine” (2021), paper construction of woodblock prints, graphite, spray paint, and Japanese rice paper on stretched canvas, 84 x 60 inches

While Klos spent his upbringing in Chicago, his father’s family has ties to Detroit, particularly the car industry and Ford plant where many relatives worked. Like his portraiture, the artist’s woodblock prints of singular, upturned hands allow this personal history to converge with broader themes of familial love and political resilience. The appendages grasp botanicals native to Michigan and blocks floating nearby as they deny “work in order to hold flowers,” he says. “Here, I’ve found (an) opportunity to explore themes of nurturing, tenderness, generosity, and self-care.”

To explore an archive of Klos’s works, visit his site and Instagram

 

“Your Roots Hold On To You” (2022), paper construction of woodblock prints on muslin and Japanese rice paper, acrylic paint on paper, 60 x 75.5 inches

“You Built Your Shelter From Shadows” (2021), paper construction of woodblock prints and graphite on archival paper, 42 x 50.5 inches

“We Hold The Wildflowers”

“Diagram of How She Hold It All Together” (2021), paper construction of woodblock prints and graphite on archival Japanese rice paper, 52 x 53 inches

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article From Chicago to Detroit, Yashua Klos Presents Black Resilience, Defiance, and Tenderness appeared first on Colossal.

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Jennifer McCurdy Harnesses an Island’s Natural Rhythms in Captivating Porcelain Vessels

“Gilded Wind Vessel,” porcelain, 12 x 12 x 10 inches. All images © Jennifer McCurdy, shared with permission. Photos by Gary Mirando

The natural patterns of turning tides and changing seasons illuminate the delicate porcelain sculptures of Martha’s Vineyard-based artist Jennifer McCurdy. Responding to the shifts of island life—and “island time”—she draws inspiration from the surrounding environment and organic forms, like  “the cracked conch shell on the beach revealing its perfect spiral to the milkweed pod burst in the field, its brilliant airborne seeds streaming into the sunlight,” she explains in a statement. Her wheel-thrown porcelain vessels capture both subtle and dramatic shifts in light and shadow, mimicking waves, gales, smoke, and flames.

In 2020, when, like many, McCurdy was obliged to slow down and approach her studio practice under the constraints of canceled exhibitions, she seized the opportunity to re-evaluate her own work, telling Colossal that “once my panic receded, I settled into the mindset of the sabbatical, exploring new forms and testing different carving patterns in the porcelain for optimal movement in the firing.” She broadened the questions she asked of her process and the influence it took from nature, such as how the rocks and shoreline met the surrounding sea or whether she could generate the energy of constant movement in her sculptures. “I think the direction of my work did not change, but it gained clarity from focusing on the space between and around each form,” she says.

McCurdy uses a translucent porcelain that she first shapes on a potter’s wheel and then manipulates, slices, or molds to create a sense of motion, often with a swirling or spiraling effect. A series of “pattern studies” highlight dynamic cuts that extend and slump with the assistance of gravity when fired upside-down in a kiln heated to cone ten—or 2,350 degrees Fahrenheit. With the addition of gold or platinum leaf on the interior, which is applied by the artist’s long-time collaborator, former sign painter, and husband Tom McCurdy, the vessels reflect light and evoke warmth, as if formed around a heat source

McCurdy’s work will be on display in Florida at Art Wynwood and The Palm Beach Show with Steidel Fine Art from February 16 to 19. In May, she will also exhibit in the Smithsonian Craft + Design Show in Washington, D.C. Find more on her website and Instagram.

 

“Gilded Chrysalis Vessel,” porcelain and gold leaf, 16 x 11 x 10 inches

“Ripple Vessel,” porcelain, 13 x 10 x 10 inches

“Smoke Vessel Family,” porcelain, between 4 and 21 inches tall

“Gilded Halo Vessel,” porcelain, 24-karat gold leaf, and palladium leaf, 16 x 11 x 10 inches

“Sunrise Vessel,” porcelain, 18 x 10 x 10 inches

“Pair of Gilded Fire Vessels,” porcelain and gold leaf, 16 x 10 x 10 inches

Overview of “Gilded Lotus Nest,” porcelain, gold leaf, and platinum leaf, 8 x 16 x 16 inches

“Gilded Lotus Nest,” porcelain, gold leaf, and platinum leaf, 8 x 16 x 16 inches

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Jennifer McCurdy Harnesses an Island’s Natural Rhythms in Captivating Porcelain Vessels appeared first on Colossal.

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The Block Museum of Art Presents ‘The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto’

Detail of Dario Robleto’s “The Computer of Jupiter” (2019), various cut and polished seashells, urchin spines, cut and quilled paper, squilla claws, colored powder pigments, colored plastic beads, acrylic domes, brass rod, colored and mirrored Plexiglas, glue, acrylic on wood, 48 x 19 x 19 inches overall with base and vitrine. All images courtesy of the artist, shared with permission

What do we owe to the memories of one another’s hearts? This central question resonates throughout the exhibition The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto jointly presented by Northwestern University’s Block Museum of Art and the McCormick School of Engineering, running January 26 through July 9, 2023, in Evanston, Illinois.

For American artist Dario Robleto (b. 1972), artists and scientists share a common aspiration: to increase the sensitivity of their observations. Throughout the history of scientific invention, instruments like the cardiograph and the telescope have extended the reach of perception from the tiniest stirrings of the human body to the farthest reaches of space. In his prints, sculptures, and video and sound installations, Robleto contemplates the emotional significance of these technologies, bringing us closer to the latent traces of life buried in the scientific record.

The Heart’s Knowledge concentrates on the most recent decade of Robleto’s creative practice, a period of deepening engagement with histories of medicine, biomedical engineering, sound recording, and space exploration. The exhibition organizes the artist’s conceptually ambitious, elegantly wrought artworks as a series of multisensory encounters between art and science. Each work seeks to attune viewers to phenomena at scales ranging from the intimate to the universal, returning always to the question: does empathy extend beyond the boundaries of time and space?

 

Detail of Dario Robleto’s “Small Crafts on Sisyphean Seas” (2018), cut and polished nautilus shells, various cut and polished seashells, various urchin spines and teeth, mushroom coral, green and white tusks, squilla claws, butterfly wings, colored pigments and beads, colored crushed glass and glitter, dyed mica flakes, pearlescent paint, cut paper, acrylic domes, brass rods, colored mirrored Plexiglas, glue, maple, 75 x 71 1/2 x 43 inches

In “The First Time, the Heart (A Portrait of Life 1854–1913)” (2017), Robleto transforms early measurements of heartbeats made by 19th-century pioneers of cardiography into exquisite photolithographs executed on paper hand-sooted with candle flames. For the installation “The Pulse Armed With a Pen (An Unknown History of the Human Heartbeat)” (2014), Robleto digitally resurrects these historic heartbeats, allowing visitors to listen to pulses of life recorded before the invention of sound playback. Two immersive video installations, “The Boundary of Life is Quietly Crossed” (2019) and “The Aorta of an Archivist” (2020–2021) weave Robleto’s archival inquiries into the first recorded heartbeats with a meditation on the cosmic limits of perception, while intricate sculptures like “Small Crafts on Sisyphean Seas” (2018) give shape to the speculative search for intelligent life in the universe.

The Heart’s Knowledge marks the culmination of Robleto’s five-year engagement as Artist-at-Large in Northwestern University’s McCormick School of Engineering and Applied Science.

The companion publication is currently available through Artbook.

The Block Museum of Art is always free and open to all. To learn more, visit blockmuseum.northwestern.edu.

 

Detail of Dario Robleto’s “Unknown and Solitary Seas (Dreams and Emotions of the 19th Century)” (2018), earliest waveform recordings of blood flowing from the heart and in the brain during sleep, dreaming, and various emotional states (1874–96), rendered and 3D printed in brass-plated stainless steel; lacquered maple, 22k gold leaf, video, waveform audio processing by Patrick Feaster Box (closed): 2 1/4 x 21 1/4 x 25 1/4” inches, with pedestal and vitrine 45 x 51 x 31 1/4 inches

Dario Robleto, “The Aorta of an Archivist” (2021), UHD video, 5.1 surround sound installation; running time: 53:00

Detail of Dario Robleto’s “American Seabed” (2014), fossilized prehistoric whale ear bones salvaged from the sea (1 to 10 million years), various butterflies, butterfly antennae made from stretched and pulled audiotape recordings of Bob Dylan’s “Desolation Row,” concrete, ocean water, pigments, coral, brass, steel, Plexiglas, 37 x 68 x 55 overall without pedestal

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article The Block Museum of Art Presents ‘The Heart’s Knowledge: Science and Empathy in the Art of Dario Robleto’ appeared first on Colossal.

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Fanciful Characters Inhabit María Jesús Contreras’ Whimsically Illustrated Worlds

All images © María Jesús Contreras, shared with permission

Fluffy calves with wings and a knack for pollination, picnicking bunnies, and a cow enjoying a grassy meal at the dinner table are a few of the adorable creatures that populate María Jesús Contreras’ illustrations. The Chile-based artist envisions fantastical worlds of play and whimsy, inhabited by characters that express strong emotions. Saturated with bright colors, her illustrations brim with texture and grainy details that give the scenes a retro feel.

Contreras works between analog and digital mediums, and her process often begins on paper. “In Chile, we have many stray dogs and cats and street vendors. I like to take a notebook and write life (into) my characters,” she shares, noting that she often references the surreal qualities of her dreams in her pieces. “The rest of the process is just drawing, keeping a colorful palette, and working with texture, but most of the time the idea is what takes most of the time.”

In addition to her personal projects, Contreras works with newspapers, magazines, and various brands including Penguin Random House, The New Yorker, and The Atlantic on commissioned pieces. You can find prints and other goods in her shop, and follow her latest illustrations on Instagram.

 

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Braids and Bowlers: Indigenous Bolivian Women Skateboard in Style in Celia D. Luna’s Empowered Portraits

All images © Celia D. Luna, shared with permission

Against the pastels and earth tones of a skate park in Bolivia, Miami-based photographer Celia D. Luna captures the vibrant energy and determination of women who express solidarity and strength through a love of skateboarding. Part of her series Cholitas Bravas, “Cholitas Skaters” focuses on a group of Indigenous Bolivian women who wear traditional clothes while practicing extreme sports. “I’ve always admired brave women and culture; it’s in my DNA,” she says, describing that her upbringing by a single mother in the Andes Mountains of neighboring Peru instilled an admiration for courage and perseverance.

As recently as the last two decades, Bolivia’s Indigenous Quechua and Aymara women, known derogatorily as “cholitas,” were marginalized and ostracized from society. Distinguished by their long braids, wide skirts, and bowler hats—an amalgamation of styles resulting from Spanish colonizers forcing Indigenous people to adopt European styles during the Inquisition—the style evolved into a symbol-rich, empowered look.

Indigenous Bolivian women were historically banned from entering some public spaces, could not use public transportation, and were burdened by extremely curtailed career opportunities. They have been advocating for their civil rights since the mid-20th century, but it wasn’t until the election of the nation’s first Indigenous president in 2006 that the Cholitas finally achieved some success in restoring their rights, and the pleated skirts, lace blouses, and sombreros prevail as emblems of their cultural roots.

Luna tells Colossal that the women’s choice to don traditional apparel is for “some of them in honor of their ancestors and some of them because that’s what they wear in their everyday life. I was taken by their courage and their love for their culture, and I wanted to capture that.” Her portraits highlight each individual as she skates around the park, gathers together with the group, and poses with her board as she gazes commandingly at the viewer.

“Cholitas Skaters” is one of a trio of sub-series that comprise Cholitas Bravas; the other two chapters focus on female rock climbers and wrestlers. Find more on Luna’s website and Instagram.

 

    

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