How Do You Like Them Apples? Can Suns Playful Sculptures Emerge from Bright Red Fruit

All images © Can Sun, shared with permission

If anyone ever told Can Sun not to play with his food, it’s a good thing he didn’t listen. The London-based Chinese artist meticulously carves red apples into geometric cross-sections and linking chains, sometimes adding accoutrements like brass hinges. Delicate slices are puzzled together to form circles or the skin carefully removed to reveal interlocking, rope-like shapes, as if the apple is caught in a net.

“I had a really tough childhood. For a long period, humour has been a way to protect my self-esteem,” Sun tells Colossal, sharing that he chose to focus on apples because the unexpected arises from the ordinary. “My work tries to break the audience’s logical expectations, which makes the audience wonder if the world is absurd. The more everyday the object, the greater shock when the audience sees its different forms.”

Sun enjoys playfully reinterpreting all sorts of everyday objects into uncanny artworks, like a wearable temporary sculpture made from dandelions that mimics brass knuckles. His work will be included in group exhibitions in Beijing and Shanghai this July and August, and you can follow updates on Instagram. (via BoingBoing)

 

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 How Do You Like Them Apples? Can Sun’s Playful Sculptures Emerge from Bright Red Fruit appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/eEH3Uat
via IFTTT

Maps Everyday Ephemera and Watercolor Drawings Record José Naranjas Travels with Fantastic Detail

All images © José Naranja, shared with permission

Rather than scrolling through photos from a recent trip, José Naranja (previously) remembers his travels through exceptionally detailed sketchbooks with notes, illustrations, and ephemera collected during his visits. The artist and author is an avid tourist and dedicated observer, and he saturates the blank pages of his Moleskines with watercolor and ink drawings of airplanes, film characters, and maps. Like most of us, Naranja was unable to travel during much of the last few years, although he’s resumed his adventures and frequented Thailand and other parts of Asia, which are reflected in his latest spreads.

Currently, Naranja is working on an experimental illustrated oracle deck that envisions the year 2050 through the lens of science, art, and philosophy, all tinged with his signature fantastical approach. The artist’s latest book, The Nautilus Manuscript, is available now, and you can follow updates on his work on Instagram.

 

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 Maps, Everyday Ephemera, and Watercolor Drawings Record José Naranja’s Travels with Fantastic Detail appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/khylFrq
via IFTTT

Exquisite Paintings by Lee Me Kyeoung Are an Ode to the Quaint Corner Stores of South Korea

All images © Lee Me Kyeoung, shared with permission

City dwellers know that convenience stores have a culture unto themselves, and although franchises continue to dominate and overtake businesses, small, independently run shops have undeniable charm. For the past several years, artist Lee Me Kyeoung (previously) has been adding to her ongoing series of paintings that celebrate the idiosyncrasies and appeal of tiny South Korean corner stores, which are increasingly facing closure.

On view throughout July at Gallery Imazoo in Gangnam, Me Kyeoung’s latest works are an ode to these disappearing locales. Enveloped by lush cherry blossoms or persimmon trees, the shops are well-stocked with dense shelves, crates of goods, and advertisements pasted in the windows. Bicycles, benches, and the occasional folding chair stand outside the entrances. Delicately rendered in pen and acrylic, the paintings depict architectural and organizational variances that make each spot unique, while honoring the cultural ubiquities of these spaces.

Me Kyeoung has a robust archive of the quaint shops, which you can find on Instagram.

 

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 Exquisite Paintings by Lee Me Kyeoung Are an Ode to the Quaint Corner Stores of South Korea appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/0EI2nPN
via IFTTT

Dan Lams Radiant Otherworldly Sculptures Evoke Interstellar Phenomena in Cosmic Shake

“Waxing.” All images © Dan Lam, courtesy of Chefas Projects, shared with permission

Oozing over the edges of shelves and dolloping tendrils across flat surfaces, Dan Lam’s vibrant sculptures (previously) play with form and space. Using polyurethane foam, epoxy resin, and acrylic, the Dallas-based artist makes otherworldly sculptures that appear like alien substances from outer space, apropos to the pieces in her upcoming solo exhibition, Cosmic Shake. 

The artist created 52 new works for the show at Chefas Projects with galactic titles like “Dark Side,” “Waxing,” and “Stellar Wind” that glob and bubble in saturated color gradients and textures. She continues to play with new shapes, sizes, and patterns. “I have discovered that experimenting with scale has altered my approach to materials,” Lam tells Colossal. “This shift has presented new challenges to overcome, but it also leads to new opportunities. Recently, I have been exploring different textures and methods of paint application.”

Cosmic Shake is on view from July 7 through August 5 in Portland, Oregon. Lam has also installed her largest piece to date in the newest Meow Wolf location in Grapevine, Texas, which opens July 14. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

“Dark Side”

“Stellar Wind”

“Limb”

Left: “Zero.” Right: “Nova”

“Nebula”

“Synchronous Rotation”

“Absolute”

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 Dan Lam’s Radiant Otherworldly Sculptures Evoke Interstellar Phenomena in ‘Cosmic Shake’ appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/gHDueLs
via IFTTT

Archaeologists Uncover a Fresco in Pompeii with a Cheesy Pizza-Like Dish Served on a Silver Platter

All images courtesy of Archeological Park of Pompeii

Pompeiians—they’re just like us! Hungry for pizza.

Earlier this year, archaeologists excavating a block of houses in Regio IX of the Vesuvian city uncovered a fresco that shows a round, doughy dish resembling the modern favorite. Researchers were quick to point out that pizza, as we know it today, hadn’t been invented when the 2,000-year-old painting was created, although the ancient civilization did enjoy foccacia, a cousin of the tomato and cheese-covered pie.

This dish appears topped with pomegranate, spices, and a cheesy pesto known as moretum. Served on a silver platter accompanied by dried fruit, yellow strawberries, and a chalice filled with wine, the focaccia likely represents a “gift of hospitality,” according to the Archeological Park of Pompeii. These offerings to guests emerged from the Hellenistic period and the Greek practice of Xenia, which also describes the genre of paintings depicting this tradition.

Approximately 300 frescoes of ancient food have been found around Pompeii, although this still life is particularly well executed. While the work offers insight into what the buried civilization ate, director Gabriel Zuchtriegel says it also has implications for how we understand the evolution of food and wealth, sharing:

I think about the contrast between a modest and simple meal that reminds us of a sphere that stands between the pastoral and the sacred on one side, and the luxury of the silver trays and the refinement of the artistic and literary representations on the opposite side. When considering this matter, how can we not think about pizza, also born as a ‘poor’ dish in southern Italy that has now conquered the world and is served in Michelin star restaurants.

This discovery comes three years after archaeologists in Pompeii uncovered an impeccably preserved snack shop that served up fish, fowl, and of course, plenty of wine.

 

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 Archaeologists Uncover a Fresco in Pompeii with a Cheesy Pizza-Like Dish Served on a Silver Platter appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/KPeto4w
via IFTTT

Luminous Creatures Haunt Darkened Landscapes in Hannu Huhtamos Dreamlike Light Paintings

“Serenity” (2021). All images © Hannu Huhtamo, shared with permission

Glowing swans float atop a lake, a jellyfish-like creature hovers in the air, and supernatural alien blooms spring from the ground in Hannu Huhtamo’s ethereal light paintings, which position radiant creatures among darkened landscapes. Long-exposure photography has been the Helsinki-based artist’s medium of choice since 2008, having spawned a robust repertoire of plants and animals both real and imagined.

As shown in the making-of video below, each completed work contains minutes or even hours of heavily choreographed painting, all captured in camera with no post-production editing. “If I start from scratch, it takes about a week to learn how to draw the new shape with light,” Huhtamo (previously) shares. “First, I want to do some simple sketches on paper. After that, I try to figure out how to do all the elements by using my light tools. I usually divide the form or a shape into sections and then practice each part separately.” Finding the proper location for the life form is the most difficult step in the process because the environment needs to feel natural for the intended creature and be dark enough for the composition to glow.

To create the works, Huhtamo primarily uses various sizes of optical fibers, which give “smooth transparent light trails that have a nice organic texture.” These fibers require sufficient power to be effective, so he attaches them to 1,200 to 2,500-lumen flashlights with custom adaptors. Colored filters in turquoise, yellow, pink, and green slot between the two elements to produce vibrant hues.

Huhtamo is currently working on a few collaborations and commercial projects, and you can find more of his paintings and information about prints on his site and Instagram.

 

“Imaginary Sea Creature 1” (2022)

Top left: “Âmes Libres” (2019). Top right: “Wild Ones” (2021). Bottom left: “The Bond” (2019). Bottom right: “Risen” (2021)

“New Terrain” (2022)

From the ‘Imaginary Sea Creature’ series (2022)

“Photon” (2021)

“Starmade” (2021)

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 Luminous Creatures Haunt Darkened Landscapes in Hannu Huhtamo’s Dreamlike Light Paintings appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/03J1t5d
via IFTTT

A New Monograph Traces a Decade of Travel for Seth Globepainters Imaginative Characters

2022, Le Mans, France. All images © Julien Malland, shared with permission

Known for filtering incisive social commentary through the lens of childhood innocence, French artist Julien Malland, a.k.a. Seth Globepainter, has spent the better part of his career capturing the hope and wonder of adolescence. His imaginative characters (previously) appear on walls from Miami to Shanghai and often emerge in places marred by difficulties, including Syrian refugee camps and the bombed streets of the Donbas region in Ukraine.

Titled Seth, On Walls, the artist’s first monograph was published in November and chronicles a decade of resilient, youthful subjects. Enveloped by color and playful optical illusions, the largely faceless figures are introspective and often turn away from the viewer to rest, play with a friend, or look toward a distant, unknown future. Many of the murals contain small, vibrant portals nestled among the gray, urban landscapes, and like the works themselves, the book takes this optimistic approach to offer “a delicate reading of the world in which imagination becomes the cure for all ills.”

Seth, On Walls will be released to U.S. readers in September. Pre-order your copy now, and follow the artist’s latest projects on Instagram.

 

“Maurice” (2016), Port Luis

2019, Little Haiti, Miami

“In the sky” (2015), Le Port Reunion Island

A 2013 collaboration with Ku2, Kharkiv

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 A New Monograph Traces a Decade of Travel for Seth Globepainter’s Imaginative Characters appeared first on Colossal.

from Colossal https://ift.tt/l0VGX8v
via IFTTT