Vivid Environments by Yellena James Pause Natural Processes to Capture Life in Flux

“Ascend.” All images © Yellena James, shared with permission

Following her series centered around the healing properties of Prussian blue, Portland-based artist Yellena James continues to imagine vibrant ecosystems brimming with fantastical life from land and sea. Her delicate organisms appear to float in washes of pastel colors and evoke coral, kelp, and daisies with an unearthly and whimsical twist.

Recently on view at Stephanie Chefas Projects, James’s Origin series works in this vein and explores the most fundamental aspects of existence. “I attempt to capture the instance of inception and freeze it as though pressing pause in the middle of a chemical reaction, and I wonder if these lifeforms are forced into existence by their own needs and desires or the needs and desires of the forces themselves,” she says. Vivid and full of patterned textures rendered in a mix of acrylic, gouache, and ink, the pieces are alluring interpretations of organisms in the midst of change.

James is currently at work on a variety of projects across painting, illustration, and ceramics, and you can follow her latest projects on her site and Instagram. She also sells prints, cards, and other goods on Etsy.

 

“Relief.” Photo by Mario Gallucci

“Sentience.” Photo by Mario Gallucci

“Flurry”

“Silken”

“Strata.” Photo by Mario Gallucci

“Starry Basin.” Photo by Mario Gallucci

“Repose.” Photo by Mario Gallucci

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Rainbow Tapestries by Judit Just Layer Cut and Tufted Yarns into Textured Patches

All images © Judit Just, shared with permission

Asheville-based artist Judit Just of jujujust (previously) transforms twisted ropes, skeins of cotton, and plush, carpet-like tufts into roving, abstract tapestries. Suspended from skinny wooden dowels painted to match their hanging counterparts, the sculptural textiles tend to swell in amorphous patches and curved lines before falling into thick patches of fringe. Just’s color palettes parallel the contrast in textures, with soft, pastel tones alongside bright, neon-like hues.

The artist is currently working on a large-scale tapestry for Culture Object, which opens on May 10 at Culture Object, and plans to release new pieces in her shop this Friday. See more of her process on Instagram.

 

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Illuminated Inflatable Sculptures Populate Whimsical Wonderlands by ENESS

All photos © ENESS, shared with permission

Giant striped characters, the world’s first inflatable fountain, and a mass of towering arches occupy the otherworldly installations designed by ENESS. The Melbourne-based studio creates immersive worlds of whimsical creatures and puffy, illuminated structures that spring from the ground. Often paired with upbeat soundscapes and interactive elements like squirting water and digital eyeballs, the air-filled sculptures are arranged as wonderlands of light and color that at night, bathe the viewer in a kaleidoscopic glow of LED bulbs.

ENESS’s “Cupid’s Koi Garden” (shown below) is on view from April 12 to August 21 alongside 14 artists as part of Pop Air, a collaborative exhibition between La Villette and Balloon Museum, that occupies more than 5,000-square-meters of the Grande Halle in Paris. Follow where the studio’s radiant inflatables are traveling next on Instagram.

 

“Airship Orchestra.” Photo by Sam Roberts

“Airship Orchestra.” Photo by Diana Snape

“Airship Orchestra.” Photo by Diana Snape

“Cupid’s Koi Garden.” Photo by Ben Weinstein

“Cupid’s Koi Garden.” Photo by Ben Weinstein

“Sky Castle.” Photo by Zu Rui

“Sky Castle.” Photo by Gavin Jowitt

“Sky Castle.” Photo by Gavin Jowitt

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Invoking Black Masking Traditions, Artist Demond Melancon Beads Elaborate, Celebratory Portraits

“Say Her Name” (2021), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas. All images © Demond Melancon, shared with permission

Through intricately woven displays of minuscule glass beads and rhinestones, Big Chief Demond Melancon continues a legacy. He belongs to the tribe of the Young Seminole Hunters in New Orleans, where he was born and raised, and is a leader in the tradition of creating Mardi Gras suits. The “wearable sculptures” are elaborate and celebratory, and Melancon’s works are known for their immense nature and for exhibiting his deft technical skill. Extremely labor-intensive, the garments tend to envelop their wearer in multiple layers and contain more than one million glass beads precisely stitched into evocative narratives of American history.

For nearly three decades, Melancon has also developed a unique visual language that is both entrenched in the 250-year tradition and working to expand the scope of the practice. “The elders, the Indians, and the Black maskers that masked before me, they never saw this as a contemporary art form in the way that I do,” he tells Colossal. “To me, the elders are watching me, and I think what they taught me is different from what I’ve evolved it into.”

Often encircled by feathers, many of Melancon’s suits revolve around portraits of reggae icons, people who were enslaved and subsequently led revolts, and Mardi Gras Indian Big Chiefs who came before him. He’s also started to separate these figurative elements from their more comprehensive counterparts in recent years and has produced an extensive series of standalone portraits. The ongoing collection includes people who have been influential in his life and who have broad cultural relevance, including artists like Basquiat and Frida Khalo, ancient Egyptian queen Nefertari, and Breonna Taylor, a 26-year-old Black woman killed by police in 2020. “I like to teach with my work, and I want to make something that’s very meaningful,” he says. “It’s going to tell you something. It’s going to hit you in your heart.”

 

“Most Kings Get Their Heads Cut Off” (2021), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

Sometimes years in the making, Melancon’s portraits exemplify his commitment to transforming the small, tactile materials into compositions evocative of painting. He references artists like Kerry James Marshall (previously) and Kehinde Wiley (previously) as inspiration and is equally drawn to those working today as he is to the art historical canon. His style emerged “through studying Botticelli and Caravaggio. I like the light in the old-school paintings, in the Florentine art, in the art from the 1700s.”

Beginning with a black-and-white sketch, Melancon always completes his subjects’ eyes first to “try to bring people back to the living stage with the portraits… so they can live, and they can look at me while I’m beading the rest of the piece.” For the artist, this spirited energy and sense of vitality are directly derived from his bold color palettes that compose a floral blouse or radiant, crown-like headdress.

Although Melancon didn’t mask for this year’s Mardi Gras—instead, he helped garner grants for those participating in the festival through his work on the New Orleans Tourism and Cultural Fund board—he’s currently in progress on a suit titled “Amistad,” in reference to the historic 1839 revolt on the slave ship by the same name. He also plans to continue his portrait series and will see “Say Her Name,” the striking rendering of Taylor acquired by the International African American Museum, on view at the institution when it opens this fall in South Carolina. It’s one of many works that Melancon sees as part of his duty to pass down stories to future generations and teach them about those who’ve profoundly shaped the world today. “That’s another piece that I think in this time very important,” he shares.  “People should remember her situation, and that’s why I bead.”

To explore Melancon’s full portfolio, visit his site and Instagram.

 

“The Deans” (2021), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

“Wolf Defender” (2021), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

“The Rennaisance” (2019), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

“When She Speaks You Listen” (2021), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

“Nefertari Meritmut” (2019), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

“Frida Kahlo” (2019), glass beads and rhinestones on canvas

Portrait of the artist in his studio

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The Annual ‘Women Street Photographers’ Exhibition Highlights the Images Changing the Genre

Anna Biret. All images courtesy of Women Street Photographers, shared with permission

Since 2017, a multi-faceted initiative has celebrated hundreds of street photographers whose work develops and expands the boundaries of what’s historically been a male-dominated field. The project of Gulnara Samoilova, Women Street Photographers connects the widespread and deeply personal by highlighting the subtle, nuanced ways the world appears when viewed by different people. Broad in subject matter and style, the initiative’s collection ranges from Anna Biret’s intimate, shadow-laden portrait of a young girl in India to Debrani Das’s candid shot of children at play in black and white.

Women Street Photographers also function as a vital community for those working today, and in recent years, the project has grown from an Instagram account to an artist residency and book collecting a small portion of images. It also culminates each year in an annual exhibition, with the fourth edition opening on April 7 at ArtSpace PS109 in Manhattan. The upcoming show features the work of 79 photographers from 20 countries and will be presented alongside a collection by residency runner-up Maude Bardet. Similar to previous iterations, this year’s exhibition is an expansive consideration of the photographers working toward a more diverse genre.

See some of our favorite shots included in the show below, and visit the project’s site for a deeper look at the ongoing initiative. Samoilova is also curating a show by Women Street Photographers member Sandra Cattaneo Adorno, which opens on April 23 at Personal Structures.

 

Zeryaden Remini

Sonia Goydenko

Nina Welchkling

Karen Zusman

Heike Frielingsdorf

France Leclerc

Erica Lansner

Debrani Das

Britta Kohlboas

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42,000 Bamboo Shoots Construct an Illuminated, Latticed Welcome Center in Vietnam

All images by Hiroyuki Oki, courtesy of Vo Trong Nghia Architects

A glowing welcome center of interlaced bamboo stands at the entrance of the resort Grand World Phu Quoc in Vietnam. One of many designs by Vo Trong Nghia Architects that utilizes the ubiquitous material, the facility is comprised of arches, domes, and angular grids built from 42,000 culms, or hollow shoots. The open facade and embedded skylights allow light to stream through the building, helping to illuminate a 1,460-square-meter footprint, with visitors entering through an interior shaped like a lotus and bronze drum. “The light comes in beautifully and, along with the natural colour of bamboo, creates a warm and intimate atmosphere, even though the structure is very open in terms of airflow,” the studio shared with dezeen.

For more of Vo Trong Nghia’s architectural projects, visit the studio’s site and Instagram.

 

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