Colorful Characters Emerge From Chunks of Timber in Whimsical Toys by Wood You Mind

All images © Parn Aniwat

Texas-based Thai artist Parn Aniwat, who also goes by Wood You Mind, hews charming figures from timber, embellished in bright colors and playful outfits. Ranging from about four to eight inches tall, each unique character has a distinct personality, whether it’s a sweet face emerging from an owl costume, a bee sitting in a flower, or a vibrantly striped whale. Using traditional tools like a small hatchet and chisel knife, every piece begins with a rough sketch of the design before the contours and details are revealed by chipping small pieces away. The artist then applies vivid splashes of acrylic paint to bring the character’s sparkling eyes and rosy cheeks to life.

Aniwat shares quite a bit of work on Instagram, where you can see snippets of his process and stay tuned for announcements about commission opportunities. Shop available pieces on Etsy. (via Design You Trust)

 

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.ART Wants Artists to Thrive in Digital Chaos

“SKALAR” light installation by Christopher Bauder and Kangding Ray. Photo by Ralph Larmann

Since its inception, the internet has offered its users new instruments on a regular basis. Today, most of us are juggling dozens of social and media platforms, hoping that they will provide maximum exposure to our ideas and endeavors. Yet this buffet of options has had the opposite effect, creating a glut of digital white noise that sucks up attention and traffic.

It’s time to consolidate your digital assets with .ART.

As a fast-growing domain zone for creatives, we decided to investigate how our community of 200,000+ is taking on the challenge of existing in a chaotic online world. We learned that many .ART website owners believe that to persevere in such times, artists need to focus on core values, personal projects, and a clearly-presented image of oneself.

Choosing a .ART domain name allows artists and creatives to stay relevant and recognized while leaving open endless possibilities. A website on .ART can be anything: an online portfolio, a point of entry for all your social media accounts, or a revenue-generating marketplace.

Hear from four artists on how .ART has helped them establish a strong digital identity.

 

Steve Miller is a multimedia artist who makes paintings, screenprints, artist books, and sculptures. Through his art, he explores the influence of science and technology on modern culture.

“I wanted to create a new notion of what my artist website is going to be. stevemiller.art creates a new kind of excitement, and within that, you can now own the freedom to create something new.” —Steve Miller

 

Hilbrand Bos is a fashion illustrator, designer, and musician who lives in Amsterdam, has a few National Geographic covers under his belt, and is currently working on a cartoon project with Universal Studios. His website is a gallery in its own right–full of animated GIFs and rough sketches of his work, it makes one scroll to see more and get a deeper understanding of the artist’s interests and skill. Image courtesy of the artist

“I chose a .ART domain because it looks nice and because hilbrandbos.art contains only what it should—the two things that I have to offer—my personality and my art.” —Hilbrand Bos

 

Shen Wei is a Chinese-American choreographer, painter, and director who resides in New York City. Widely recognized for his vision of an intercultural and interdisciplinary mode of movement-based performance, Shen Wei creates original works that employ an assortment of media elements, including dance, painting, sound, sculpture, theatre, and video.

“People who go to .ART have the same passion about life through art.” —Shen Wei

 

Created by light artist Christopher Bauder and musician Kangding Ray, the large-scale art installation “SKALAR” explores the complex impact of light and sound on human perception. Photo by Ralph Larmann

“.ART is descriptive and short. One can quickly identify the respective genre and its contents. It’s immediately clear that any website within this domain zone is related to art, so the viewer has a clear understanding what works they’ll find within it. I think a .ART domain is the perfect solution to display art-related content on the web.” —Christopher Bauder

To explore domain options, visit get.art or check with your registrar.

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Thin Lines, Dots, and Geometric Shapes Merge into a Minimal Typographic Collection

All images © Adam G., shared with permission

Designer Adam G. is known for utilizing his signature black and red to define the minimal illustrations coming out of the Santa Monica-based studio TRÜF Creative (previously). He describes his style as messymod, or messy modernism, an aesthetic that manifests as an eclectic array of shapes rendered in a tight color palette. Curved components and thin lines leading to perfectly round dots form his interpretation of the 36 Days of Type project, an ongoing endeavor that asks creatives to imagine their own renditions of the alphabet and numeral system.

Emphasizing balance and flow, the collection incorporates some of the designer’s favorite elements from different styles, whether swashes and serifs or western and classic. “I then try to link it all together by using solid shapes, curvy and straight lines, and positive and negative space. I suppose you could say I really love to see how I can make opposing forces work in concert and still make some kind of sense—or at least communicate the letter that it’s supposed to be,” he shares.

Prints of Adam G.’s illustrative designs are available in the messymod shop, where he also plans to release a few pieces from this collection in the coming months. You can follow his work on Instagram.

 

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Clusters of Marine Life Rendered by Zoe Keller Illuminate the Incredible Biodiversity of the Ocean

“Octopodes.” All images © Zoe Keller, shared with permission

From her studio in South Portland, Maine, Zoe Keller (previously) continues to work at the intersection of art and science with her ongoing Ocean Biodiversity Print Series. The digital illustrations are evidence of Keller’s meticulous technique and attention to anatomical detail, and each piece highlights a vast array of marine life, with dozens of species of octopuses, jellyfish, and other sea creatures congregating in dense crowds—she also pairs every work with a key to easily identify each specimen.

Made in collaboration with PangeaSeed Foundation, a nonprofit working toward ocean conservation through art, the series is the result of in-depth research, Keller says, and she often references organizations like the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute and the Schmidt Ocean Institute to focus on the species most at risk. She explains:

Something that is definitely challenging about tackling marine subjects is that we simply do not understand ocean life as intimately as life on land. With this series, I take as much information as I can, and combine it with a bit of artistic license, to—hopefully!—inspire wonder for all of the incredible species living beneath Earth’s waves.

Keller’s most recent addition to the series is “Deep Sea,” and there are still a few of those prints available in the PangeaSeed shop. The next release is slated for fall, so keep an eye on her Instagram for updates. You can also see the artist’s work in person this June at Antler Gallery in Portland, Oregon, and in September at the National Museum of Wildlife Art in Jackson, Wyoming, and Nahcotta Gallery in Portsmouth, New York.

 

“Medusozoa”

Detail of “Deep Sea”

“Syngnathidae”

Detail of “Medusozoa”

Detail of “Syngnathidae”

“Deep Sea”

Detail of “Octopodes”

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Lavishly Dressed Women Equipped with Shovels and Chainsaws Consider the Tools Used for Change

“Power Move.” All images © Kelly Reemtsen, shared with permission

“My work has always been a tribute to all the hard-working women in my life,” says Kelly Reemtsen. The artist (previously), who lives and works between Los Angeles and London, has spent the last decade producing a subversive body of work devoted to exploring gender, its constructs, and real-world impacts, from wage gaps to the continual rollback of reproductive rights. Her practice spans printmaking, sculpture, and painting and juxtaposes visual markings of femininity with objects associated with masculinity. Each piece portrays an anonymous woman dressed in a tulle skirt, patent pumps, and glitzy jewelry grasping a chainsaw or shovel in an easy, nonchalant manner.

In recent years, Reemtsen has gravitated toward oval canvases evocative of traditional portraiture, in addition to pedestals and ladders that elevate her subjects. “Are the women in my paintings trying to break through the glass ceilings or just escaping the current situation? I think most women are doing one or both at all times, consciously or not,” she shares. A series of chainsaw sculptures painted with vibrant, playful colors augments the artist’s broader questions concerning how “the tools available to us shape who we are and who we want to be. I find using tools– whether a printmaking press, a chainsaw, makeup, or anything else– to be incredibly empowering as a vehicle for initiating change.”

A 10-year survey of Reemtsen’s work will be on view at albertz benda’s Los Angeles gallery this May, and she also has pieces in a group exhibition opening on April 21 in London and in August at Galeri Oxholm in Copenhagen. Explore a larger collection of her paintings and sculptures on her site and Instagram.

 

“Buzz Kill”

“Pattern Behavior”

“Taking Shape Yellow”

“Snip”

“Scoop”

“Step It Up”

“Taking Shape Aqua”

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A Set of Notecards Celebrates Pysanka, the Ukrainian Tradition of Egg Decorating

All images © Present & Correct

The team at Present & Correct recently released a set of six Riso-printed notecards in homage to the Ukrainian art of pysanka. A springtime staple, the annual activity involves decorating eggs with folk motifs utilizing a wax-resist method—read more about the technique previously on Colossal. Each blank card showcases four different designs in pastel tones above a phrase reading “Peace and Hope” in Ukrainian, a message steeped in the tradition itself. The packs are available now in the Present & Correct shop, and all proceeds will be donated to Voices of Children, which is aiding those dealing with the trauma of the ongoing war.

 

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Anthropomorphic Oil Paintings by Richard Ahnert Envision Satirical and Nostalgic Narratives for Bears

“Guider” (2022), oil on canvas. All images © Richard Ahnert, courtesy of Modern Eden Gallery, shared with permission

Infused with wit and metaphor, the oil paintings of Toronto-based artist Richard Ahnert imagine the glum, peaceful, and rambunctious lives of animals. His new collection, on view through May 6 as part of Bear With Me at San Francisco’s Modern Eden Gallery, centers on the eponymous mammals, which are shown in the midst of relatable, deeply human activities. Rendered with soft, hazy edges in subtle colors, the anthropomorphized characters are caught in the rain, slouched over a bar, and enjoying a mid-day reprieve on the water. The narratives also tend to be veiled in nostalgia, shown through garments, the ubiquity of tobacco, and in the case of “Swear Bears,” a satirical twist on a 1980’s animation.

Ahnert’s body of work spans the animal kingdom, and he has a few limited-edition prints available. Explore more of his contemplative pieces on his site and Instagram. (via Supersonic Art)

 

“Shore Leave,” (2022), oil on canvas, 20 x 16 inches

“Swear Bears” (2022), oil on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

“Waiting Game” (2022), oil on canvas, 24 x 18 inches

“Patchwork” (2022), oil on canvas, 18 x 24 inches

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