A Daily Sculpture Project by Frode Bolhius Spawns a Quirky Colorful Cast of Tiny Figures

All images Frode Bolhius, shared with permission

Wander into Frode Bolhuis’s Almere-based studio, and you’ll be introduced to an entire cast of characters pinned to the wall. There’s one figure picking at the tufts of her broom-like head, another sporting a bubble gum pink suit resembling the Michelin man, and a woman swaddled in a cozy, fabric cocoon.

Sculpted primarily from polymer clay, the miniature works are part of the Dutch artist’s ongoing project that involves creating a few of the colorful personas each week. “They are small sculptures, intuitively made in one, two, or three days,” he says. “And the magic is that they start to live a life of their own. They kind of appear while working, one leading to the other, different every time.”

He’s made 65 pieces since starting the series in February—see the most recent addition on Instagram—with myriad garments and accessories crafted from textiles, wood, plastic, and metal and finished with paint and gold detail. Similar to other projects of this nature, the goal is “to be in the creative process all the time. Nothing big, long, or complex to take me out of that,” he shares.

Bolhius has a few works on view in a group show at Museum de Voorde in Zoetermeer, Netherlands, through July 10, and you can pick up a copy of his book Magic on his site.

 

from Colossal https://ift.tt/91PFEy6
via IFTTT

Hundreds of Minuscule Figures Unite in Pejac’s New Welcome Mat Intervention in Aberdeen

Photo by Carmen Cuevas. All images © Pejac, shared with permission

The entrance to a building housing some of Aberdeen’s most vulnerable residents and charity organizations is the site of the latest work by Pejac (previously). Comprised of minuscule figures congregating as a welcome mat, the streetside intervention confronts the hardships people face when relegated to society’s margins. The idea is that they’re “tired of being stepped over,” the artist says, and that there’s hope, dignity, and pride to be found when we’re united.

Pejac created the heartfelt piece for the 2022 Nuart Aberdeen (previously), which brought at least a dozen artists to the city this month. For more of his works, visit Instagram.

 

Photo by Carmen Cuevas

Photo by Clarke Joss

Photo by Brian Tallman

Photo by Pejac

from Colossal https://ift.tt/MkJ7Z3d
via IFTTT

Deceptive Stone Sculptures by Hirotoshi Ito Unzip to Reveal Surreal Scenes in Miniature

All images © Hirotoshi Ito, shared with permission

Stone isn’t naturally malleable, and yet, Japanese artist Hirotoshi Ito (previously) carves his sculptures to make the material appear as if it can be unzipped or sliced with a butter knife. Using rocks he finds on beaches near his home in Matsumoto City, Ito chisels tiny caverns that he lines with clasps or simple fasteners. He then tucks miniature objects like teeth, a collection of seashells, and futuristic scenes into those pockets, creating surreal and intriguingly deceptive scenarios in the span of a few inches.

Ito’s family has worked in stone sculpting since 1879, and although he planned to take over the business, his experience studying metalsmithing in college prompted him to begin an art practice instead. Some of his sculptures are on view through the end of the month at Tokyo’s Gallery Little High, and keep an eye on his Instagram for news about upcoming shows.

 

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

A Precisely Color-Coded Flat Lay Organizes 98 Gloves Lost by Their Owners

Image © Jim Golden, shared with permission

A new print from Thomas Scott and Jim Golden satisfies our human urge to organize. The color-coded flat lay arranges dozens of gloves Scott picked up from sidewalks and roadsides while cycling within the first few months of 2022 into a precise gradient. Containing everything from knit mitts and dishwashing essentials to protective workwear, the piece falls into the endlessly fascinating design category of “Things Organized Neatly”—we covered curator Austin Radcliffe’s book on the topic a few years back—and offers some hope that all those gloves we’ve lost throughout the years have found an equally beautiful home. The pair is offering prints in Golden’s shop, which is a visual trove for those looking for more impeccably tidy collections. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

from Colossal https://ift.tt/yRY2HFw
via IFTTT

Massive Leafy Murals by Adele Renault Magnify the Verdant Textures of Plants

All images © Adele Renault, shared with permission

Similar to her abstract masses of feathers, a new series of murals by artist Adele Renault highlights the vibrant colors and textures abundant in nature. Plantasia, which consists of smaller works on canvas and large-scale public pieces, magnifies the leaves from dandelions, banana trees, stinging nettle, and other species. Enlarging the specimens to reveal the intricate vein networks and subtle grooves in their midst, the lush murals are bright standouts among largely urban landscapes.

Although she’s spent the last few years painting birds, Renault tells Colossal that her interest in and devotion to plants is much deeper. “My mum taught me so much about growing your own food and growing vegetables as a kid. I didn’t know I was storing up important knowledge. Then during the pandemic, I think anyone who had a bit of love for nature and plants had time to get back to it, which was my case, too,” she says.

Renault works from photographs taken of her houseplants, those she encounters in the wild, and pre-pandemic, the gardens of the Ron Finley Project in Los Angeles—she splits her time between the city and her native Belgium. “I just get very excited whenever I see the beams of sunlight hitting leaves in a certain way, making that green seem translucent,” she shares, adding that her most recent obsession is with the prickly pear cactus and its iridescent sheen.

Some of the Plantasia series will be on view this September in Des Moines when Renault will also release a book cataloging the works. You can follow news on that show, along with her latest pieces, on Instagram.

 

Stinging nettle, Sweden

Dandelion, Gent

Avocado, Bayreuth, Germany

Banana

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

A Previously Unseen Collection of ‘How to Draw’ Books Picasso Made for His Daughter Are On View in Paris

Pablo Picasso, “Maya at the boat” (Paris, 5 February 1938). Image © Yageo Foundation Collection, Taïwan, and Succession Picasso 2022. All images shared with permission

Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Pablo Picasso’s eldest daughter with Marie-Thérèse Walter, used to join her father in the kitchen of their apartment to draw together. They filled multiple sketchbooks with playful renderings of animals, fruit, and clowns, and the Spanish artist even created a special book devoted to instructing Maya on how to paint.

These lovingly collaborative works are on view for the first time at The Picasso Museum in Paris after Maya’s daughter, Diana Widmaier-Ruiz-Picasso, discovered the collection of drawings while sorting through storage. When she showed them to her mother, Maya remembered creating the sketches during WWII when colored pencils and paper were difficult to come by. Diana said in an interview:

There’s a beautiful page where he’s drawing a bowl and she’s drawing a bowl. Sometimes she’s making an image and he’s doing another, showing her the right way to do it. Sometimes they would depict different scenes. Other times, he would draw a dog or a hat. Sometimes he’s using the whole page to draw one particular thing. Other times, he’s depicting certain scenes, scenes of the circus.

Alongside the sketchbooks, the exhibition features nine of the artist’s major works, photographs, and various ephemera, including origami sculptures he folded for Maya from exhibition invitations. Diana also noted that Picasso’s father, who was an art professor, taught him to draw “so that was something natural for him to do.”

Maya Ruiz-Picasso, Daughter Of Pablo is on view through December 31.

 

Pablo Picasso, Letter to Maya “! ​​My beloved daughter – MARIA…!”, Golfe-Juan, (August 27, 1946), private collection. Image © Succession Picasso 2022

Pablo Picasso, “Bird” (1947-1948), private collection. Image © Succession Picasso 2022

Pablo Picasso and Maya Ruiz-Picasso, apples, undated, private collection. Image © Succession Picasso 2022

Pablo Picasso, “Maya with doll and horse” (Paris, 1938), private collection. Image © Succession Picasso 2022

Edward Quinn, Picasso and Maya, Golfe-Juan, 1953-1954. Photo © Edward Quinn, Succession Picasso 2022

from Colossal https://ift.tt/gB9hNe4
via IFTTT

Sensual Sculptures by Polly Verity Tease Moments of Intimacy Out of Single Sheets of Paper

All images © Polly Verity, shared with permission

Wales-based artist Polly Verity (previously) coaxes sheets of watercolor paper, canvas, and wire mesh into elegantly suggestive sculptures. The minimal works are carefully molded through a series of bends, twists, and slight folds that contour pursed lips or a rose grazing a nose, and each curve subtly alters the figure’s expression. Alongside her facial silhouettes, Verity also shapes fragmented torsos and voluptuous limbs, an expansion of her practice that connects the “sensual and yielding” material more directly to the subject matter.

“I work in the moment, perhaps imparting an initial deep crease in the paper, taken by the whim of the moment and open to any form that begins to suggest itself. I work with the paper, gently exaggerating a hint of form or gently working an area until a form feels sure and authentic,” the artist tells Colossal. There’s a delicate balance between the intimate and the erotic, though, and when the latter or a form that’s too personal emerges, she discards the piece.

Verity is currently collaborating with the sound collective Crimson Yew to create a body of work that responds to its live music—if you’re in Wales, you can catch their next performance on June 25 at Davies & Co. She also has a few pieces available in her shop and at The Old Bank Vault, and you can find much more of her practice on Instagram.

 

from Colossal https://ift.tt/XZ5vNxI
via IFTTT