Several Layers of Glaze Finish Mia Alajasko’s Ceramic Octopuses with Colorful Textures

All images © Mia Alajasko, shared with permission

Tentacles speckled with glaze and bulbous suckers support the bodies of Mia Alajasko’s ceramic mollusks. From her backyard workshop in Onsala, Sweden, the artist sculpts squids and octopuses that stand upwards of 40 centimeters. Each creature is cloaked in several layers of glaze that produce a diverse array of finishes from classic matte white and neutral-toned crackles to sleek rust and mottled shades of blue.

Alajasko makes about a dozen pieces each month, and her next shop release is on September 28. Keep an eye on her Instagram for updates.

 

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Billowing Garments Encompass Diverse Narratives in Johanna Goodman’s Monumental Collages

“Plate No. 371.” All images © Johanna Goodman, shared with permission

Known for her vivid collages of female figures whose billowing garments embody an array of landscapes, architecture, flora, fauna, artworks, and symbolic objects, Johanna Goodman continues to celebrate the dynamism and diversity of women throughout the ages. Sourcing photographs and motifs from the public domain in addition to her own photographs, her ongoing Catalogue of Imaginary Beings series (previously) encompasses a broad spectrum of historical and contemporary imagery.

Monumental women confront the edges of these works, some of which are life-size at six feet tall, and their towering presence and voluminous dresses are ripe for messages and portraits of influential figures. Goodman’s response to the U.S. Supreme Court’s decision to overturn Roe v. Wade in June of this year spurred a series of collages that contain dozens of protest posters and slogans supporting the right to bodily autonomy. Many of the artist’s pieces are titled as numbered plates, such as “Plate No. 337, Ruth Bader Ginsburg,” referencing tipped-in color plates in old history and art books that were printed separately from the rest of the volume and often glued into place.

Goodman’s work will be included in the exhibition Drawings You’ve Never Seen at Egg Collective in Tribeca, which opens September 1. You can find more of her work on her website and Instagram.

 

“Plate No. 425”

Left: “Plate No. 464.” Right: “Plate No. 337, Ruth Bader Ginsburg”

“In Us We Trust,” poster design for Persisticon V

“Plate No. 42”

“Plate No. 277”

Left: “Plate No. 385.” Right: “Plate No. 456”

“Plate No. 446”

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Hazy Water Veils Vibrant Bouquets in Mystery in Robert Peek’s Photographs

All images © Robert Peek, shared with permission

Fresh flowers emerge through a smoke-like substance in the eerie images of Netherlands-based photographer Robert Peek (previously). Arranged in bouquets of a single species, the lifeforms adopt a more mysterious quality, which Peek produces by adding white ink to water and submerging his subject matter. Although veiled in the hazy liquid, the bright petals breach the surface and are enhanced by an additional light source that amplifies their textures and vibrant hues. The photos shown here are a fraction of Peek’s massive collection of blooms, which you can find on Behance and Instagram.

 

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Bound by Cord, the Women of Arghavan Khosravi’s Paintings Exemplify the Borderless Fight for Equality

“The Miraj (2),” acrylic on canvas, wood panels, elastic cord, 120 x 80 x 6 centimeters. All images © Arghavan Khosravi, shared with permission

Through layered, mixed-media paintings, Iranian artist Arghavan Khosravi (previously) alludes to the multivalent effects of losing freedom and human rights. Elastic cord binds her protagonists to their own limbs or surroundings, their individual characteristics partially concealed or fragmented as a result of restriction. Her subjects are often women who are confined to domestic spaces, hidden behind painted wooden panels, or physically tied to a situation or person.

Working in vibrant, saturated colors, Khosravi blends surreal imagery with the motifs of Persian textiles and architecture. The artist tells Colossal that although she still grounds her work in her experiences in Iran, she’s begun to broaden the conceptual aspects of her practice. “My goal is to have a more universal approach so women coming from different countries, cultures, and generations can relate to the paintings. The fight for gender equality is universal, and there is still a long road ahead of us,” she says.

Khosravi has a limited-edition print available through Art for Change, and her first institutional show is up through September 5 at the Currier Museum of Art in Manchester. She opens a solo exhibition at Rockefeller Center on September 6 and has another slated for later this year at Stems Gallery in Belgium. Until then, find more of her work on Instagram.

 

“The Castle,” acrylic on canvas, wood panels, elastic cord, 105 x 80 x 6 centimeters

“The Pomegranate Garden,” acrylic on canvas mounted on shaped wood panels, 74 x 57 x 8 inches

“Dreaming,” acrylic on canvas, wood panel, 121 x 121 x 4 centimeters

“The Stage,” acrylic on canvas, wood panels, polyester rope, fifteen parts, 200 x 120 x 3 centimeters

“The Garden,” acrylic on canvas mounted on shaped wood panels, 59 x 71 x 6 inches

“The Curtain,” acrylic on canvas, wood panels, Plexiglas, polyester rope, 61 x 120 x 10 centimeters, 99 x 77 x 7 centimeters

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A Nearly 500-Page Monograph Chronicles Three Decades of Olafur Eliasson’s Practice

“The weather project” (2003), monofrequency lamps, projection screen, haze machines, foil mirror, aluminum, scaffolding, 26.7 x 22.3 x 155.44 meters, installation view at Tate Modern, London. Photo by Tate photography, Andrew Dunkley & Marcus Leith

A forthcoming monograph published by Phaidon packs the inimitable career of artist Olafur Eliasson (previously) into nearly 500 pages. Spanning from the 1990s to today, the expanded edition comprises a breadth of works, including “The Weather Project,” the widely acclaimed installation that took over Tate Modern in 2003, and the more recent “Life,” which flooded Fondation Beyeler in Basel last year with murky green waters. This new volume contains hundreds of photos and illustrations paired with writing by Michelle Kuo, Anna Engberg-Pedersen, and the artist himself and reflects on both the monumental public installations and smaller works that define his practice. Olafur Eliasson, Experience is currently available for pre-order on Bookshop.

 

“Waterfall” (2016), crane tower, water, stainless steel, pump system, hoses, ballast, 42.5 x 6 x 5 meters, installation views at Palace of Versailles. Photo by Anders Sune Berg

“Beauty” (1993), spotlight, water, nozzles, wood, hose, pump, dimensions variable, edition of 3, installation view at Long Museum, Shanghai. Photo by Anders Sune Berg

“Ice Watch” (2014), with Minik Rosing, 12 blocks of glacial ice, dimensions variable, installation views at Place du Panthéon, Paris. Photo by Martin Argyroglo

“Fjordenhus (Fjord House)” designed with Sebastian Behmann (2009–18), Vejle Fjord, Denmark. Photo by Anders Sune Berg

“Seeing Spheres” (2019), stainless steel, glass, silver, fiberglass, LEDs, 4.8 x 22 x 22 meters, each sphere, diameter 480 centimeters, installation view at Chase Center, San Francisco. Photo by Matthew Millman

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Birds Swoop and Swell into Imagined Inky Murmurations in Fiona Watson’s Etchings

“The Murmuration Tree.” All images © Fiona Watson, shared with permission

“Biology is a very visual science—macro and microscopically,” says Fiona Watson. The Scotland-based artist channels her background in this field into a multi-media practice that spans photography, painting, land art, and printmaking. Observation, interpretation, and creativity by way of critical thinking are fundamental in both the sciences and art, and Watson harnesses these skills to create etchings of murmurations that mimic birds’ paths as they swoop through the sky. Collective flights “are extraordinary both metaphorically as shapeshifters occupying the space between heaven and earth and biologically as hundreds of organisms moving as one,” she tells Colossal.

Beginning with a digital sketch, Watson imagines various phenomenological patterns that she then translates to a copper plate using wax resists and acids. After inking the drawing, she sends it through the etching press, a basic process used for centuries.

The artist works out of the Glasgow Print Studio and has a new piece in the upcoming 50th-anniversary exhibition. Explore more of her practice on her site and Instagram. (via Women’s Art).

 

“The Persistence of Sound”

“Dark Sun Murmuration”

“And Then Songs Filled the Air”

“The Kindness of Trees”

“First There is a Mountain”

“Once Upon a River”

“The Waggle Dance”

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The James Webb Telescope Captures Jupiter’s Rings and Brilliant Aurora in Two Stunning Composites

Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, Jupiter ERS Team, processing by Ricardo Hueso (UPV/EHU) and Judy Schmidt

It’s been two months since NASA unveiled the first images captured by the exceptionally powerful James Webb Space Telescope, and a pair of new composites taken by the observer’s infrared NIRCam showcase Jupiter’s aurora and unique characteristics in similarly striking detail.

Against a dark backdrop filled with hazy dots that are likely distant galaxies, the wide view features the planet’s two moons, Amalthea and Adrastea, and its rings. According to the European Space Agency, which released the images, the dusty halos shown are one million times fainter than the gaseous mass they encircle.

For the close-up, astronomers applied three filters to the NIRCam to capture the tiny details of the largest planet in our solar system. Zeroing in on the Jovian atmosphere, the image shows two polar auroras shining through red hues, with brilliant greens and yellows swirling around. “A third filter, mapped to blues, showcases light that is reflected from a deeper main cloud. The Great Red Spot, a famous storm so big it could swallow Earth, appears white in these views, as do other clouds because they are reflecting a lot of sunlight,” the agency says.

Because the human eye can’t see infrared light, scientist Judy Schmidt collaborated with astronomers to make the planet’s details visible. (via Peta Pixel)

 

Image courtesy of NASA, ESA, Jupiter ERS Team, processing by Judy Schmidt

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