Wednesday, May 24, 2023

Playful Illustrations by Yau Hoong Tang Layer Optical Illusions into Imaginative Stories

A stack of books also appear as a building and place for people to read with a tree branch growing from the top covers

All images © Yau Hoong Tang, shared with permission

In Negative Space, Yau Hoong Tang derives imaginative and expansive storylines from minimal visuals. As its name suggests, the ongoing series plays with the relationship between presence and absence, layering optical illusions, embedded imagery, and other narrative cues within a single work.

The Kuala Lumpur-based illustrator is fond of weaving together several plots. In one work, an ink splatter also becomes wildlife inhabiting the world, with in another, a creature appears as a flying goose or a fox depending on where the viewer focuses. “I love using negative space in my illustrations as it creates more dynamics to an artwork and opens up a visual conversation,” he tells Colossal. “Its thought provoking nature invites viewers to discover the hidden meanings and spark imagination.”

While Negative Space is created digitally, Tang is currently working on a new collection that returns to more traditional, analog mediums. Shop limited-edition prints, and find more of his playful illustrations on Behance and Instagram.

 

An ink splatter also appears as wildlife inhabit a round world

A flying bird also appears as a child flying paper airplanes

An overturned bottle also appears as a man climbing a mountain

Left, a building disintegrates into birds, on right, three guitars form four bird figures when overlapped

A fox face that also could be a goose flying

A cityscape nestles in the top of a leaf

Four images, a person wearing headphones with a guitar player sitting on one earphone, two giraffes at sunset, an infinity sign with camels in the lower left corner, a fedora with a band that also has a figure embedded in it

hands in tan and black that all appear to be grabbing for money

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 Playful Illustrations by Yau Hoong Tang Layer Optical Illusions into Imaginative Stories appeared first on Colossal.



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Gio Swaby Embarks on an Exploration of Self-Love and Acceptance in Her Vibrant Textile Portraits

Textile portraits by Gio Swaby

“Together We Bloom 3” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 64 x 52 inches. All images © Gio Swaby, courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery, shared with permission

From minimal outlines in black thread, empowering portraits of Black women emerge in new large-scale textile pieces by Toronto-based artist Gio Swaby (previously). Vivid fabrics with an emphasis on florals dominate her new body of work titled I Will Blossom Anyway, on view now at Claire Oliver Gallery, emphasizing brightness, joy, and self-love. Centering on a number of self-portraits, her recent artworks reflect on personal identity, embarking on an introspective journey toward acceptance and compassion.

Swaby’s interest in textiles ties her to a childhood surrounded by the materials her mother often used in her work as a seamstress. She was born and raised in The Bahamas before moving to Canada, where she has spent most of her adult life, and she draws on conflicted feelings about a sense of belonging and navigating what she poetically describes as her “many selves.” She says, “I reflected a lot on my own path and started to recognize how many parts of myself exist in the in-between spaces.”

In her nearly-life-size self-portraits, the artist looks directly at the viewer yet always appears relaxed, embracing tranquil moments of rest. Loose threads occasionally abandon their outlines, dangling or wandering around the canvas as if they have a mind of their own, highlighting the never-finished process of growth, evolution, and self-understanding.

I Will Blossom Anyway runs through July 29 in Harlem and coincides with her solo exhibition Fresh Up at the Art Institute of Chicago, which continues through July 3. Find more on the artist’s website and on Instagram.

 

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Where I Know You From 4” (2023) cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 80 x 50 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Where I Know You From 7” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 52 x 62 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Where I Know You From 3” (2023) cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 80 x 44 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Where I Know You From 6” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 40 x 78 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Self-Portrait 6” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 28 x 38 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Where I Know You From 5” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 50 x 96 inches

A textile portrait by Gio Swaby.

“Self-Portrait 5” (2023), cotton fabric and thread sewn on muslin, 28 x 38 inches 

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 Gio Swaby Embarks on an Exploration of Self-Love and Acceptance in Her Vibrant Textile Portraits appeared first on Colossal.



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A Humbling Short Film Visualizes the Breathtaking Magnitude of 13.8 Billion Years of Cosmic Existence

The human conception of time is limited. We often think in hours, days, and years, units of measurement that are comprehensible when considering our lifetimes or those of generations past. Even decades and centuries, though, are only a minuscule fraction in the timeline of the universe and are wholly inadequate when assessing a nearly 14-billion-year history.

A new short by Alex Gorosh (previously) and Wylie Overstreet (previously) helps to visualize the immensity of cosmic creation beyond the clock and calendar. Four years in the making, “To Scale: TIME” takes the filmmakers to a 4.3-mile stretch across the arid Mojave Desert, where they install small lights to create a timeline of human civilization and the broader universe. Augmented with visuals of galaxies and historical events, the resulting work captures the magnitude of 13.8 billion years and is an awe-inspiring reminder of how small humans are in both time and space.

Watch the humbling film on YouTube, where Gorosh and Overstreet also share a making-of video that documents their process. “To Scale: TIME” is the second project in the duo’s series of model-based works and follows their striking visualization of the solar system.

 

A gif showing a timeline

a gif showing a timeline

a still of the Mojave desert with text saying "universe timeline 13,800,000,000 years 6.9 km (4.3 mi)"

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 Humbling Short Film Visualizes the Breathtaking Magnitude of 13.8 Billion Years of Cosmic Existence appeared first on Colossal.



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Tuesday, May 23, 2023

Bursting Blooms Link Modernity and History in Gordon Cheung’s Decadent Still-Life Paintings

“Gardens of Perfect Brightness” (2022), Financial Times newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on linen, 200 x 150 x 3 centimeters. All images © Gordon Cheung, shared with permission

In 1634, during the Dutch Golden Age, an unprecedented financial phenomenon began in the form of skyrocketing prices for rare and fashionable tulip bulbs. By 1637, the speculative bubble collapsed, and while the plummeting price of tulips may have bankrupted a few investors, it didn’t take a steep toll on the overall economy, unlike the U.S. housing bubble that spurred a global crisis and led to severe recession in 2008.

“Tulip mania” is a term still used today to describe when the prices of assets—such as mortgages or technology—rise exponentially from their intrinsic or general market values and present a threat to economic stability. For London-based artist Gordon Cheung, Dutch still-life paintings provide a lens through which to explore ties between historical socio-economic systems, modern capitalism, and China’s new power on the global stage. “In part, they are about the rise and fall of civilisations, as well as the romantic language of still-life painting: futile materialism and fragile mortality reflected by the transient beauty of flowers,” he says. 

Like much 16th and 17th-century Dutch painting, the artist’s still-lifes brim with symbolism and references to historical events. The linen surface is collaged with pages from the Financial Times, literally grounding the work in data and news about the global markets. The painting above, for example, references the Old Summer Palace of Beijing, also known as Yuanmingyuan, which translates to “Gardens of Summer Brightness.”

 

c Detail of “Gardens of Perfect Brightness”

The residence of Qianlong Emperor and his successors, the Summer Palace was home to celebrated gardens and an enormous collection of historic treasures and antiques dating back thousands of years. French and British troops captured the palace in October 1860 during the Second Opium War, which led to mass vandalism, looting, and eventually, total destruction.

In “Gardens of Summer Brightness,” the two holy mountains of Sinai and Song flank the vase in the background, suggesting a collision that may have led to the fractured pillar. A map of the park punctuated by an architectural ruin tops the pedestal, and the mille-fleurs or “thousand flowers” style, a popular motif in the Qianlong period, decorates the vase. The vessel also contains botanicals by the emperor’s court painter Giuseppe Castiglione and sunflowers to symbolize the face of the sun as a deity and energy source.

Combining inkjet printing methods, acrylic paint, and sand to create a variety of textures and three-dimensional features, Cheung’s flowers appear to delicately float across ethereal surfaces. He assembles each bloom by applying thick paint onto plastic that can be peeled off when dry and collaged onto the canvas. He is interested in what he calls the “Ozymandian eventuality” of grandeur and power to physically and metaphorically crumble over time, using sand to represent impermanence and the constantly shifting nature of the human condition.

Cheung’s solo exhibition The Garden of Perfect Brightness opens at the Atkinson Museum in Southport, England, on June 3. You can find more on his website, and follow Instagram for updates.

 

“Augury of Dongguan” (2022), Financial Times newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on linen, 87 x 52 x 5 centimeters

Detail of “Augury of Dongguan”

“Augury of Xi’an” (2022), Financial Times newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on linen, 82 x 57 x 5 centimeters

“Augury of Hong Kong” (2022), Financial Times newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on linen, 82 x 57 x 5 centimeters

Detail of “Augury of Hong Kong”

“Traveller From an Antique Land” (2022), Financial newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on paper, 135 x 100 x 5 centimeters

“Timeless Sands” (2022), Financial newspaper, archival inkjet, acrylic, and sand on paper, 135 x 100 x 5 centimeters

Detail of “Timeless Sands”

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 Bursting Blooms Link Modernity and History in Gordon Cheung’s Decadent Still-Life Paintings appeared first on Colossal.



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‘At the Precipice’ Emphasizes the Role of Emotion, Tactility, and the Senses in Understanding the Climate Crisis

An abstract installation with vibrant components spread across a wall

Nathalie Miebach, “Build Me a Platform”

How does it feel to inhabit an irreversibly damaged planet? An exhibition opening at the Design Museum of Chicago this summer brings together works by ten artists and collectives that answer this question through data, color, tactility, and material.

Curated by Colossal, At the Precipice: Responses to the Climate Crisis considers physical and emotional reactions in the era of environmental disaster and emphasizes how art can offer an accessible entry point into such an overwhelming and dire emergency. Varying in medium and methodology, the works included explore several of the most urgent issues affecting the world today.

The Tempestry Project returns to the Paleolithic era to visualize how rapidly our climate has changed in the last few centuries alone, while Luftwerk and Zaria Forman consider the impacts of a warming world on glaciers and arctic regions. Morel Doucet, Nathalie Miebach, and Migwa Nthiga are concerned with the increasing intensity of weather events and subsequent forced migration, and Jean Shin and Chris Pappan look to shifts in rivers and access to water sources. Selva Aparicio questions loss, remains, and acts of remembrance, while Redemptive Plastics offers a localized and scalable solution to waste.

At the Precipice runs from July 14 to October 30.  We’ll be announcing talks, workshops, and other programming in the coming weeks, so stay tuned for details.

 

Help Us Knit a Century of Chicago Weather!

As part of the exhibition, the Design Museum of Chicago has generously kickstarted a Chicago Tempestry Collection, which will use twelve knitted works to highlight changes in the local weather patterns during the last 120 years. Anyone interested in creating a tempestry—a tapestry depicting daily temperatures—to be added to the collection and displayed at the museum can purchase a kit on the project’s site.

 

 

Two ceramic busts, one covered in botanicals, the other coral and fish

Morel Doucet, “Black Maiden in Veil of Midnight” (left) and “Olokun” (right)

Ice breaks on top of a body of water

Zaria Forman, still from “Overview: 12 Miles of Lincoln Sea in the Arctic Ocean, North of Greenland”

Three warriors stand half-submerged in a lake

Migwa Nthiga, “The Warriors Of The North”

A vibrant weaving of synthetic flowers hangs in a gallery

Selva Aparicio, “Our Garden Remains”

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 ‘At the Precipice’ Emphasizes the Role of Emotion, Tactility, and the Senses in Understanding the Climate Crisis appeared first on Colossal.



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Invoking Design Principles, Kpe Innocent Builds Minimal Human Figures with Geometric Shapes

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head and torso sits

All images © Kpe Innocent, shared with permission

In his most recent paintings in acrylic, Kpe Innocent reduces the human body to its rudimentary forms. The Accra, Ghana-based artist translates arms, bellies, and heads into cylinders and geometric shapes rendered in minimal palettes of black, white, and pastel colors. Occupying vast swaths of negative space, the figures have “room to pause and breathe,” and the paired-down settings draw greater attention to the engineered anatomy.

In a note to Colossal, Innocent shares that he’s been interested in stories of creation and how those connect to his faith and practice. “I am convinced by looking at how systems operate and the evidence of design in the natural world that an intelligent mind is behind the natural things we see (where there is design, there is a designer),” he says, “and this fact can be seen in how we humans interpret and mimic nature in design processes even.” DNA codes and the building blocks of digital interfaces continue to inform his paintings, and after working in earth tones and more dense environments, he’s now gravitating toward clean lines and minimal brushstrokes that limit the markings of the artist’s hand.

Innocent currently has a limited-edition print available through Moosey Art, where he will soon release a new sculpture, as well. His works will be on view at Volta Art Fair with African Arty and Maison Ozmen in Paris in the coming months, and you can find more of his paintings and glimpses into his process on Instagram. (via Juxtapoz)

 

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head sits on steps

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head and torso sits

Three paintings, each of a standing minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head and torso

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head and torso stands with two clouds in the backdrop

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head sits at a table

A minimal figure with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head holds a yellow object

Two minimal figures with black cylindrical limbs and a perfectly round head and torso embrace

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 Invoking Design Principles, Kpe Innocent Builds Minimal Human Figures with Geometric Shapes appeared first on Colossal.



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Monday, May 22, 2023

Flat-Lays of Halved Walnuts and Other Shells Study the Diversity of the Botanical Fruits

A flay lay of halved hickories

Carya hickory sections. All images © Jonas Frei, shared with permission

During a visit to the Zürich arboretum, Jonas Frei came across a nut species rarely found in Europe. The Juglans cinerea, or white walnut, is native to the U.S. and Canada and has a ribbed, oblong shell that once cracked, reveals a sweet, fleshy innard. Its presence in the Swiss enclave dates back to 1887, when the botanist Carl Joseph Schröter planted a tree that eventually produced the non-native fruits and sparked Frei’s enduring interest in the plant genus.

Based in Schaffhausen, Frei is a naturalist, illustrator, and landscape architect whose interest in botany has taken him to gardens, arboretums, and parks throughout Europe and North America. He recently spent time in Harvard’s Arnold Arboretum after being awarded the James R. Jewett Prize, which allowed him to expand his research on the walnut and explore how it’s migrated over centuries. Much of his work is focused on making science easily digestible and visually intriguing to a general audience. “Research itself really is my goal,” he tells Colossal. “I want to understand the subject and make the knowledge accessible through my writing and the aesthetical presentation of the diversity of species and cultivars.”

Shared through illustrations and flat-lay photos, Frei’s studies have recently culminated in a book devoted to walnuts and hickories, which brings together the cultural, historical, and botanical importance of these diverse plants. “I was driven not only by my scientific interest in Juglandaceae but also by my enthusiasm for the aesthetics of their habits, leaves, and fruits. The readers of my book should be able to make their own journey of discovery through the walnut family, on the tracks I have uncovered with my research,” he says.

The expanded edition of Frei’s book, which includes updates from his studies at Arnold Arboretum, is available along with posters, prints, and a similar volume focused on hazelnuts on his site. Follow his latest research on Instagram.

 

A flat lay of a halved walnut

Juglans sinesis

A flat lay of halved walnuts

Juglans nigra

A flat lay of halved walnut shells

Junglandaceae

A flat lay of seed pods

Corylus

A flat lay of halved walnut shells

Walnusshaelften

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 Flat-Lays of Halved Walnuts and Other Shells Study the Diversity of the Botanical Fruits appeared first on Colossal.



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A Knotted Octopus Carved Directly into Two Pianos Entwines Maskull Lasserre’s New Musical Sculpture

“The Third Octave” (2023). All images © Maskull Lasserre, shared with permission Behind the hammers and pins of most upright pianos is a ...