Immersive Architectural Installations by Sarah Zapata Expand Rich Textile Traditions

“Existing with the moon under our feet” (2022), installation at Deli Gallery, New York, NY. Image courtesy of the artist and Deli Gallery. All images © Sarah Zapata, shared with permission

Sarah Zapata is interested in the presence of textiles. Her large-scale, immersive installations are architectural, with feet-high columns looming over interiors, ladders holding stitched works on their rungs, and structural forms arranged like walls or distant skylines. Expanding the realm of textiles beyond physical touch and practical use, Zapata considers how fibers occupy space and the way traditions and notions of community continue to evolve. “What I’m always thinking about in installation, and why I find it to be so important, is the viewer is literally part of the work,” she says, noting that she tends to use space as a material itself. Enveloping and robust, Zapata’s pieces plunge viewers into a world of bold, exuberant fiber.

This past March, Zapata closed a solo exhibition at the John Michael Kohler Arts Center in Sheboygan, Wisconsin, which transformed the gallery into an immersive chamber of dichotomies: palettes of tan and gray jutted up against red and lavender, the sleek lines of painted stripes contrasted with the textured fringe of fiber, and calm, neutral tones were met with the regal, riotous energy of vivid color.

Titled a resilience of things not seen, the exhibition referenced the Book of Revelation, the apocalyptic Christian text that Zapata encountered frequently as a child in an Evangelical home. The installation drew on her adolescent experiences with religious fear, alongside the alarm produced by the early days of the pandemic when everything was uncertain. Color played an important role in confronting these worries, and the inclusion of black, white, and grays became the artist’s opportunity to consider her own predilections. “I’m always very scared of it being too beautiful,” Zapata says. “Beauty is a very important entry point, and I’m always thinking about how the work can be accessible… but (I) have to challenge myself to be using things that are so ugly. And I hate neutrals.”

 

“A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

Centered around hope and the possibilities of the future, the exhibition also hearkened back to textile heritage and was, in part, an homage to Lenore Tawney. The pioneering fiber artist’s delicate “Cloud Labyrinth” was suspended in that same gallery during a 2019 retrospective. While Zapata for many years focused on the ground and its humble nature, she expanded her work in this exhibition to the ceiling, again enforcing the polarity of the space while positioning her textiles in the middle. “I’m always thinking about how to occupy opposites and how to really be both and neither,” she tells Colossal. “I’m always trying to lean into this in-between space, not only physically but thinking about that in terms of time and accessing past, futurity, existing in the present, always this amorphous sense of time.”

This nebulous state figures prominently in Zapata’s practice, which filters longstanding cultural customs through her distinctly contemporary lens. She often refers to her works as ruins and draws on pre-colonial weaving practices in Peru, her father’s native country and a region with a robust legacy of women working collectively with fibers. Whereas textiles today tend to be infused with plastic and are part of a massively wasteful fast-fashion ecosystem, they’re historically linked to longevity and respect for the material itself.

“Textiles are very indicative of time and of course commerce, but I think they’re just such a beautiful indicator of one’s existence,” Zapata says, noting that she frequently returns to the rituals of the Paracas peninsula. The Andean peoples are known for their elaborate embroideries and use of cloth to celebrate life milestones. Much of the artist’s work references these ancient practices, along with Biblical narratives, queer history, and of course, the technical aspects of such an ancient craft.

 

“Existing with the moon under our feet” (2022), installation at Deli Gallery, New York, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and Deli Gallery

Currently, Zapata works on three looms in her Red Hook studio, one of which she recently acquired from her alma mater, the University of North Texas, Denton, after the institution shuttered its fiber program. Weaving in the last few years has become a “way to reset, a way to enter into this new paradigm of the world really,” and what’s emerged is an exploration into variety and potential. Some of her recent pieces, which were on view last year at Deli Gallery in New York, include tall plinths cloaked in patches of shag, tightly intertwined stripes, and conical pockets that stick out from the sides. Rich in color, pattern, and texture, the works continue the artist’s interest in contrast and juxtaposition.

Zapata will have a new installation on view this August at The Kemper Museum of Contemporary Art in Kansas City, Missouri, which alludes to the revolutionary lesbian community Womontown that emerged in the city in the 1980s. She’ll also open a solo show in September at Galleria Poggiali in Milan. Find more of her work on her site and Instagram.

 

“A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

Detail of “A resilience of things not seen” (2022), installation at John Michael Kohler Arts Center, Sheboygan, Wisconsin. Image courtesy of the artist and JMKAC

“How often they move between the planets II” (2022), installation at Unit Gallery, London. Photo by Marcus Peel

“Existing with the moon under our feet” (2022), installation at Deli Gallery, New York, New York. Image courtesy of the artist and Deli Gallery

Zapata in her studio (2022). Photo by Ignacio Torres

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78 Miles of Multicolored Twine Flows Through Downtown Columbus in Janet Echelman’s ‘Current’

“Current.” All photos by Infinite Impact, © Janet Echelman, shared with permission

Extending nearly 230 feet from end to end, the billowing panels of Janet Echelman’s newest installation capture the sun as it wafts above an intersection in downtown Columbus, Ohio. The first of the sculptor’s works (previously) to be installed over a street, “Current” is composed of 78 miles of blue and red twine tied into more than half a million knots. Alluding to currents of electricity—central to the city’s industrial heritage along the Scioto River—and the currents of the river itself, the artwork visualizes the flow of energy and nods to the area’s iconic illuminated arches, which were among the first to adopt gas lighting in the early 19th century.

Using the surrounding buildings as both literal and figurative anchors, Echelman expresses her fascination with how Columbus has evolved over time. The red fiber references the bricks of early buildings, and the blue suggests the color of water. In a statement about the project, the artist shares that she hopes the work “captures that idea of interconnectedness and creates a space where people feel a sense of community and sanctuary.” The municipal setting for the work is also significant, tying together privately-owned spaces with public thoroughfares. “I love that this artwork literally laces into the fabric of the city over the public street because it’s a place that everyone feels entitled to be present,” she says.

If you’re in Columbus, join the community celebration of the artwork at the intersection of Gay and High streets on June 9. You can also explore an archive of the artist’s work on her website.

 

 

 

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Mystical Forests Meet Cavernous Classical Interiors in Eva Jospin’s Cardboard Sculptures

“Galleria” (2022), cardboard, wood, brass, embroidery, and drawings, 128 x 96 1/2 x 230 1/4 inches. All images © Eva Jospin, courtesy of the artist and Mariane Ibrahim. Photographs by Alum Gálvez

In the hands of Eva Jospin, humble cardboard transforms into atmospheric forests, architectural wonders, and mysterious monuments. For more than a decade, the Paris-based artist has explored the possibilities of the corrugated material, layering it to create solid pieces that can be carved to reveal detailed landscapes and interiors. In her solo exhibition Folies at Mariane Ibhrahim, an immersive, site-specific installation challenges notions of scale, while a range of drawings and three-dimensional pieces expand on the possibilities of paper with the addition of bronze and silk tapestries.

At nearly 20 feet long, “Galleria” creates a portal or a gateway with an ornate, coffered ceiling, lined with niches—or perhaps windows—that reveal wooded scenes, woven textiles, and small drawings. The entrance, flanked by trees and textures redolent of rough marble, invites viewers in through a mystical archway. And in “Grotte,” a roughly hewn architectural niche or apse punctuated by trinkets like seashells and string suggests a grotto, a cavern that is often associated with religious devotion and a place to collect sacred items.

 

“Grotte” (2023), cardboard, brass, and shells, 27 1/2 x 27 1/2 x 19 3/4 inches

Jospin invokes the classical style often associated with historical significance and influence, from ancient ruins to cultural institutions to cathedrals, questioning notions of power and importance. The title, French for “follies,” references the 18th-century European tradition of building extravagant structures purely for decoration, often inspired by crumbling Roman temples or Medieval castles. (Marie Antoinette famously commissioned an entire rural village in the Trianon gardens of Versailles.)

Jospin explores the intersections of nature and the handmade through meticulously carved tree limbs, stone outcrops, and refined surfaces. By using industrial, everyday materials like cardboard, which is often employed temporarily and then discarded, she examines relationships between the quotidian and the sacred, fragility and resilience, and ephemerality and permanence.

Folies continues through September 9 in Mexico City. Find more on Mariane Ibhrahim’s website.

 

Detail of “Grotte”

“2 Forêts” (2023), cardboard and wood, 37 x 109 1/2 x 11 3/4 inches

“Forêt Noir” (2019), bronze, 30 3/4 x 27 1/8 x 5 7/8 inches

Left: Detail of “2 Forêts.” Right: Detail of “Forêt Noir”

Interior of “Galleria”

Detail of “Galleria”

Left: Ceiling detail of “Galleria.” Right: Texture detail of “Galleria”

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It Takes Two to Tango: Florentijn Hofman’s ‘Double Ducks’ Set Sail in Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour

“Double Ducks.” All images © Studio Florentijn Hofman and AllRightsReserved, shared with permission. Photos by ARR

Vying to be the world’s largest bathtub toy is a game that two can play. Ten years after his enormous rubber duck sailed through Hong Kong’s Victoria Harbour, Dutch artist Florentijn Hofman marks the occasion with Double Ducks. The identical inflatable artworks sit side-by-side in the waterway, designed to be hitched to tugboats and escorted in all of their sunny splendor, foregrounding the famous panoramic views of the city’s skyline.

Known for his playful, monumental installations, Hofman approached the project as a celebration of friendship and joy. The pair represent unity and togetherness, drawing on the symbolism of the symmetrical Chinese characters “囍” (happiness) and “朋” (friends). “Due to COVID we learned that spending time together is so valuable,” Hofman says in a statement. “Making moments and memories for real, living in the here and now, are things to cling on to… ‘Double Ducks’ is not about looking into the past but enjoying the moment together!”

Hofman collaborated with with creative brand AllRightsReserved to facilitate the floating sculptures in addition to dozens of installations and interactive activities throughout the city. Admiralty MTR station in the central business district sports a giant yellow face peering from its half-moon shaped window—the largest of 18 train station installations—and 24 images of the playful pair accompany iconic locations, like the Clock Tower on the shore of Tsim Sha Tsui, Kowloon, The Hong Kong Space Museum, and the historic Lan Kwai Fong neighborhood. The more, the merrier!

The floating sculptures are stationed near Tamar Park and the Central and Western District Promenade, and will embark for the first time on June 10, sailing for approximately two weeks. Find more on the Double Ducks website, and follow Hofman’s Instagram for updates.

 

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A Grove of Petal-Like Sculptures by Snøhetta Shade the New Grounds of Blanton Art Museum

All images © Snøhetta and Blanton Museum of Art, shared with permission. Photo by Sloan Breeden Photography

The home of Ellsworth Kelly’s iconic modernist chapel titled “Austin,” the Blanton Museum of Art has expanded its outdoor art environment with a sculptural installation by Snøhetta. The architecture and design firm (previously) began the project in 2018 with the ambitious task of reinterpreting an area of 200,000 square feet, containing two large buildings that are part of The University of Texas at Austin’s campus. Its downtown location provided an incredible opportunity to revitalize the space for public gatherings, civic events, and art installations, linking the university campus and city center and creating an architectural dialogue between interior and exterior.

A copse of Snøhetta’s “Petals” rise from the Blanton’s Moody Patio, which forms a gateway connecting Congress Avenue to the pedestrian spine of the university campus. The sculptures create an elegant arch, providing shade and dappling the pavement and surrounding buildings with specks of light that filter through perforated patterns. On not-so-sunny days, rain that falls into the petals is funneled into an underground collection system. The firm sought a design that “unifies the museum campus with the city’s prominent avenue through a choreography of planting, geometry, and art.”

The museum hosts an outdoor party in the courtyard patio every second Saturday of the month. Find more on Snøhetta’s website.

 

Photo by Tim Ogunlowo

Photo by Sloan Breeden Photography

 

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June 2023 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

“Whirling Colour” by Jon Foreman

Every month, Colossal shares a selection of opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. If you’d like to list an opportunity here, please get in touch at hello@colossal.art. You can also join our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.

 

ArtPrize Call for ArtistsFeatured
ArtPrize is an open art competition that takes place for 18 days from September 14 to October 1 in Grand Rapids, Michigan, and any artist working in any medium from anywhere in the world can participate. The competition will give out a total of $600,000 in awards and grants this year, including a $125,000 grand prize to one artist. Artist Grant applications are now open through June 16 at artprize.org.
Deadline: June 16, 2023.

$1,800 Innovate Grants for Art + PhotoFeatured
Innovate Grant awards two $1,800 grants each quarter to one visual artist and one photographer. In addition, six applicants will receive honorable mentions, be featured on the website, and join a growing community. International artists and photographers working in any medium are eligible.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on June 22, 2023.

 

Open Calls

Touchstone Gallery People and The Planet Open Call (International)
Visual artists working in any medium are invited to think about how humans interact with the earth and all of its inhabitants. Artists are encouraged to submit pieces that explore environmental and social issues, the climate crisis, natural materials and resources, Indigenous perspectives, changing landscapes, and connections to the land. Works must be original and completed within the past five years. There is a $35 application fee.
Deadline: June 4, 2023.

The Booooooom Art & Photo Book Award (International)
In partnership with Artmobile, Booooooom is open to submissions for its Art & Photo Book Award, which will grant six artists the opportunity to publish a collection of work free of charge. Submissions should be finished projects as opposed to works-in-progress, and the award covers all production costs.
Deadline: 11:59 PST on June 5, 2023.

Passepartout Photo Prize (International)
The Passepartout Photo Prize aims to support the development of talented photographers from all over the world by offering cash prizes and the opportunity to exhibit in a gallery in Rome. Photos of any kind of artistic style, size, and technique (digital, film, and experimental processes) are accepted. One winner will receive 500 Euros, and there is a 25 Euro entry fee.
Deadline: June 6, 2023.

Prospect Art Open Call for Curators (Los Angeles)
Prospect Art is currently searching for a Los Angeles-based curator to contribute to its BROADCAST programming, which showcases media-based artists throughout the year. Curators at any stage of their careers are eligible, and the selected applicant will receive a $1,200 honorarium and compensation for writing a curatorial essay.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PT on June 10, 2023.

Vilcek Prizes for Creative Promise (U.S.)
The Vilcek Prizes support emerging to mid-career immigrant designers who have demonstrated exceptional achievements early in their careers. Three winners working in digital design, graphic design, product design, or social design will receive $50,000.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on June 12, 2023.

Vilnius Academy of Arts, SODAS 2123, and the Lithuanian Interdisciplinary Artists’ Association Symposium (International)
This symposium is looking for contributors for the artistic and research-based gathering “Walking is Still Honest: About Being and Moving Together.” The call is open to artists, urban planners, art historians, cultural historians, philosophers, historians, sociologists, neuroscientists and other researchers who are interested in the act of walking, its various forms and cultural meanings, and the history, present and future of walking.
Deadline: June 15, 2023.

SaveArtSpace This Place Meant Open Call (International)
Curated by Sadaf Padder, This Place Meant is an open call for third-culture artists and descendants of mass displacement. Artists of all ages are eligible, and chosen projects will be displayed on a billboard in New York City. There is a $10 application fee.
Deadline: June 19, 2023.

CUE Open Call for Solo Exhibitions and Curatorial Projects (U.S.)
CUE’s annual open call provides emerging and underrepresented artists and curators the opportunity and necessary resources to realize an exhibition at CUE’s storefront gallery space on West 25th Street in Manhattan. Artists receive a $5,000 honorarium and curators $2,500, and there is a $10 application fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on June 30, 2023.

Getty Images Creative Accelerator (International)
This program will choose 50 emerging photographers to participate in a one-year curriculum to learn all facets of creative and commercial content. Chosen artists receive $500.
Deadline: Midnight on June 30, 2023. 

Mophradat Orbitals Open Call (International)
This open call will take four curators and arts researchers to Dakar, Senegal. During the one-week guided research trip, the participants will meet and share experiences with peers from the art scenes they are visiting. Mophradat will provide flights, travel insurance, accommodation and per diems, and reimburse visa costs. Applicants must be from or living in the Arab world.
Deadline: July 10, 2023.

In Translation at Glen Arbor Arts Center (International)
Applications are being accepted for In Translation, the Glen Arbor Arts Center’s juried exhibition that runs from August 18 to October 26. In Translation explores this question: What is the role of the artist, the visual maker, in the 21st century? Visionary? Commentator? Taker of dictation? Aesthete? Four artists will receive awards ranging from $150 to $500. There is a $35 application fee.
Deadline: July 13, 2023.

USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative Industry Art Valley Program Open Call (International)
This open call will accept five international artists and scholars who use comprehensive media materials. From November 1 to December 15, selected artists will hold exhibitions with Shanghai organizations and receive RMB 10,000. Applicants can be at all career stages and working in drawing, painting, sculpture, photography, film, video, new media, installation, interdisciplinary, and architecture.
Deadline: July 14, 2023.

Art For Change Prize 2023 (International)
From M&C Saatchi Group and Saatchi Gallery, this year’s prize asks emerging artists to creatively respond to the theme of Regeneration. £20,000 will be split between six winners, who will exhibit their work at Saatchi Gallery in London.
Deadline: July 17, 2023.

Boynes Artist Award (International)
The 9th edition of the Boynes Artist Award will accept artists of all career stages. Winning artists have access to a $3,500 cash prize pool, $250 in art supplies, the creation of a professional artist website, publication, newsletter features, and long-term support and guidance. There is a $25 to $35 submission fee.
Deadline: July 30, 2023.

 

Grants

NYSCA/NYFA Artists with Disabilities Grant (New York)
The program will distribute $1,000 to visual, media, music, performing, literary, and multidisciplinary artists living in New York State with a disability who have experienced financial hardship due to COVID-19.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on June 6, 2023.

Forman Arts Initiative and Philadelphia Foundation: Art Works (Philadelphia)
Art Works accepts applications from local cultural nonprofit or fiscally sponsored organizations with annual operating budgets between $250,000 and $5 million as well as individual artists with a commitment to incorporating community perspectives into their work. Individual artists will each receive $50,00 over two years. Organization awards will range from $75,000 to $150,000 over two years and can be used to support any aspect of an organization’s mission.
Deadline: June 16, 2023.

Laura Patricia Calle Grant (U.S.)
This $20,000 grant awards an artist or collective the opportunity to paint a mural in the Metro Atlanta region. The work should inform and promote awareness of social equality, feminism, immigrants’ rights, LGBTQIA+ rights, and cultural diversity.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2023.

RedLine Contemporary Art Center INSITE Fund (Denver Metro and Front Range)
The INSITE Fund awards grants of up to $10,000 to public-facing visual arts projects in Colorado that take place outside the studio, museum, art center, or traditional gallery setting.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on June 30, 2023.

CIRC Artist Grant (International)
The Circ Artist Grant provides two unrestricted $1,000 awards per grant cycle. Emerging, mid-career, and professional artists are eligible.
Deadline: June 30, 2023.

Prospect Art Open Call for Visual Artists (International)
Visual artists are eligible for the NEW WORK program, which offers a $1,000 project grant. There is a $10 application fee.
Deadline: July 3, 2023.

Illuminations Grant for Black Trans Women Visual Artists (U.S.)
Now in its fourth year, this annual $10,000 grant draws attention to early-career Black trans women visual artists, highlighting an existing body of work and providing critical support for their practice. The winning artist will complete a studio visit with our rotating panel of judges, and four distinguished finalists will receive $1,250 awards.
Deadline: July 12, 2023.

Adobe Creative Residency Community Fund (Ukraine or refugee)
Adobe’s Creative Residency Community Fund commissions visual artists to create company projects on a rolling basis. Awardees will receive between $500 and $5,000.
Deadline: Rolling.

 

Residencies, Fellowships, & More

ON::View Artist Residency Program, Fall 2023
Applications are now open for the On::View Artist Residency Program in Savannah, Georgia. The residency supports artists from across the globe, working in all media, for periods of one to three months. Selected artists gain access to a high-visibility studio space to complete a new project, continue an in-progress endeavor, or to conduct research exploring conceptual, material, performative, and social practices.
Deadline: June 1, 2023.

Headlands Center for the Arts Residencies (International)
The Headlands Center for the Arts is offering two residencies: The Chamberlain Award offers $10,000 to an artist working in social practice. The Chiaro Award offers $15,000 prize to a mid-career painter living in the United States and includes a private studio.
Deadline: June 5, 2023.

WORTHLESSSTUDIOS Artist in Residence (International)
Running from September to December, this residency is production-focused, supporting underserved sculptors and installation artists at pivotal moments in their careers. Five to six artists will receive $3,000 material stipends, $1,500 artist stipends, and shared studio space in Brooklyn.
Deadline: June 7, 2023.

New York Foundation for the Arts JGS Fellowship for Photography (New York)
This fellowship awards $7,000 to five New York State photography artists living and working outside New York City.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on June 14, 2023.

Museum of Contemporary Art Georgia Working Artist Project (Atlanta)
This year-long fellowship offers three artists a solo exhibition, promotion, a studio apprentice, a full-color catalog, and a $15,000 stipend to create work over the course of the year. Applicants must both currently live in, and have studio space in the following counties: Cherokee, Clayton, Cobb, DeKalb, Douglas, Fayette, Forsyth, Fulton, Gwinnett, Henry, and Rockdale, and remain an Atlanta-based artist for the length of the grant period.
Deadline: June 14, 2023.

The Prairie Ronde Artist Residency (International)
Hosted by The Mill at Vicksburg, this residency offers artists from a range of disciplines a 5 to 7-week stay with the goal of engaging with The Mill and its surrounding 80 acres of property. Residents receive a $2,000 stipend, $500 travel grant, private housing, and an exhibition.
Deadline: June 15, 2023.

Stove Works Residency (International)
This residency invites eight artists to live and work for one to three months at a time in Chattanooga, Tennessee. Six of the studios are designed to accommodate artists who require significant space in their practice, while the remaining two accommodate non-object-based practices, i.e. writers, curators, and academics. There is a $20 to $30 application fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on June 15, 2023.

Springboard for the Arts Rural Regenerator Fellowship (Upper Midwest)
This fellowship is open to artists, makers, grassroots organizers, community development workers, public sector workers, and other rural change-makers. Fellows participate in two years of peer learning and receive an unrestricted $10,000 stipend. Applicants must live, work, or have a strong connection to a rural community in Minnesota, North Dakota, South Dakota, Wisconsin, Michigan, Iowa, Illinois, Kansas, Nebraska, and/or the Native Nations that share those geographies.
Deadline: June 20, 2023.

Niels Bohr Institute Arts & Science Residency (International)
The Strong team at the Niels Bohr Institute in Copenhagen is a research group working on gravity, black holes, and gravitational waves. They are inviting proposals for artist residencies of up to three months that engage the science of the Strong group and create works that explore the field of black holes, gravitational waves, and the notion of time. Travel and accommodations are provided.
Deadline: July 1, 2023.

The Studios at MASS MoCA Residency (International)
Fully funded fellowships at MASS MoCA are available for two or four-week residencies. Selected artists receive private studio space, housing, access to workshops, and member benefits.
Deadline: July 8, 2023.

ICCI Art Valley Program (International)
The USC-SJTU Institute of Cultural and Creative of Shanghai Jiao Tong University is recruiting five international artists and scholars to participate in the ICCI ART VALLEY PROGRAM from November 1 to December 15. Visiting artists will hold exhibitions, lectures, workshops, and/or other public programs and will receive accommodations, airfare, and a stipend of at least 10,000 RMB.
Deadline: July 15, 2023.

Loghaven Artist Residency (International)
Loghaven invites artists working in architecture, dance, music composition, theater, visual arts, writing, and interdisciplinary practices to apply for residencies occurring in 2024 and 2025. Both emerging and established artists are eligible, and residents receive a living stipend of $850 per week in addition to travel and freight reimbursement. There is a $20 application fee.
Deadline: July 15, 2023.

The Farm Margaret River (International)
Open to all disciplines and individuals and collectives, this residency focuses on site-specific projects created during eight weeks at The Farm Margaret River in Australia. Chosen applicant(s) will receive lodging, studio space, and a $7,500 grant.
Deadline: August 1, 2023.

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Looping Tendrils and Supple Petals Overflow From Lina Kusaite’s Ethereal Botanical Illustrations

“Lotus Land 1.” All images © Lina Kusaite, shared with permission

“I love spending hours in the art shop, feeling the surfaces of different paper and making connections with all information that I carry with me about the project,” says Lina Kusaite, whose meticulous botanical illustrations range from book pages to expansive wall murals. Mostly focusing on commissions for clients like publishers and hospitality venues, the Brussels-based artist has a knack for collaborating with other designers to determine the scale and scope of an installation or a series of drawings. “I always choose projects that speak to me (and) in one or other way resonate with my point of view, philosophy, and it challenges me,” she says.

Kusaite begins by hand-drawing on paper, focusing on the lines and textures of different materials like graphite and ink. “I choose paper and pencil or watercolors—or both—based on the research and information gathered in the beginning of the process,” she says. “I start testing different combination, colors, lines. After having enough tests on paper, I scan everything and transfer it into Photoshop, where I start playing with digital tools.” Sometimes, one initial drawing can produce hundreds of versions resulting from experiments with color and style, which often spawn new ideas and techniques for future projects.

 

“Coffee Plant”

Flora features heavily in Kusaite’s practice, forming a basis for commissions that can vary greatly. “Coffee Plant,” for example, straightforwardly depicts the life cycle of the coffee cherry, while the “Lotus Land” pieces, which accompany piano music inspired by the Hans Christian Andersen fairytale “The Marsh King’s Daughter,” required a bit more research. “I spend hours online and in the books, researching different materials that helps me to first learn about the subject, (whether) it be about just plant illustration or storytelling or both,” she says.

From handmade drawing to digital edits, Kusaite’s illustrations are often translated into other handcrafted materials like ceramic tiles or textiles, and she enjoys seeing the work return to an analog presentation. Recently, she designed an extensive wall mural for the Xitan Hotel in Beijing. She says, “Most of my botanical drawings for the Xitan Hotel project started as hand-drawn, then it went through a digital process, and came out as a fully handmade, 21-meter-long lobby wall embodied into vitreous enamel, or also called porcelain enamel technique. Some works are embroidered by hand.”

Kusaite is currently preparing a large project for the Georgia World Congress Center and adjacent Signia by Hilton hotel in downtown Atlanta. She is also working on designs for the Tazama African Tarot deck and a children’s book scheduled for publication in 2025. Find more on Behance.

 

Detail of “Coffee Plant”

“Artemisia absinthium”

“Rosmarin”

“Lotus Land 2”

“Lavas Plant”

“Lotus”

“Artemesija Plant”

Wall design for Xitan Hotel

Xitan Hotel lobby installation

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