Tuesday, September 5, 2023

Hyperrealistic Portraits Burst Into Botanical Shards in Vibrant Murals by Ratur

A mural of a young woman with leaves bursting from her head and shoulders.

“Symbiose” (2021), Cransac, France. All images © Arthur Maslard, shared with permission

As if made of porcelain or glass, the monumental, serene faces of Arthur Maslard’s subjects fragment into sharply contrasted leaves. The French artist, also known as Ratur, draws on a background in graphic design and intimacy with nature to blend realistic features with fantastical, botanical explosions and abstract fields of color. “Every wall is challenging and different!” he says. “There is always a part of improvisation and adaptation. I would say that the most constraining factor is time.”

Maslard counts Hungarian painter István Sándorfi among his influences, honing the detailed interaction of light with flesh and folds of fabric. He often works alongside his brother Oscar, known as SCKARO, to realize hyperrealistic imagery portraying what Ratur describes as “humans faced with a nature in ruin, mythical figures, and symbols of perpetual rebirth.”

Ratur’s next project takes him to Sand City, California, for the West End Mural Festival in October. Explore more work on his website, and follow updates on Instagram.

 

A mural of a young woman with leaves bursting from her head and shoulders.

Untitled (2023), Annemasse, France

A mural of a young woman with leaves bursting from her head and shoulders.

“Renaissance” (2020), Rouen Impressionnée Festival, Rouen, France

A mural on a stack of shipping containers portraying a man in yellow sunglasses, with leaves bursting from his head and shoulders.

“Summer Vibe” (2023), North West Walls Festival, Belgium

A mural featuring oranges, leaves, and abstract shapes.

“Innate Connection” (2021), Vancouver, B.C., Canada

A mural featuring oranges and leaves.

“Sweet Life” (2023), Great Falls, Montana, U.S.A.

A mural of a young woman with leaves bursting from her head.

“Daphné” (2020), Dijon, France

An indoor mural of abstract shapes and colorful flowers and leaves.

“Above It All” (2022), Vancouver, B.C., Canada

A mural of two hands with fingers interlaced, with leaves bursting from them.

“Together” (2021), Paris, France

A mural on a side of a building at the end of a row of buildings in France, featuring oranges with blue leaves.

“L’Oranger” (2021), Saint Brieuc, France

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The Other Art Fair Returns to Los Angeles for Its 10th Edition

Four people hold up art at a fair

The Other Art Fair, presented by Saatchi Art, has been nurturing its artist-led event for 70 global editions, serving visitors with surreal experiences and accessible art. The upcoming Los Angeles fair at the Barker Hangar from September 21 to 24 marks ten editions in the city, so celebrations are mandatory. Tickets are available now.

The Other Art Fair’s adoration of L.A. is rooted in the people. The passion locals have to discover art in new ways is unmatched, and this edition hopes to prove no exception. Here are ten reasons why you need a ticket…

10. You can have your photograph taken by a Grey’s Anatomy actor-turned-artist. It’s time to unleash your inner animal as the fair welcomes photographer Charles Michael Davis as its Guest Artist. Each solo photo session will result in one unmasked and one animal-masked action shot—directed and shot by Charles himself.

9. Get a personalized haiku written just for you based on any word or phrase you offer the in-house poet. It’s written art, curated by you!

8. Discover the wonder of light and color in a cosmic light bath installation—a truly “you had to be there” experience.

7. Let fate decide in a mystical fortune-telling experience doused in neon for good measure (and for posting, of course).

6. Peruse art after your drinks are poured. The bar inside the fair offers a selection of alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks to enjoy while you browse. 

5. Become the artist by making your very own risograph print at the Print Shop LA workshop space.

4. Kick off the weekend with the feel-good vibes of dublab’s vinyl-only DJs.

3. Become the artist again. Delight in the joys of analog with a Polaroid embroidery workshop. 

2. Embrace the rebel spirit with a new exhibition, Acts of Liberation, guest curated by Taylor Bythwood-Porter.

1. Now to the core of what makes The Other Art Fair, well, other. Unlike the usual gallery-led fairs, this event allows you to meet 140 up-and-coming artists. Artists who work with paint, clay, and even pillows (yes, that’s right) will be selling original work from $100. Your home is about to get a lot more interesting.

To learn more and get tickets, visit theotherartfair.com.

 

people browse an art fair

people talk at an art fair

people talk at an art fair

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Friday, September 1, 2023

A Forthcoming Book Flies Through Hundreds of Elizabeth Gould’s Groundbreaking Avian Illustrations

A vulture with purple, maroon, and speckled feathers and long pink feet

Vulturine Guineafowl, Acryllium vulturinum, Plate 8, Icones Avium (1837–38). All images courtesy of the Trustees of the Natural History Museum, London, shared with permission

As often happens with creative couples throughout history, Elizabeth Gould’s legacy tends to be overshadowed by her husband’s. Gould (1804-1840) was an ambitious and knowledgeable artist, who, throughout her short lifetime, illustrated more than 600 avian species that ushered in significant advances in natural history. Many of the birds had previously gone undocumented, and paired with her husband John’s studies, the lithographs conveyed the true diversity within ornithology.

Now partially compiled in a celebratory tome of her life and work, 220 of Gould’s illustrations have migrated from the collections of London’s Natural History Museum to the page. Birds of the World: The Art of Elizabeth Gould spans 248 pages with full-color reproductions depicting myriad species, from a speckled vulturine guineafowl and chromatic crimson rosella to a slender-beaked glossy ibis. Written by the museum’s special collections manager Andrea Hart and zoology librarian Ann Datta, the volume contains several previously unpublished works and is organized across five continents.

Birds of the World, which is published by Prestel, is scheduled for release this fall. Pre-order your copy on Bookshop.

 

a pink and green feathered birth with a long, slender beak

Glossy Ibis, Plegadis falcinellus, Plate 301, The Birds of Europe (1832–37)

Two images, both of a pair of vibrantly colored birds perched on branches

Left: Crimson Rosella, Platycercus elegans, Vol. 5, Plate 22, The Birds of Australia (1840–48). Right: Narina Trogon, Apaloderma narina, Plate 26, A Monograph of the Trogonidæ, or Family of Trogons (1835–38)

A pink cockatoo with red, orange, and yellow crest feathers

Sulphur-crested Cockatoo, Cacatua galerita, A Synopsis of the Birds of Australia, and the Adjacent Islands (1837–38)

Two birds with flared crests and green and blue iridescent feathers

Northern Lapwing, Vanellus vanellus, Plate 291, The Birds of Europe (1832–37)

Four images, from top left, a long-tailed blue bird with poofy crest, a brown and black bird, both plump, perch on a branch, two black and yellow birds rest on leafy twigs, and a brown owl with intense eyes stares to the left

Top left: Black-throated Magpie-Jay, Calocitta colliei, 1829, [No. 52], J & E Gould Drawings album, Natural
History Museum, London.  Bottom left: Eastern Shrike-tit, Falcunculus frontatus, Vol. 2, Plate 79, The Birds of Australia (1840–48). Top right: Blackbird, Turdus merula, Plate 72, The Birds of Europe (1832–37). Bottom right: Long-eared Owl, Asio otus, Plate 39, The Birds of Europe, (1832–37)

the Birds of the World book cover with two vibrant birds on the front

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

Tiny rain-like droplets are suspended from a forest

“Reservoir” by John Grade

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.

$1,800 Innovate Grants for Art + Photo—Summer 2023 Open CallFeatured
For its Summer 2023 cycle, Innovate Grant will offer two awards of $1,800 each to one visual artist and one photographer. Six honorable mentions are also featured on the Innovate Grant site. Applications are open to anyone 18 and older from anywhere in the world.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on September 14, 2023.

 

Open Calls

SaveArtSpace and Art at a Time Like This (ATLT) Open Call (Houston)
8X5, a public art campaign named for the size of an average prison cell, will commission ten artists to display their works on billboards, kiosks, and digital trucks at important sites throughout Houston. Artists at all stages of their careers are encouraged to apply.
Deadline: September 1, 2023.

L+A+N+D: An Experience of Discovery—Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest (International)
Located just outside of Louisville, Kentucky, Bernheim Arboretum and Research Forest’s new initiative L+A+N+D (Landscape + Art + Nature + Design) invites proposals for immersive outdoor installations. The organization will provide creative outdoor experiences with topics addressing humans’ connection to nature, beauty in the landscape, biodiversity, conservation, sustainability, and climate change, along with a stipend and a construction budget for fabrication and installation expenses.
Deadline: September 4, 2023.

All About Photo Call for Entries: Shapes (International)
Photographers working under the theme of “shapes” are eligible for this open call. Winners will receive $1,000, and their winning image(s) or full portfolio will be published in AAP Magazine Vol.34.
Deadline: September 5, 2023.

Print Center New York Open Call: New Voices 2024 (U.S.)
Six to eight artists will present their work and develop their practices through a group exhibition, artist-led public programming, focused conversation, and community-building. Each receives $2,500, a shipping and framing stipend, travel, and lodging.
Deadline: September 8, 2023.

Call For Pitches: Midwest Makers Video Series (Midwest)
Nine videographers will receive $3,000 each to create a short documentary video showcasing a Midwest Maker, a.k.a. visual artists, chefs, community organizers, folk and traditional arts practitioners, musicians, oral historians, farmers, and next-door neighbors.
Deadline: September 24, 2023.

Prospect Art Open Call (Los Angeles)
Selected artists will participate in Prospect Art’s NEW WORK series and receive a $1,500 project grant.
Deadline: September 24, 2023.

The Elizabeth Foundation for the Arts Open Calls (International)
EFA has two open calls around the theme of “folklore”: The exhibition open call offers a $12,000 curatorial budget for a six-week exhibition at the space. The projects open call is based on bi-weekly group gatherings for three months. Projects can include thematic conversations, poetry readings, music, movement and dance exercises, activism, and various workshops.
Deadline: September 29, 2023.

BigCi Environmental Awards 2023 (International)
Two winners will receive $4,000 and a four-week BigCi residency. Artists working in visual art, installation, multimedia, performance, literature, music, photography, filmmaking, curating, are welcome to apply. There is a $35 entry fee.
Deadline: October 2, 2023.

The Bennett Prize (U.S.)
Women working in figurative realism are eligible for this prize, which provides $50,000 over two years to one artist. Ten finalists will be selected to participate in a traveling exhibition organized by the Muskegon Museum of Art (MMA) and the winner will be showcased in a solo exhibition at the close of her grant. $10,000 will be given to one finalist. There is a $40 entry fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MT on October 7, 2023.

Passepartout Photo Prize (International)
Open to photographers at any stage of their careers, the Passepartout Photo Prize is accepting submissions for its seventh edition. Winners receive exhibition and publication opportunities, with one 500 Euro award. There is a 25 Euro entry fee.
Deadline: October 10, 2023.

Loewe Foundation Craft Prize (International)
The prestigious Loewe prize is accepting entries from artists and craftspeople. One 50,000 Euro award will be given to the top artist, with other winning works exhibited in Paris in spring 2024.
Deadline: October 25, 2023.

Sony Future Filmmaker Awards (International)
The Sony Future Filmmaker Awards elevates voices that bring a fresh perspective to storytelling. The shortlisted filmmakers are flown to Los Angeles for an exclusive four-day event to gain unparalleled insight into all aspects of the filmmaking process to advance their careers.
Deadline: February 15, 2024.

 

Grants

2024 Joyce Awards (Great Lakes region)
The final 2024 funding cycle for the Joyce Awards is now open to cultural workers and organizations working toward racial equity and economic mobility.
Deadline: September 11, 2023.

LMCC Manhattan Arts Grants (Manhattan)
LMCC currently has applications open for three programs that award up to $16,000 for arts projects in all disciplines, serving communities in Manhattan.
Deadline: September 12, 2023.

Foundwork Artist Prize (International)
The Foundwork Artist Prize is an annual juried grant that recognizes outstanding practices by emerging and mid-career artists working in any media. The 2023 honoree will receive an unrestricted $10,000 grant.
Deadline: September 26, 2023.

Monument Lab Re:Generation Initiative (U.S.)
Monument Lab’s Re:Generation supports teams of two or more individuals working together to create a new or expand an existing public-facing project. Each selected Re:Generation team will receive a total of $100,000 in unrestricted funding toward their commemorative campaign or project.
Deadline: October 2, 2023.

The Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant  (International)
The Adolph and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant program provides one-time interim financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs are the result of an unforeseen catastrophic incident and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Awardees typically receive $5,000, up to $15,000.
Deadline: Rolling.

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.

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (International)
The foundation welcomes applications from actively exhibiting visual artists who are painters, sculptors, and artists who work on paper, including printmakers. Grants are intended for a one-year period. The foundation will review expenditures relating to an artist’s professional work and personal expenses, and amounts range up to $50,000. The size of the grant is determined by the individual circumstances of the artist, and professional exhibition history is taken into consideration.
Deadline: Rolling.

 

Residencies, Fellowships, & More

Kimmel Harding Nelson Center for the Arts Artist Residency (International)
Open to visual artists, composers, and writers, this program offers two to eight-week residencies with private studio space, housing, and a $175 per week stipend.
Deadline: September 1, 2023.

Breck Creek Artist-in-Residence Program (International)
Artists across disciplines are eligible to spend two to four months in a live/work studio. Residents receive a biweekly stipend of $600 and access to all classes.
Deadline: September 1, 2023.

Bloedel Reserve Creative Residency (International)
Open across disciplines, this residency offers access to a 140-acre nature reserve and lodging. Projects must be related to nature. One fellow will be supported by a $2,000 stipend, while others receive $1,000.
Deadline: September 1, 2023.

Lower East Side Printshop Keyhold Residency (U.S.)
This residency offers emerging artists 24-hour access to printmaking facilities for one year, a $1,000 stipend, storage space, basic supplies, and more.
Deadline: September 1, 2023.

MacDowell Residency (International)
About 300 artists in seven disciplines are awarded this residency each year, which offers a studio, accommodations, and three meals a day for up to six weeks.
Deadline: September 10, 2023.

Princeton Arts Fellowship (International)
Applicants should be early-career visual artists, poets, novelists, playwrights, directors, and performance artists who would find it beneficial to spend two years teaching. A $90,000 stipend is provided per year.
Deadline: September 12, 2023.

Monson Arts Winter Residencies 2024 (International)
Emerging and established artists and writers are eligible for this year’s residency cohort, which invites five artists and five writers to Maine’s North Woods each year. Residents receive a private studio, private bedroom in shared housing, all meals, and a $1,000 stipend for four-week programs or $500 for 2-week programs.
Deadline: September 15, 2023.

Dry Tortuga National Park Artist in Residence Program (International)
This one-month residency is open across disciplines and offers a $4,000 stipend and housing.
Deadline: September 29, 2023.

Pine Meadow Ranch Center for Arts & Agriculture Residency (International)
Open to disciplines that include metal, glass, wood, leather, ceramics, fibers, textiles, writing, painting, drawing, photography, film, and music, this residency is geared toward artists interested in land conservation and agriculture. Three residents will spend two to four weeks at the Sisters, Oregan-ranch, and studio space, private room, and shared bathroom, kitchen, dining, and laundry area are provided. This year’s theme is “transitions and migration.”
Deadline: September 30, 2023.

Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park May 2024 Artist in Residence Program (International)
Artists working across mediums are eligible for this program at Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park, which offers a $4,000 stipend, housing, and artist events.
Deadline: September 30, 2023.

True/ False Film Fest Artist Residency Program (International)
Aimed at emerging and mid-career artists, this five-week virtual residency will culminate in an in-person exhibition of large-scale installations, projections, and performance works at the 2024 True/False Film Festival. Projects should fall within the theme “The Human Paradox.”
Deadline: September 30, 2023.

Eyebeam Fellowship Open Call (International)
Artists interested in technology and decolonization, reframing history, language, and care are invited to apply for this six-month fellowship. Selected artists receive a $20,000 stipend.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 1, 2023.

Art Omi Residencies (International)
Architects, artists, and writers are eligible for this round of Art Omi’s residencies, which provide food, lodging, and studio space.
Deadline: October 15, 2023.

2024 RAIR Open Call (International)
Applications are open for two Recycled Artist in Residency (RAIR) programs: The Standard is a four- to six-week traditional residency, while The Biggie Shortie is project-based. Both grant access to Revolution Recovery’s waste stream and RAIR’s staff. There is a $25 application fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 22, 2023.

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Thursday, August 31, 2023

The ‘Lunar Codex’ Is Sending Works from More than 30,000 Artists to the Moon

A technicolor circle with metallic squares and "Asimov Foundation" in the center

Isaac Asimov’s ‘Foundation’ on a quarter-sized nanofiche disk. All images courtesy of Samuel Peralta, shared with permission

The global race for the moon is well underway, and as space programs around the world scramble to explore the lunar surface, another project vies for a tiny spot on the satellite. One of many endeavors by physicist and spec-fic author Samuel Peralta, the Lunar Codex is projected to send works by more than 30,000 artists, writers, filmmakers, and more to the moon later this year for safekeeping.

Split into four capsules with varying launch dates, the collection primarily consists of visual art, although books, podcasts, poetry, essays, music, and films are present, too. Artists from 158 countries and every continent contributed works, which are stored on either digital memory cards or a newer, analog technology known as NanoFiche. Similar to microfilm, this archival medium is lightweight because of its nickel base and can store 150,000 pages of information etched into a single 8.5 x 11-inch sheet. In a recent interview, Peralta likened the technological innovation to another apace archive: NASA”s “Golden Record,” which sent audio and images to the moon via the Voyager in 1977.

The first capsule of the Lunar Codex, the “Orion Collection,” already completed its trip with NASA’s Artemis I and returned on December 11, 2022. This fall, the remaining three will launch, with the “Nova Collection” slated to launch toward the Malapert A crater at the lunar south pole in October or November, the “Peregrine Collection” to the Sinus Viscositati plane in November or December, and finally, the “Polaris Collection” to the Nobile Crater and lunar south pole. These will remain on the moon.

 

A small gold disk rests on a gloved fingertip

Dime-sized nanofiche disks used in Lunar Codex’s Polaris time capsule

Given the archive is intended to offer a glimpse at life today, the Lunar Codex contains works that are distinctly 2023. There are prints by Ukrainian artist Olesya Dzhurayeva who was forced to flee Kyiv with her daughters after Russia began its war on the country, along with “New American Gothic” by Ayana Ross, who won the Bennett Prize for Women Figurative Painters in 2021. Ross’ inclusion, and those of other Bennett Prize finalists, is indicative of Peralta’s focus on sending work by a more diverse group of artists than earlier missions. “It’s fitting that, in parallel with Artemis—a program attempting to land the first woman on the Moon—the Lunar Codex is the first project to launch the works of women artists to the lunar surface,” he says in a statement, explaining further:

People have also pointed out other firsts, including being the first project to place contemporary film and music on the Moon. It is the first to include work from disabled artists; the work of artisans in wood, clay, bronze, stone, mosaics, cloth; inked tattoo work, digital art, spray-painted urban art; and to include poetry from a human-AI collaboration.

The aforementioned earlier missions date back to 1969 with Forrest Myers’ “The Moon Museum,” which inscribed drawings by Andy Warhol, Robert Rauschenberg, David Novros, John Chamberlain, and Claes Oldenburg onto a ceramic tile. Two years later, Paul van Hoeydonc created a small aluminum “Fallen Astronaut” sculpture that tagged along with Apollo 15. More recently, the nonprofit Arch Mission Foundation launched several “Lunar Libraries” containing everything from a copy of Wikipedia to Isaac Asimov’s sci-fi classic Foundation Trilogy, which, as shown above, is also aboard the Lunar Codex.

 

A portrait of a woman with curly red hair and bra straps dangling down her arms

Heather Brunetti, “Pearl” (2020). Image courtesy of 33 Contemporary Gallery

As reported by The Guardian earlier this month, no nation owns the moon, although an unratified United Nations treaty states that any use should be universally beneficial. The momentum of the lunar race has subsequently sparked conversations about space colonialism and the potential for destruction, although Peralta reminds those concerned that the technology is designed to store a lot of information in very small spaces.

Ultimately, the Lunar Codex is optimistic, with a hope that future generations—or whoever stumbles upon the archive—will find joy and insight in the collections. Peralta told The New York Times that he considers the project “a message in the bottle for the future that during this time of war, pandemic, and economic upheaval people still found time to create beauty.”

 

A round composite of black and white images in a circle shape

Microphotograph of nickel nanofiche with RGB channel images of works on Lunar Codex’s Nova time capsule

on the left, a nude body bent in a crouch with two round magnified spotlights. on the right, an impressionistic painting of a landscape

Left: Sthef Millan, “In Puribus: Desplazamiento” (2020). Image courtesy of the artist. Right: John Hyland, “As the Twig is Bent, so is the Tree” (2021). Image courtesy of 33 Contemporary Gallery

a painting of a nude woman holding a white bird surrounded by chaotic markings

Anna Jurinich, “The Delusion and Persistence of Peace” (2021). Image courtesy of the artist

A fragment work with a woman split into several pieces

Viktoria Savenkova, “Yesterday Today Tomorrow” (2019). Image courtesy of 33 Contemporary Gallery

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Picky Eaters and Critters in Knits Populate Strangford’s Playful Animal Prints

A print of a dog wearing a sweater, photographed on a cutting mat with a pencil.

“Knit Picker.” All images © Strangford, shared with permission

Animal hijinks and playful puns fill the colorful prints of County Down-based artist Jo, also known as Strangford. Whippets in knits, bagel-scarfing badgers, and roly-poly felines are just a few of the characters that emerge from lino-cuts and Risographs. “The main surface I’m carving into is flooring lino—it comes in bigger pieces than artist lino—and plywood, though I’m a beginner at wood carving,” she tells Colossal. “I work from home. I’ve basically taken over the whole house now.”

With a background in ecology, Strangford discovered printmaking when she joined local Extinction Rebellion groups, decentralized initiatives designed to persuade governments to act on the climate emergency. “I had previously done a bit of digital work but fell in love with the process of carving and printing,” she says. During the pandemic, her work took on a more humorous and light-hearted quality. “When the world got more serious, my work became more playful.”

A solo exhibition of Strangford’s work opens tomorrow at The Workshop Ballynahinch and continues for two months. A selection of prints are available in the shop on her website, and you can follow updates on Instagram.

 

A print of a turquoise badger eating a bagel.

“Hole Food Diet”

A print of two billy goats with their long tongues touching.

“Silly Billies”

A print of a sea gull swallowing a person whole.

“Some Gulls Are Bigger Than Others”

A print of a red cat with blue paws.

“I’m Just a Paw Boy From a Paw Family”

A print of a blue snake wearing an orange sweater.

“Semi-Snaked”

A print of a large blue pelican with an orange ship in its bill.

“Le Beak, C’est Chic”

A print of a long, blue otter.

“Long Otter”

A print of a frog laying on its side and smoking a pipe.

“Ribbit For Her Pleasure”

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In a Celebration of Biodiversity, Vibrant Marine Creatures Swim Across Casa Adams’ Porcelain Platters

Porcelain platters decorated with fish and coral.

All images © Casa Adams, shared with permission

Vivid patterns and the myriad shapes of marine denizens inspire an ongoing series of porcelain platters by Araceli Adams. Working under the studio name Casa Adams, the Sydney-based artist paints colorful crustaceans, mollusks, and fish, highlighting different features in a celebration of biological variety. “Each piece has the species name written on the back, with the hope that it might spark a conversation about our beautiful biodiversity over a meal,” she says, “The plates are made to be used every day.”

When enrolled in ceramics classes around ten years ago at Greenwich House Pottery in New York City, Adams fell in love with porcelain. “I had always loved drawing and painting, so being able to do so on a functional medium such as a plate just seemed perfect,” she says. Her interest in Australian sea life developed when she met her husband. “He grew up in Lake Macquarie, (on) Australia’s largest saltwater lake, and each time we visited his parents, we went fishing, crabbing, and really made the most of being so close to the water. My curiosity to learn more about our underwater species just continued to grow since then.”

In her classes, Adams teaches students to work with underglazes and about the species they paint. She recently partnered with Dr. Yi-Kai Tea, an ichthyologist and taxonomist, to learn about fish he named and then portray them on porcelain. “What I am trying to convey with my ceramics is to make pieces that reflect the sheer beauty of our marine biodiversity—in Australia and across the globe—so they elicit wonder, spark curiosity to learn more, and ultimately nudge towards supporting conservation efforts.”

Find more on Casa Adams’ website, where upcoming classes and available pieces are listed in the shop, and follow updates on Instagram.

 

Porcelain platters decorated with fish, crabs, and coral.

A porcelain platter decorated with a lobster.

Four porcelain platers decorated with fish, photographed on a patterned background.

A selection of porcelain plates and platters with sea creatures, photographed on a gingham table cloth.

Twelve porcelain plates decorated with crabs.  A selection of porcelain plates decorated with sea creatures, photographed with shells and coral collected around them.

A porcelain platter decorated with a lobster.

An array of porcelain platters decorated with sea creatures, displayed on a wall above a stove.

A selection of platters decorated with fish, organized on a table and photographed from above.

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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 ...