Unfolded Origami Works by Sipho Mabona Reflect on Inevitable Transformations

Photo by Heinz Dahinden. All images © Sipho Mabona, shared with permission

In Transcending the Garden, Sipho Mabona continues to push the boundaries of origami through large-scale folds inspired by beastly and geological shapes. On view now at Glacier Garden Lucerne, this body of work evokes both animal physiques and the rigid, monumental nature of glaciers portrayed through monochromatic geometries.

Mabona became known for his animal sculptures ranging from small schools of koi to a life-sized interpretation of an elephant. In recent years, he’s shifted to more abstract, hand-dyed works on cotton that, rather than focusing on a three-dimensional figure, highlight the creasing process itself. The pieces appear unfolded and allow the viewer to envision what the final form could be if the sheet were re-constructed.

This emphasis reaches new heights in Transcending the Garden, which comprises wall-based works and a pointed sculpture that rests on the gallery floor. Mabona tells Colossal that he opted for a larger scale “to provoke a more visceral response from the viewers… I always loved to get lost in large pieces of work and discover lots of minute details that only reveal themselves after thorough inspection.”

In the context of the glacial space, Mabona’s pieces point toward change, transformation, and regeneration: are the works remnants of animals past or current aerial depictions of mountainous landscapes?

The garden released a filmed visit to Mabona’s studio to coincide with the exhibition—the video is in German, so be sure to turn on English captions for translation. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

 

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

Image © Bernhard Lang

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.

 

BLINK Cincinnati Call for ArtistsFeatured
With the highly anticipated return of its massive public art spectacle, BLINK, Illuminated by ArtsWave, is calling for artists working in light-based experiential installation, murals, projection mapping, digital art, or animation to submit proposals for the October 17 to 20, 2024, event. BLINK plans to commission 12 to 15 new murals, 30 to 40 temporary lighted installations, and 30 to 35 projection/digital animation installations, and applications are open to artists from anywhere in the world.
Deadline: December 15, 2023.

 

Open Calls

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.

City of Milwaukee Vel R. Phillips Plaza Commission (International)
In recognition of one of the leading Black woman jurists, politicians, and civil rights leaders, Vel R. Phillips, Milwaukee will commission an artist to transform a parking lot into a new social space. The project budget is $600,000.
Deadline: October 9, 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.

All About Photo Magazine 35 Colors
Color is the theme of this competition, and photographers are encouraged to submit a cohesive body of work exploring or related to pigment. Winners receive $1,000 cash and magazine coverage. There is a $30 submission fee.
Deadline: October 10, 2023.

Open Source Gallery: Exhibition Open Call (International)
Artists working with experimentation, sustainability, and social engagement are invited to submit exhibition proposals for 2025. Chosen applicants receive W.A.G.E.-certified fees, a production budget, and support in planning, production, and communication.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 13, 2023.

#CreateCOP28 (International)
CreateCOP28 invites creatives aged 14 to 30 to submit work that sparks conversations about the climate crisis and the need for action, particularly at COP28, the United Nations’ annual climate summit. Eight artists will win prizes of $10,000, $5,000, or $2,000.
Deadline: October 16, 2023.

Booooooom x Capture Photography Festival: Public Art Open Call (International)
For Capture Photography Festival, Booooooom is seeking submissions for a public art installation at Broadway-City Hall Canada Line Train Station in Vancouver. The work will be up from April to August 2024, and the artist will receive a $665 CAD stipend. There is a $15 entry fee.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PST on October 23, 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.

Arte Laguna Prize 18 (International)
This prize is open to artists working in painting, sculpture and installation, photographic art, video art and short films, performance and acting, and digital. Chosen applications will exhibit in Venice at the Arsenale Nord and win €10,000.
Deadline: October 26, 2023.

Beam Center NYC Open Call (International)
The center seeks proposals for public artworks that will be realized by a community of more than 100 young people in NYC. Artists receive a $5,000 award and $15,000 fabrication budget.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on November 6, 2023.

The 10th International Landscape Photographer of the Year (International)
This contest awards winners $10,000 in cash prizes, inclusion in a photo book, and NiSi filter outfits and tripods. Entry is free until November 8.
Deadline: November 15, 2023.

Third Annual Festival Dei Lumi Open Call (International)
Video artists working on pieces that explore the intersection of art, nature, and ecological thinking are encouraged to submit to this annual festival. There is a €10 submission fee.
Deadline: November 22, 2023. 

Prisma Art Prize (International)
Open to emerging painters and artists, this quarterly competition awards €2,000 in cash and €3,000 in services annually, plus exhibition opportunities. There is a €29 submission fee.
Deadline: January 11, 2024.

Outwin Boochever Portrait Competition 2025 (United States, Puerto Rico, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, American Samoa, and the U.S. Virgin Islands)
This portrait competition is open to all media, including painting, drawing, sculpture, photography, printmaking, textiles, video, performance art, and digital or time-based art. One winner will receive $25,000 and a commission to portray a remarkable living American for the National Portrait Gallery’s collection. Other prizes range from $1,000 to $10,000, and all finalists will be included in an exhibition. There is a $50 entry fee.
Deadline: Midnight MT on January 26, 2024.

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

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.

Creative Equations Fund (Brooklyn)
This fund offers $10,000 grants to community-engaged artists, organizations, cultural entrepreneurs, and researchers  who are focused on social issues.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 8, 2023. 

Alex J. Ettl Grant (U.S.)
This $5,000 grant is awarded by the National Sculpture Society each year to an established figurative or realist sculptor.
Deadline: October 9, 2023.

The Rbhu Gives Back Grants (International)
Rbhu Engineering offers artists in need of engineering $12,000 worth of free services.
Deadline: October 16, 2023.

Bronx Council on the Arts Community Engagement Grants  (Bronx)
The Bronx Council on the Arts currently has three funding opportunities open: New Work, Arts Fund, and Community Arts grants ranging from $1,000 to $5,000.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 31, 2023.

California Documentary Project Grants (California)
This grant supports documentary film, audio, and digital media projects about California. Funding is available for research and development (up to $15,000), production (up to $50,000), and in DP NextGen Grants (up to $15,000).
Deadline: November 1, 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

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.

Bruce Museum Artist-in-Residency Program (International)
Open to all disciplines, this nine-month residency starts in November 2023 and includes studio space, a $35,000 stipend, and ran $8,000 materials budget.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. on October 7, 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.

Queens Museum Jerome Foundation Fellowship for Emerging Artists (New York)
This fellowship grants two emerging artists $20,000 each, studio space, and mentorship as they work toward a 2025 exhibition.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on October 29, 2023.

Moab Arts Reuse Residency (International)
For artists interested in waste management and sustainability, this residency offers housing, studio space, project and community facilitation, a stipend, and access to materials at local waste disposal sites.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. MT on October 31, 2023.

A.I.R. Fellowship Program (New York)
Six underrepresented and emerging women and non-binary artists will be awarded a year-long fellowship to develop and exhibit a project at A.I.R. Gallery. Selected applicants receive a stipend, access to gallery space, and support.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. ET on November 1, 2023.

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 October 2023 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists appeared first on Colossal.

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Tina Kraus Details Ocean Life’s Beauty and Plight Through Realistic Paper Sculptures

All images © Tina Kraus, shared with permission

Tina Kraus (previously) recreates nature’s beauty, idiosyncrasies, and diversity through her intricate paper sculptures. Though the environment has been a source of inspiration since her childhood, Kraus explains to Colossal, “In the past decade, I have become more and more worried about the future. The climate crisis, pollution, and the loss of biodiversity already have a big impact on nature and life on this planet.” These disquietudes gave rise to her Paper Life! Ocean series, in which she focused on marine pollution by depicting a hermit crab living in a tin can, a squid trapped in a fishing net, and more.

Kraus challenges herself to create sculptures that are more and more life-like every time. Working intuitively with a bit of experimentation and spontaneity, the Münster, Germany-based artist always starts with a sketch before continuously building up layers of crepe paper to create depth.

Kraus’ Paper Life! Ocean sculptures will be shown early next year in an international group exhibition at MAKE Southwest. For more updates and artwork, visit her Instagram and website.

 

 

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A Skipping Stone Hurtles Through Space as a Good Samaritan in a New Chemical Brothers Music Video

A humble rock doubles as a savior in a new music video for The Chemical Brothers, featuring Beck. Directed by Pensacola and produced by Canada, “Skipping Like a Stone” opens with Kurt Steiner, a real-life record-breaking stone skipper shown with what appears to be his actual equipment, including a specialized tool case. After a series of impressive jumps across the water captured from increasingly spectacular perspectives, the individual rock launches into a fateful journey. Chaos and destruction ensue, although the stone plays good samaritan as it thwarts violence and saves several lives.

It’s worth reading Outside’s profile of Steiner from last fall, which dives into his incredibly precise technique shown in slow-motion in the video above.

 

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Personality Types Emerge Through Colorful, Fragmented Shapes in Jason Boyd Kinsella’s Portraits

“Geordie” (2023), oil on canvas, 145 x 120 centimeters. All images courtesy of Unit London, shared with permission

In Anatomy of the Radiant Mind, Jason Boyd Kinsella considers what lies beneath the surface of our online identities and public-facing personas. The Canadian artist conjures a cast of characters, each based on distinct Myers-Brigg personality types to which he attributes unique colors, shapes, and sizes that comprise his figures. Working in what he describes as “fleshless portraiture,” Kinsella focuses on the intricacies of the human brain and emotional states, all conveyed through Cubist forms.

On view next month at Unit London, Anatomy of the Radiant Mind presents large-scale oil paintings and sculptures that, together, question dimension and depth. How can we understand one another when viewed through the flatness of social media? What do we lose when we’re not sharing a physical space? These questions surround the works, each of which is titled with the subtle anonymity of a single, given name like “Geordie” or “Lukas.”

To create the portraits, Kinsella begins with a preliminary structural sketch on paper and then translates his figures to canvas. He stacks three-dimensional triangles, cylinders, spheres, and blocks into facial features before applying vivid color. “Howard,” for example, exudes an aggrieved energy with a curved body in black and glowering expression, while “Kate” is dainty, her shapes stacked into a slim, pastel-hued tower.

Anatomy of the Radiant Mind runs from October 3 to November 4. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

 

Left: “Howard” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 100 centimeters. Right: “Patricia” (2023), oil on canvas, 145 x 115 centimeters

“Lukas” (2023), oil on canvas, 185 x 155 centimeters

“Kate” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 100 centimeters

“Rich” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 100 centimeters

“Lane” (2023), oil on canvas, 120 x 100 centimeters

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 Personality Types Emerge Through Colorful, Fragmented Shapes in Jason Boyd Kinsella’s Portraits appeared first on Colossal.

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A Colossal Interview: Zoë Buckman On Tenderness, Her Evolution as a Woman and Mother, and Embroidering Her Largest Works To Date

“songs leak from my bedroom walls” (2023). Photo by Charles Benton. All images © Zoë Buckman, courtesy of Lyes & King, shared with permission

What responsibility does an artist have to care for her viewers? Zoë Buckman thinks deeply about this question and discusses it in a recent conversation with Colossal.

One thing that’s important to me has to do with beauty and softness. Those are definitely tools that I embrace and harness. I know that I’m exploring something that is very difficult and triggering. It’s always been important to me that I make work that draws people in and creates an environment for conversations about violence, rape, abortion, miscarriage, and all of these things. In the work itself, I am trying to care for viewers.

Much of Buckman’s output during the past few years has championed the fight: that of resilient survivors, of rebelling against the patriarchy, and of her own sparring with the art world as she sought to use mediums historically associated with “women’s work” to put critical issues front and center. Her new series, though, titled Tended and on view at Lyes & King, takes a softer approach, which Buckman discusses in this conversation about her early indoctrination in feminism and what it’s like to raise a child around such difficult, and undoubtedly necessary, work.

Read the interview.

 

Left: “holy ash” (2023). Right: “thoughts run out my hands like a gecko” (2023). Photos by Charles Benton

Detail of “songs leak from my bedroom walls” (2023)

Detail of “thoughts run out my hands like a gecko” (2023)

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 Colossal Interview: Zoë Buckman On Tenderness, Her Evolution as a Woman and Mother, and Embroidering Her Largest Works To Date appeared first on Colossal.

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In ‘The Lost Mystics,’ Kumkum Fernando’s Enigmatic Wanderers Chase Illusions Through Time and Space

“Formally Known as Izah,” 950 blocks composed of upcycled wood, hand- and spray-painted wood, scratched coated brass detailing, and recycled nails, 31.5 x 56.2 x 21.5 inches. All images © Kumkum Fernando, courtesy of Jonathan LeVine Projects, shared with permission

In vibrant color, Kumkum Fernando’s hulking, hybrid figures (previously) wander through an enigmatic and quickly evolving world. “The melancholy characters of The Lost Mystics are searching for meaning, crisscrossing time and space, unmoored and chasing illusions,” says a statement from Jonathan Levine Projects, which presents the artist’s solo exhibition during ArtPrize.

Fernando repurposes found wood, nails, and metal details into modular beings, some of which have removable crowns. The artist draws on a wide range of global traditions, from Ethiopian and Sri Lankan masks to American board games to Buddhist and Hindu folktales. Simultaneously robotic and mystical, each character interacts with its surroundings in a unique way. The duo in “Soul Mates,” for example, are said to have traveled 23 million light years to find one another, and in “Which Way Is Home,” the creature turns its three heads in a perpetual search for direction.

The Lost Mystics is on view at the ArtPrize Clubhouse in Grand Rapids, Michigan, through October 1. Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

“Which Way is Home,” 1,900 blocks made from upcycled wood, hand- and spray-painted wood, scratched coated brass detailing, and recycled nails, 24 x 56 x 22 inches. Installation includes 3 removable heads that articulate 360 degrees and a base made from an antique coffee table found in the Mekong region of Vietnam

“Soul Mates,” upcycled wood, hand- and spray-painted wood, scratched coated brass detailing, and recycled nails, 24 x 28.3 x 12.6 inches each, containing 300 blocks

“Voodoo Veera”, 230 blocks made from upcycled wood, hand- and spray-painted wood, scratched coated brass detailing, and recycled nails, 19 x 19 x 10 inches

Details of “Voodoo Veera”

“Baby Devis Board Game,” 650 blocks made of upcycled wood, hand- and spray-painted wood, scratched coated brass detailing and solid brass halo, and recycled nails, 25.6 x 44.2 × 14.5 inches. Installation includes 180 hand-turned pawns

Detail of “Baby Devis Board Game”

“Formally Known as Izah”

“Yellow Fellow,” 45 blocks made from upcycled wood with added pigments, scratched solid brass ears, and brass detailing, 22 x 30.5 x 13.2 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 In ‘The Lost Mystics,’ Kumkum Fernando’s Enigmatic Wanderers Chase Illusions Through Time and Space appeared first on Colossal.

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