Folkloric Figures Emerge in Malene Hartmann Rasmussen’s Shapeshifting Ceramics

“Viper Weave #8” (2023). Photos by Sylvain Deleu. All images © Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, shared with permission

“Folklore relating to Scandinavia is a great inspiration and something I have grown up with during my childhood and adolescence in my native Denmark,” says Malene Hartmann Rasmussen, whose enigmatic ceramics draw from personal memories, nostalgia, and ancient customs. “Harvest rituals such as the tradition of making corn dollies, at Christmas-time when you have to make sure the gnomes are happy and well-fed, the Lucia processions we did every year in school, Jule-bukken—the yule-goat—that was the more sinister predecessor of Santa Claus, and trolls of all sorts are all things I remember from my childhood.”

Rasmussen’s sculptures often shapeshift, at first glance appearing like a cluster of foliage, pinecones, or berries and on closer inspection revealing a troll’s bearded face. In “Treasure,” a basket brimming with colorful gems turns out to be woven of snakes, similar to the writhing “Viper Weave #8,” in which 20 squirming reptiles comprise the warp and weft. Other works depict creatures we associate with darkness or omens, such as spiders, with additional jewel-like embellishments and cheerful, pastel colors.

 

“Spiders” (2021)

In “The Tired Lioness,” Rasmussen pulls inspiration from a precious family album, particularly a page where her mother captioned one image, “The tired mom.” The artist says the people photographed “look a bit off. So I dedicated my ‘Lioness’ to my mom and all the other tired moms and dysfunctional families out there.”

Rasmussen has long been intrigued by hybrid creatures, including the human-plant comic book character Swamp Thing, and historic books and illustrations, like Swedish artist John Bauer’s In the Troll Woods, which her grandmother gave her. “I loved the book and still do and have used it as a starting point in many artworks and installations throughout the years,” she says. “I see the trolls as nature spirits relating to the idea of animism, that not only man but every plant, stone, and river has a soul and is part of something bigger.”

Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

 

“Troll #8” (2017)

“The Tired Lioness” (2022)

“Snake Helmet” (2020)

“Corn Dolly Crown #3” and “Corn Dolly Crown #4” (2020)

“Treasure” (2019)

“Nøkke-rosen” (2018)

“Spiders” (2021)

“Viper Weave #8” (2023)

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Ýrúrarí’s Knit and Felted Characters Are Cheeky Additions to Mended Garments

All images © Ýr Jóhannsdóttir, shared with permission

Ýr Jóhannsdóttir moves through the world with a second set of eyes—and teeth and brows. The Icelandic artist, who works as Ýrúrarí, has spent the last few years crafting an extensive cast of felted and knitted characters to accompany her throughout the day. Many of her designs take the idea of tongue-in-cheek humor literally, with balaclavas encircled with mouths and masks embellished with playful grins.

Much of Jóhannsdóttir’s practice revolves around sustainability and transforming garments and materials otherwise destined for the landfill. Her works rely on mending and using scraps to create cheeky wearables beaming with personality.

If you’re in Copenhagen, see Jóhannsdóttir’s works in a group exhibition on view through January 28 at Nordatlantens Brygge. Her Pizza Time project, which used leftovers from the wool industry to create fiber-rich pies, was also recently nominated for Iceland’s Design Awards. Follow updates on Instagram.

 

Created in collaboration with Ásgerður Heimsidóttir. Photo by Hrafnhildur Heiða Sandholt

Photo by Studio Fræ

Created in collaboration with Ásgerður Heimsidóttir. Photo by Hrafnhildur Heiða Sandholt

Created in collaboration with Ásgerður Heimsidóttir. Photo by Hrafnhildur Heiða Sandholt

Photo by Studio Fræ

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‘Ghost Rivers’ Visualizes a Mile-Long Stream Buried Deep Beneath Baltimore

Photo © Public Mechanics. All images shared with permission

How much do we really know about the land we walk on each day? For those of us in urban areas, pavement and buildings mask what were once prairies, forests, or glaciers, with any natural terrain often disguised in swaths of concrete and blacktop.

But in some cities, the remnants of the former landscape still haunt the streets. From Paris to Auckland to New York, communities are deciding to daylight the streams and rivers that were buried underground during development as a way to reduce pollution from urban runoff and prevent disastrous flooding. Baltimore alone is home to nearly 50 waterways that run for miles across the city—including the well-known Jones Falls that flows beneath I-83—and a new public art project is drawing attention to one of the bodies hidden below several central and northern neighborhoods.

 

Photo © Frank Hamilton

The creation of artist Bruce Willen of Public Mechanics, Ghost Rivers is a multi-site installation and walking tour that visualizes the path of Sumwalt Run, which travels in culverts nearly 40 feet below Remington and Charles Village. “I first stumbled across this buried stream eight or nine years ago, on an antique map of Baltimore. On this 1870s-era map, a creek and a large pond cut across several miles of central and north Baltimore, not far from where I live,” Willen tells Colossal. “I was curious about this missing stream that once ran just a few blocks from my house.”

While walking around his neighborhood a few years later, Willen could hear water run in the storm drains when he reached lower elevations, which revived his interest in the hidden streams and instigated Ghost Rivers. Ten installations currently comprise the project, which overlays a wavy blue line on the pavement to help visualize where Sumwalt Run once was. The stream is shown haphazardly cutting through the center of an intersection and across roadways, revealing an inherent incongruity with Baltimore’s grid and urban life.

 

Photo © Public Mechanics

Thanks to support from the Greater Remington Improvement Association, Willen learned there was community interest in learning about the hidden waterways as he developed the project, and so self-guided tours became an important component of Ghost Rivers—for those of us not in Baltimore, there’s also a virtual option with detailed histories, archival photos, and maps. He shares about the tours:

Walking along the hidden path of the stream and imagining lost landscapes and ecologies really changes how you perceive the urban environment. When you encounter this permanent cartographic overlay and follow it through the city streets, these visions become more real, impactful, and deeply engaging.

While not all cities boast installations to visually communicate their histories, reviving interest in these once-visible waterways tends to be part of the goal, something Ghost Rivers is particularly adept at. It reveals what’s been lost to urbanization, explains the effects of burying a body of water, and leads us down a path that envisions a more symbiotic, sustainable future.

The few remaining Ghost Rivers sites are slated for completion next year. Check out the project website for more information, and follow Willen on Instagram to keep up with his upcoming public artworks, including bus shelter seating and light installations.

 

Photo © Public Mechanics

Photo © Public Mechanics

Photo © Frank Hamilton

Photo © Public Mechanics

Photo © Side A Photography

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Otherworldly Lifeforms Weightlessly Float Through Yellena James’ Vibrant Ecosystems

All images courtesy of Chefas Projects, shared with permission

Rendered in vivid shades of blue, pink, and orange, Yellena James’s unearthly organisms populate environments brimming with life. The Portland-based artist (previously) uses a mix of acrylic paints, gouaches, and inks to create precisely patterned compositions that take an otherworldly approach to creatures found on land and sea. Buoyant forms evocative of coral, kelp, and flowers overlap and collide on the canvas, adding density and texture to the majestic ecosystems.

The paintings shown here are on view now at Chefas Projects for James’ solo show Weightless, a title that alludes to both the lightness of the organisms and to the artist’s ability to reach a flow state. She explains:

In my work, I always strive to create a sense of levity on the canvas. I focus on environments that exist within alien atmospheres and forms that thrive within a diverse range of external forces… There is a moment that arises while making each piece when I can see the final steps clearly and the artwork begins to reveal itself. In those moments, every hint of pressure dissipates. It lifts. All of it. And I am weightless.

If you’re in Portland, you can see Weightless through November 18. Otherwise, keep up with James on Instagram.

 

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Ugo Rondinone’s 20-Foot Bolts of Lightning Pierce Through a Tempestuous Gallery

Installation view, bright light shining’ at Gladstone Gallery (2023). All images © Gladstone Gallery, courtesy of the artist and Gladstone Gallery, shared with permission

Artist Ugo Rondinone (previously) captures the explosive energy of lightning as part of his latest exhibition bright shining light. On view through November 9 at Gladstone Gallery, a trio of bronze sculptures stand more than 20 feet tall, piercing the otherwise gray gallery. Painted in dayglo yellow, the bold hue evokes a radiant incandescence of striking bolts as they branch down from the ceiling.

When the viewer moves around and through the pieces, their distinct shapes and directions change. As the exhibition photos reveal, the branch-like works appear almost animated, shifting in choreographed movement depending on the viewer’s perspective. Their titles—”sublime light,” “glorious light,” and “blissful light”—more directly invoke Rondinone’s interest in the divine and transcendence and add to the strange, dreamlike qualities of the works.

The artist’s smaller, wall-based “alluring cloud” is also included in bright shining light. Made of sand, gravel, and concrete, the nebulous piece hangs in a corner of the gallery and freezes another brief moment in time. “alluring cloud” more explicitly links Earth and sky through its materials and subject matter, and this duality matches others within the exhibition, including between artificial and natural and electric and non. Rondinone “captures the excitement, fear, and impending change brought on by environmental happenings, seemingly out of our control,” a statement says.

Find more from the artist on his site and Instagram. (via Design Milk)

 

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Ultra-Practical Purses and Homewares by Nikolas Bentel Have Exactly One Ridiculous Job

Pizza Bag

Who needs the whole pizza when a single slice can look this nice? Nikolas Bentel (previously) thinks it’s time to level up the way you take home your pie—or hot dog, soda, or pasta, for that matter. A series of fashion accessories and homewares reimagine recognizable items like electrical cables or picnic blanket carriers into objects so hyper-practical that they nearly break the rules of functionality altogether.

Akin to Nicole McLaughlin’s clever apparel or art collective MSCHF’s cartoonish accessories, Bentel’s pieces are designed to accomplish exactly one job. Sling a single bottle of cola in a pair of buckled straps, and off you go.

See more of the artist’s work on his website, where he sells pieces in his shop, and get updates on Instagram and TikTok. You might also enjoy this leather bag by Tsuchiya Kaban designed to hold precisely one watermelon.

 

Hot Dog Purse

Extra Time Timer

The Bloom Candle

Untitled Folder Wallet

Folder Wallets

The Pasta Bag 3

Electric Cord Bag

The Vincent Vase

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S’well Pairs Art With Sustainability for a Limited-Edition Timothy Goodman Collection

Timothy Goodman x S’well Original Bottles. All photos by Colors Collective

Award-winning artist and designer Timothy Goodman has joined forces with S’well, the industry pioneer of stylish and sustainable living solutions, to release an exclusive collection of S’well Original Bottles and Tumblers featuring his iconic handwritten quotes. Known for his unique lettering designs and thought-provoking messages, Goodman’s art and texts have populated walls, packaging, clothes, products, and magazine covers for brands such as Apple, Nike, Google, Samsung, MoMA, Netflix, YSL, Time, The New Yorker, and The New York Times. 

Timothy Goodman x S’well includes four of the company’s best-selling hydration products, each featuring a quote from the artist about love and compassion. He shares his enthusiasm for the collaboration, saying, “I am thrilled to partner with S’well on this limited-edition collection. One of my goals is to make art accessible for everyone, so it’s my hope that these products will not only bring people joy but also serve as a reminder of the importance of artistic expression in our everyday lives in a sustainable way.” 

Founded in 2010 to help rid the world of single-use plastic bottles, S’well has established itself as a leading force in the industry. Recognized as the first company to develop reusable fashion hydration accessories, S’well products combine beautiful design and premium performance with sustainability. By partnering with Goodman, S’well aims to highlight the artist’s unique style and voice while emphasizing its commitment to pairing artistic design with sustainable solutions.

The Timothy Goodman x S’well collaboration is now available exclusively at swell.com.

For more information, please visit swell.com or follow @swellbottle on social media.

 

Timothy Goodman x S’well Tumbler with Straw

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