At Luna Luna, Immerse Yourself in the Art Amusement Park Nearly Lost to Obscurity

Photo by Joshua White. All images © Luna Luna, shared with permission

In 1987, in Hamburg, Germany, an amusement park like no other popped up on the grounds of a public green. The brainchild of Austrian artist and polymath André Heller, Luna Luna was an ambitious artistic collaboration with some of the most famous artists of the time, whose work still resonates today.

Visitors entered through a gate painted by Sonia Delaunay, went for a spin on a carousel designed by Keith Haring or a Ferris wheel by Jean-Michel Basquiat, and immersed themselves in pavilions by David Hockney, Roy Lichtenstein, and Salvador Dalí. Then, inexplicably, the project was nearly lost.

Luna Luna was open for only the one season before being packed up into 44 shipping containers and shipped to Texas, where it remained locked away for more than three decades. In 2022, DreamCrew—an entertainment company co-founded by Drake and Adel “Future” Nur—acquired the entire presentation and shipped it to a warehouse in Los Angeles where it could be restored and rebuilt.

 

Photo by Jeff McLane

This month, Luna Luna: Forgotten Fantasy opens in a vast complex on the east side of Los Angeles, once again welcoming us into a one-of-a-kind art experience. Visitors can wander through David Hockney’s “Enchanted Tree,” visit Salvador Dalí’s “Dalídom,” and even get hitched in André Heller’s own “Wedding Chapel.” Park goers can also peek into the rediscovery and reassembly process, from the large-scale unboxing of shipping containers to uncovering ephemera from the original fair to solving the puzzle of how to rebuild the rides.

Find tickets and plan your visit on the project’s website. And if you want to dig deeper into the history of the park, Phaidon recently re-issued Luna Luna: The Art Amusement Park, the book that accompanied the original opening. Get your copy on Bookshop.

 

Photos by Sarah Mathison

Photo by Jeff McLane

Photo by Jeff McLane

Photo by Joshua White

Photo by Jeff McLane

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More than 1,600 Hand-Drawn Animals Roam the Earth in Anton Thomas’s ‘Wild World’ Map

All images © Anton Thomas, shared with permission

Taking three years from start to finish, Anton Thomas’s meticulously detailed map takes us on a zoological journey around the globe. “I’ve imagined ‘Wild World’ since childhood,” he says. “I remember watching nature documentaries, awed by the evocation of nature—inspired to care.” Starting in July 2020 and completed in July of this year, Thomas rendered a total of 1,642 wild animals in “Wild World,” all spread across Earth’s seven continents and five oceans.

Born and raised in New Zealand, Thomas grew up in an area surrounded by natural beauty and was inspired to draw maps when he was young. In 2011, he took a life-changing trip to North America, starting in California, then traversing numerous states and eventually heading north to visit different regions of Canada, where he landed in front of an unlikely canvas.

“In late 2012, I was living in Montréal. I was working as a cook—rather unhappily at this point—and was preparing to return to New Zealand when my housemate suggested I draw on our fridge,” Thomas tells Colossal. “It was an old fridge covered in stains, so he painted it with white house paint, and I set to work drawing a pictorial map of all of North America. I ended up spending six weeks in front of the fridge. The experience was deeply moving to me, and I knew I had to go deeper.”

As his early interest in cartography resurfaced, Thomas began to draw a map of North America, which was so detailed that it took five years to complete. After moving to Melbourne, where he is currently based, he began planning a global edition, and “Wild World” was born. “I didn’t have a plan; I just wanted a physical world map with some animals,” the artist says. “It wasn’t until I’d been drawing for six months that I began to understand how complex it was.”

 

Thomas estimates that nearly a third of the time and labor that went into creating the map was dedicated to researching animal habitats and physical geography so that he could be as accurate as possible. “I do gravitate towards beautiful, unique, and iconic animals,” he says. “But as the map got underway, I settled on three criteria that came to shape its philosophy. All animals are wild, native, and extant—not extinct.” He continues:

There’s so much bad news about the state of the planet due to our actions: biodiversity loss, climate change, ecological collapse, and I worry that people are growing up without any hope for the future. And hope is a key ingredient to inspiring change. So “Wild World” was drawn as a reminder that the planet remains wild, even deep into the 21st century.

Every element is hand-drawn in colored pencil and pen, from the terrain to the place names to the wide variety of species. Using the Natural Earth projection as a template, the map focuses on creatures native to specific regions rather than political boundaries or cities, emphasizing the planet’s wilderness. “‘Wild World’ is a place that still exists; a world that can still be cared for, cherished, and protected,” Thomas says. “It may seem an idealistic portrayal of Earth, but it shows nothing that isn’t there. Every species, every habitat, is still with us. I want this map to inspire hope, to show just how wild the world is still is, how much there is left to preserve.”

Prints of “Wild World” are available to order on Thomas’s website. You can also follow him on Instagram for updates and insights into his process.

 

 

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In ‘Body Politic,’ Antony Gormley Traverses the Human-Built Landscape

“Resting Place” (2023). Installation view of ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey. Exhibition photos by Theo Christelis. All images © Antony Gormley, courtesy of White Cube, shared with permission

Since the 1960s, British artist Antony Gormley has used the language of sculpture to examine relationships between human beings, nature, and the cosmos. If you’ve driven the A1 or taken a train past Gateshead in the U.K., you’ll have likely seen the “Angel of the North,” a public work made of weathered COR-TEN steel installed on a hilltop in 1998 that depicts a figure holding out arms that look like riveted wings. One of his most recognizable projects, the work was met with controversy at the time but has since become a beloved landmark.

For decades, Gormley has featured the human form in his work, often using his own body as a starting point for large-scale installations in which abstracted figures wander through outdoor spaces or convene in enigmatic arrangements. In Body Politic at White Cube in Bermondsey, London, the artist investigates our relationship with industrial environments and the tension between migratory impulses and the need for refuge.

In “Test, Bind” a single figure inhabits the center of one gallery, extending long, iron latticework to each wall and the ceiling, simultaneously supported by and supporting its surroundings. And in another room, 244 modular figures made from fired clay sprawl across the floor in “Resting Place,” evoking a gridded urban landscape. As visitors wander through the maze of prone and splayed bodies, the work summons a tense uncertainty. Some appear relaxed while others express discomfort or pain, stirring associations with the risks migrants and refugees take to escape conflict, along with a lack of resources and the effects of the climate crisis.

 

Installation view of  ‘Retreat’ series in ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey

In a series titled Retreat, blocky concrete pieces, which Gormley refers to as “intimate bunkers for one,” form a single-file line through the corridor of the gallery and into the courtyard. Cast to the scale of the artist’s body, each figure compresses and contorts into different postures, with a small opening at the mouth that reveals a human-shaped void inside. “The only place where we can find true freedom is within the infinite darkness of the body available to us once the body is still,” Gormley says. “These works both evoke and embody the space that we all enter the moment we close our eyes.”

Throughout Body Politic, Gormley wrestles with ideas of interiority and external influences, vacillating between human introspection and the inevitability of outside forces. If you’re in London, you can visit the exhibition at White Cube through January 28. A solo show of his work will also open at White Cube New York this spring.

Gormley also has a solo presentation at the Musée Rodin in Paris titled Critical Mass, which remains on view through March 3. Find more on the artist’s website.

 

“TEST: BRACE” (2021), cast iron, 175.6 x 48.2 x 75.7 centimeters. Photo by Stephen White & Co.

“Test, Bind” (2023). Installation view of ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey

Installation view of ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey

“Stand” (2023). Installation view of ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey

“Retreat: Tuck” (2022), concrete, 81 x 61.5 x 108 centimeters. Photo by Stephen White & Co.

Installation view of “Resting Place” (2023) in ‘Body Politic’ at White Cube Bermondsey

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In Surreal Portraits, Rafael Silveira Plunges Into the Mysteries of the Human Psyche

“Extravaso.” All images © Rafael Silveira, shared with permission

Brazilian artist Rafael Silveira supplants heads with bunches of flowers, flocks of birds, and plumes of smoke in fantastical portraits that delve into the inner workings of the human psyche. Lively hues of pink, yellow, and blue come together as he continues to convey the permeation of emotions through surreal phenomena.

Since childhood, Silveira has harbored a profound interest in the complexities of the mental universe. “I believe that my art is a profound dive into the human mind,” the artist tells Colossal. “I find inspiration in the mysteries of the human psyche and in the energies, both tangible and intangible, that permeate our lives and the nature surrounding us.”

As he translates these concepts to oil paintings, familiar anatomical features partake in unusual sights, as eyeballs hover like hot-air balloons, lips emerge from flowers, and brains converge with swans.

From his studio in Brazil, Silveira is currently working toward his first major solo exhibition next summer at KP Projects Gallery in Los Angeles. Make sure to visit the artist’s website for more work, keep an eye on his Instagram for studio views, and pick up one of his new prints.

 

“Free Mind”

“Burning Desire”

“Ebulição”

“Recanto”

“Polyphonic Nature of Existence”

“Flora Intimista”

“Vapores de Mente”

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A Reissued Book Reveals Hundreds of Photos from Frida Kahlo’s Personal Collection

Adolfo Best Maugard, María Luisa Cabrera de Block, and Frida Kahlo, (1945). All images © 2010 Banco de México in its capacity as Trustee in the Trust relating to the Diego Rivera and Frida Kahlo Museums, courtesy of RM Publishing, shared with permission

In her short lifetime, Frida Kahlo (1907-1954) collected an incredibly vast archive of photographs. Her father, Guillermo Kahlo, had been one of Mexico’s most well-known photographers, documenting architecture, industry, and himself, and his legacy certainly influenced the artist’s enduring interest in self-portraiture and image-making.

While Frida fostered a prodigious artistic practice of her own, she also amassed more than 6,000 photos taken by friends, family, colleagues, and sometimes, herself. Within her trove are snapshots of Mexico and her life, particularly moments shared with her husband, the artist Diego Rivera. Compiled in a recently reissued book, the collection offers unparalleled insight into the influential couple’s life and work.

Frida Kahlo: Her Photos was originally published by Editorial RM in 2010 and out of print until its re-release in October. Containing annotations and notes, the tome features hundreds of black-and-white images that, before 2004, had been hidden in storage in the artist’s Mexico City home. This edition once again offers audiences the opportunity to better understand the bonds, preferences, and daily minutiae of two of the most important artists of the 20th century.

Spanish and English versions of Frida Kahlo: Her Photos are available on Bookshop.

 

Frida painting the portrait of her father Guillermo Kahlo (1951). Photo by Giséle Freud

Revolutionaries

Diego Rivera with his models, Nieves Orozco and Inesita

Diego Rivera (1933). Photo by Esther Born

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Meticulous Embroideries by Cécile Davidovici Bring Objects to Life and Evoke the Passing of Time

All images © Cécile Davidovici, shared with permission

Through densely embroidered still lifes and portraits, Cécile Davidovici stitches together a dialogue between time, objects, and nostalgia. Focusing on gesture and color, the Paris-based artist uses short, expressive stitches to render melons, wine glasses, hands, and faces that glow by candlelight and sunset.

Evolving quite a bit from her previous works, Davidovici explains, “I’ve always wanted to do portraits, and I finally succeeded in a way that spoke to me by working and experimenting a lot with embroidery. I love the idea of pushing the technique to places it’s never been before.” After completing the series, she applied her new embroidery methods to still lifes.

Placing both modern and classical subjects next to each other, La Vie Silencieuse, or The Silent Life, questions what it means to make still lifes today in contrast to their popularization centuries ago. Created as a joint effort, the artist worked with David Citborsky, who first created 3D models of each composition. Davidovici then used these images to render each scene through copious threads, converging textures, and jewel-toned hues.

See more work and process videos on Davidovici’s website and Instagram.

 

“Jupiter”

“Le Poids des Choses”

“La Vie Silencieuse”

“Pluton”

“Marbre Vert”

“Pierre Bleue”

“Les Heures de Cire”

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