Pokémon and Japanese Craft Traditions Unite in a Fantastic Exhibition of 70+ Works

Taiichiro Yoshida, “Jolteon.” All images courtesy of Japan House Los Angeles, shared with permission

Two of Japan’s major cultural contributions converge in POKÉMON X KOGEI | Playful Encounters of Pokémon and Japanese Craft. On view at Japan House Los Angeles, the exhibition showcases more than 70 sculptures and installations that recreate the fantastical animated characters from Squirtle to Pikachu in ceramic, metal, fiber, and more.

Included are works by several artists featured on Colossal, including a menagerie of intricately layered creatures by Taiichiro Yoshida and Keiko Masumoto’s whimsical vessels in which heads and tails emerge from pots and plates. Similar to the natural materials used in Japanese craft like earth, water, and fire, the characters within the popular franchise are categorized by element, drawing another connection between the two.

POKÉMON X KOGEI is organized by the National Crafts Museum in Kanazawa and is on view in Los Angeles through January 7.

 

Keiko Masumoto, “Vulpix Shigaraki Jar”

Kasumi Ueba, from left, “Grookey with Arabesque Pattern,” “Scorbunny with Flame Pattern,” and “Sobble with Water Pattern”

Taiichiro Yoshida, “Eevee”

Taiichiro Yoshida, detail of “Flareon”

Taiichiro Yoshida, “Flareon” and “Jolteon”

Sadamasa Imai, “Squirtle”

Keiko Masumoto, “Piplup Underglazed Plate”

Reiko Sudo, “Pikachu’s Adventures in a Forest”

Reiko Sudo, detail of “Pikachu’s Adventures in a Forest”

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Erin Milez Meditates on the Joyful Monotony of Parenthood

“Caution in the Wind” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 55 x 40 inches. All images courtesy of Monya Rowe Gallery, shared with permission

If we looked closely at the minutia of our lives, would we take comfort in repetition? Artist Erin Milez has built her practice around monotony and domestic habits, and in her most recent solo show, she asks us to find sanctity and humor in the mundane.

Nodding to the relatable cycles of daily life, Round and Around We Go peers over shoulders and out of wardrobes to view the intimate, joyful, and sometimes exhausting experiences of parents and children. In “Caution in the Wind,” a family dressed in wool hats and puffy coats leans down, each with the same curved back, to pick dried dandelions. “The Conductor” similarly zeros in on a quiet scene depicting a mother slicing fruit and slathering peanut butter on bread, illuminated by the glow of a perfectly organized refrigerator.

Milez describes these autobiographical paintings as mandalas, an organized configuration of signs and symbols that, like a routine task, has the power to put one in a trance. Each work begins with a sketch and a small reference piece rendered in watercolor, pastel, and a mix of other mediums. The artist then works on a larger scale, meticulously filling the canvas with domestic details like a speckled bathroom countertop or the texture of a woven rug. “I wanted every inch of these pieces to receive equal attention and care, like how a mandala would, because I needed to give a moment to and reason for everything happening in my house,” she says.

Round and Around We Go is on view through January 6 at Monya Rowe Gallery in New York. Peek into Milez’s process on Instagram.

 

“The Conductor” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 55 x 40 inches

“Conveyor Belt” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

“Phasing” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 55 x 40 inches

“We Run On” (2023), oil and acrylic on canvas, 30 x 24 inches

“Topsy Buttsy” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 40 x 30 inches

“A Very Hungry Caterpillar” (2023), oil, acrylic, and flashe on canvas, 55 x 40 inches

“All the Hope and Fire (Prometheus)” (2023), oil and acrylic on canvas, 48 x 36 inches

“Laundry Monster” (2023), oil, acrylic and acrylic ink on canvas, 30 x 24 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 Erin Milez Meditates on the Joyful Monotony of Parenthood appeared first on Colossal.

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Marija Tiurina’s Vibrant and Relatable Murals Foreground Community and Care

Community center mural in St. Malo, France. All images © Marija Tiurina, shared with permission

Marija Tiurina likens the experience of working on murals to “the feeling of conquering a giant and befriending something way beyond your own size.” The Netherlands-based illustrator (previously) has worked on myriad projects ranging from watercolors to puzzles to stereograms, and for the past several years, large-scale wall pieces have grown into a significant facet of her practice, which centers around the maxim that art should be available to everyone.

Continuing themes present in her smaller works, Tiurina addresses self care, mental health, and other relatable topics. “The mural I did in Carballo, Spain, drew attention to a refugee crisis and an evergreen issue of having a home or a community,” she tells Colossal. In St. Malo, France, a tall, vertical painting of a flower getting some TLC brightened the facade of a local community center. “I wanted my piece to be full of warmth and cosiness, as well as carry a surreal and whimsical vibe, as caring for yourself and others is a really magical act, and it can help the world heal,” she says.

Tiurina approaches each project with an open mind, trusting her intuition to guide the final composition. “Every wall has character and unique features, and one can never be fully ready for the challenge, as each mural is a venture outside the comfort zone,” she says. “Only by diving into the unknown can the artist adapt to the new setting and the conditions that vary with each location and tune to each wall differently. There’s never such a thing as the same two mural painting experiences, which makes it really appealing to me.”

Tiurina recently joined Palette Stars, a collective of European street and mural artists, and she looks forward to pursuing projects alongside new collaborators. Find more on the artist’s website and Behance, and follow her on Instagram for updates.

 

Part of a three-wall mural for IBUG Fest 2023 in Leipzig, Germany

“Forward Together” (2022) for Rexenera Festival in Carballo, Spain

“Forward Together” (2022) for Rexenera Festival in Carballo, Spain

“The Journey of a Light,” Svencioneliai, Lithuania

Details of “The Journey of a Light” in progress

Collaboration with Nikola Mihajlovic in Belgrade, Serbia, in 2023

The artist’s first “mobile mural” in Lithuania in 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 Marija Tiurina’s Vibrant and Relatable Murals Foreground Community and Care appeared first on Colossal.

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Reflecting Time Passing, Chris Oh Reinterprets Works of the Northern Renaissance on Ephemeral Substrates

Detail of “Forage” (2023), acrylic on antique burl slab, 65.09 x 81.28 x 6.03 centimeters.

Shortly after the Renaissance swept through Italy in the 14th century, the Northern Renaissance began to take hold north of the Alps. In countries like Germany, France, Poland, and England, artists turned their attention toward humanism like their counterparts in Rome and Florence, although piety and the everyday trials of poor people dominated the north, while the wealthy and ruling classes featured more prominently in Italy.

In a new body of work on view at Capsule Shanghai, artist Chris Oh draws on this tradition through a series of paintings that consider how stories, knowledge, and information are shared through generations. Titled Passage, the exhibition features a range of found-object sculptures and wall-based works appropriated from primarily Northern Renaissance-era artists like Pieter Bruegel the Elder, Hieronymus Bosch, and Jan van Eyck, to name a few.

Oh often paints the likeness of the paintings from the period on natural substrates like gnarled slices of burl wood and pearlescent oyster shells, nesting the familiar scenes and portraits within organic surfaces. “I want to use materials that grew over time,” he says.

 

“Reap” (2023), acrylic on antique burl slab, 48.26 x 62.23 x 4.45 centimeters

The artist begins each piece by referencing the etymology and symbolism within the original works, which he then pairs with an unconventional material. “Reap,” for example, recreates Bruegel’s “The Harvesters” (1565), with grooves of gnarled wood indenting the scene of autumn crops and backbreaking labor. One of the few works within Passage derived from the Italian Renaissance, “Gorgon” positions Leonardo da Vinci’s portrait of Florentine aristocrat Ginevra de’ Benci on a thin piece of dried sea fan, the pocked surface evoking the juniper bush in the background of the masterpiece.

Through these recreations, Oh puzzles together scenes and objects from differing periods to help the viewer draw associations between the two. The idea, Fiona He writes in an essay about the exhibition, is to convey “that all the sentient beings exist(ing) on Earth can relate to notions of the celestial realm and the underworld, finding the lasting beauty that exists in between.”

Passage is on view through January 13. Find more of Oh’s work on Instagram. (via Art Viewer)

 

“Gorgon” (2023), acrylic on sea fan with wood base, 48.9 x 25.4 x 7.62 centimeters

“Burl” (2021), acrylic on antique wooden burl slab, 53.34 x 76.2 x 5.08 centimeters

“Forage” (2023), acrylic on antique burl slab, 65.09 x 81.28 x 6.03 centimeters

“Herd” (2023), acrylic on antique burl slab, 44.13 x 62.87 x 5.08 centimeters

Top left: “Faint” (2023), acrylic on wood panel with antique frame, 21.27 x 13.65 x 3.18 centimeters. Top right: “Shimmer” (2023), acrylic on seashell, acrylic on seashell, 19.67 x 13.02 x 6.35 centimeters. Bottom left: “Radiate” (2023), acrylic on seashell, 22.9 x 20.32 x 2.54 centimeters. Bottom right: “Shed” (2023), acrylic on wood panel with antique frame, 22.86 x 20 x 2.86 centimeters

Detail of “Burl” (2021), acrylic on antique wooden burl slab, 53.34 x 76.2 x 5.08 centimeters

Installation view of “Hatch” (2023), acrylic on cicada with brass rod, robin’s egg, faux eggs, faux nest, antique metal holder, 34.92 x 20.32 x 20.32 centimeters

Installation view of “Chlorophyll” (2023), acrylic on antique statue, 34.61 x 16.83 x 19.05 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 Reflecting Time Passing, Chris Oh Reinterprets Works of the Northern Renaissance on Ephemeral Substrates appeared first on Colossal.

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Nastasya Shulyak’s Miniature Felted Friends Sprout and Smile with Joy

“Pebbles.” All photos © Nastasya Shulyak, shared with permission

Wool artist Nastasya Shulyak felts a cast of curious creatures that carry one simple purpose: to bring others joy.

Having recently moved to Georgia, Shulyak (previously) spent the last year acclimating to her new home. As the artist embraced her surroundings, the mountains, minerals, and milieu along the southern coast of the Black Sea began to inform her work. Before long, she created “Pebbles,” the first creature to come into existence since her move.

“I go to the beach for breakfast, and after a couple of minutes, I begin to sort through all the stones that I can reach,” she tells Colossal. “I see a lot of beauty in them and carry some in my pockets.” Daily rituals similar to this helped Shulyak connect to nearby nature and at the same time inspire the birth of more characters.

The artist’s wholesome woolen creatures sit in contentment and kindly look up, their small arms placed politely onto their laps. Fibrous leaves, flower buds, fungi, and stones sprout from their heads as each face bestows a warm, friendly smile.

Though she usually works with laconic forms, Shulyak shares that she plans to spend the coming months creating more complex textures and shapes. Take a look at the artist’s Instagram for new work, a look into her process, and forthcoming shop updates.

 

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Archaeologists Discover an Extraordinary 2,100-Year-Old Mosaic Near the Colosseum

All photos courtesy of the Italian Ministry of Culture / AFP Photo

In mid-December, the Italian Ministry of Culture released news of a remarkable find in the heart of Rome at the Archaeological Park of the Colosseum. Along with the Colosseum itself, the area consists of the incredible Roman Forum, an aristocratic residential area on the Palatine hill, and Emperor Nero’s splendid Domus Aurea, built in the first century C.E.

A couple of centuries before that, though, in the late Republican era, a luxurious townhouse in the neighborhood had been laden with designs made from shells, glass, white marble, and Egyptian blue tiles. A large “rustic” mosaic dating to the last decades of the 2nd century B.C.E.—a little over 2,100 years ago—was likely inspired by the decorative styles of Near East monarchies.

At the time, mosaics like this one represented a preoccupation with luxury and wealth that traditionalists eyed with suspicion. Among other disagreements, debates between political factions escalated to full-out civil war within a few decades, and the Roman Republic was over by the mid-1st century B.C.E.

 

Detail of two ship prows crossing in front of a trident

The owner of this resplendent villa, who may have been of senatorial rank, intentionally communicated his affluence and prestige. Archaeologists discovered the structure, known as a domus, during a survey of the ancient Vicus Tuscus, a busy commercial route that linked the Roman Forum to a port on the Tiber. The house contains a number of terraced levels and includes a large banquet room, where the extraordinary mosaic was found covering one entire wall.

Comprising the background are four domed aedicules, or shrines, defined by columns and detailed with flowers. Piles of weapons, tridents, carnyces—a Celtic style of war helmet often shaped like a boar’s head—and low, flat ships known as triremes sporting massive banks of oars suggest that the owner of the home may have been victorious in battle.

The mosaic walls were initially discovered in 2018, but excavations are expected to continue into this year. The park’s director Alfonsina Russo says that once the domus is fully uncovered, the team “will work intensely to make this place, among the most evocative of ancient Rome, accessible to the public as soon as possible.” (via The History Blog)

 

A column in between two depictions of aedicules, or shrines

Detail from the top of a column

Detail of a carnyx, a Celtic war horn that usually portrays a boar’s head

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 Archaeologists Discover an Extraordinary 2,100-Year-Old Mosaic Near the Colosseum appeared first on Colossal.

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Felines and Fine Art Make a Purr-fect Pairing in the 10th Anniversary of ‘Cat Art Show’

Vanessa Stockard, “Trust the Process.” All images © the artists, courtesy of Cat Art Show, shared with permission

Marking its 10th anniversary this year, Cat Art Show (previously) returns to Los Angeles for a warm and fuzzy celebration of everything feline. “The intricacies of their ever-changing personalities, coupled with the beauty of their physicality, offer rich subject matter for artists to work with,” says curator and founder Susan Michals. Every year, the initiative donates a portion of its sale proceeds, with ten percent going toward an organization that cares for vulnerable animals in the shelter system.

For one weekend only, visitors can take in work by nearly 50 artists from all over the world, including those familiar to long-time Colossal readers like Matthew Grabelsky or Colin Roberts. Lola Dupre’s many-eyed kitten named “Squits” and Annie Montgomerie’s friendly “Miss Pitch and Furl” have traveled across the pond, interspersed among frenetic felines like Vanessa Stockard’s exasperated furniture ravager or “Une Chat” on a tear by Léo Forest.

Cat Art Show runs from January 19 to 21 at Wallis Annenberg Petspace in Los Angeles. Find more information and tickets on the show’s website.

 

Britt Ehringer, “Kobe Entering the Kingdom of Kittens”

Lola Dupre, “Squits”

Detail of “Squits”

Annie Montgomerie, “Miss Pitch and Furl”

Léo Forest, “Une Chat”

Cleon Patterson, “The Bargain”

Colin Roberts, “Cheshire Cat”

Yusuke Hanai, “Rika and Okayu”

Eric Haze, “One-Eyed Jack”

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 Felines and Fine Art Make a Purr-fect Pairing in the 10th Anniversary of ‘Cat Art Show’ appeared first on Colossal.

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