Atlanta-based artist Jym Davis, who also goes by False Face, has a thing for bats. He began making masks of the winged mammals during a series of residencies at national parks in the American West. In Arizona, he learned about Townsend’s big-eared bat and critically threatened species like the pallid bat in Northern California, Oregon, […]
Nested in one of Hiné Mizushima’s wooden dioramas is an ancient marine menagerie. Vibrant blue felt lines the walls of the plush environment, which houses a pair of ammonites along with tall seagrass and small bits of coral reef. From her Vancouver studio, Mizushima stitches whimsical renditions of underwater creatures. Her soft, fiber sculptures take […]
When Brian Rochefort travels, he’s inclined to visit remote parts of the planet. The depths of the Amazon, the volcanic island cluster of the Galápagos, and the immensely diverse ecosystem of Tanzania’s Ngorongoro Crater have all drawn him in and once back in his Los Angeles studio, inspired the artist’s lushly textured sculptures. Rochefort (previously) […]
Vintage, mass-produced porcelain knick-knacks take on new life in Debra Broz’s intricate and uncanny hybrids (previously). Collies and St. Bernards with the bodies of pheasants meet rabbits with curiously long appendages and woodland creatures with human arms. In her solo exhibition Strange World at Track 16, Broz continues to explore the subversive and absurd through […]
“An African Survey.” All images © Barbara Wildenboer, shared with permission Sliced Slivers Emanate from Barbara Wildenboer’s Altered Books September 4, 2024 Art Craft Jackie Andres Share Pin Email Bookmark While heavy, hardcover reference books often embody prestige and historical value, the comprehensive volumes also carry an air of intellectual overload. Filled from cover to […]
All photos © Rebecca Poloquin, shared with permission What’s Your Bodega Order? Vi Nguyen’s Beaded Bites Evoke the Spirit of NYC Corner Stores September 2, 2024 Craft Food Jackie Andres Share Pin Email Bookmark The familiar rustling of an aluminum-lined potato chip bag is almost inseparable from the universal experience of eating the salty, crispy […]
Acrocinus longimanus (harlequin beetle), bamboo. All images © Noriyuki Saitoh, shared with permission Noriyuki Saitoh’s (previously) fascination with insects and painstaking attention to detail transforms delicate pieces of wood into intricate sculptures. Using a range of bamboo materials, including thin paper, he carefully carves the architecture of dragonfly wings, mantis legs, and beetle antennae. While […]
“Startsi,” Voynyagovo Village, Karlovo Municipality, Plovdiv Province, Bulgaria. All images © Ashley Suszczynski, shared with permission As a child, Ashley Suszczynski used to draw copiously in her school notebooks and escape into the chimerical worlds of books. “I loved the imaginative illustrations,” she tells Colossal. “Each story sent me into a new world, and I kind […]
“Mariner’s Tale.” All images © Andrea Spencer, shared with permission While a seaweed known as bladderwrack might not sound like something you’d want to eat, the unique kelp is in fact quite tasty and gets its name from small air pockets in its leaves akin to tiny bladders. For glass artist Andrea Spencer, the tendrils, […]
“Screen” (1979), cotton thread on linen cloth, 52 x 35 1/2 inches. All images courtesy of Tina Kim Gallery, shared with permission When artist Lee ShinJa was born in 1930 in Uljin, Korea, during a period of Japanese colonial rule, textile traditions were largely rooted in domestic uses and craft. But for Lee, who took in her […]