Focused on the part of the sky where you can spot the constellation Orion (“The Hunter”) on clear nights, the James Webb Space Telescope’s latest dispatch blinks in astonishing images from an area known as the Orion B molecular cloud.

At 1,300 light-years away—more than 7.8 quadrillion miles from Earth—the cloud is the closest star-forming region to our solar system. And rising from the turbulent field of gas and dust is Barnard 33, commonly known as the Horsehead Nebula. The gradually collapsing, interstellar cloud is more than 5.8 billion miles tall, composed of material illuminated by a hot star nearby. Over millions of years, the gas clouds surrounding the formation have dissipated, but the pillar remaining today is composed of thick clumps that are harder to erode, providing scientists with a perfect subject for study.

Webb zoomed in on the top crest of the nebula to capture the region’s complexity with never-before-seen spatial resolution. Using imagery from the telescope’s MIRI and NIRCam instruments, an international team of astronomers has revealed small-scale structures along the illuminated edge of the Horsehead for the first time.

In addition to photographs, the team has released a mesmerizing gyroscopic video, taking us on a journey through the light-years in just under two minutes and providing a sense of the enormous scale and distance Webb documents. Explore more of Webb’s missions on NASA’s website.

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At the age of 27, Ghanaian collector Joseph Awuah-Darko already has many strings to his bow. He is also a practicing artist, musician, writer, curator and entrepreneur, and his self-described “precocious attitude” has helped him pushed the envelope of what it means to be a patron of the arts in the nascent and decidedly grassroots art scene of Accra. Among the new generation of African collectors on the continent, he is a leading figure that bridges disciplines and demographics.

“I’ll be the first to admit, I don’t come from a family that collects art,” Awuah-Darko said. “I was something of an outsider.” Born in London in 1996, to an influential family of Ghanaian financiers, he relocated to Africa with his parents when he was a child and now lives and works in Accra, while also maintaining a home in the British capital.

A defining moment that set him on his path to joining the art world happened while he was studying at Ashesi University, in Accra, in 2016. The award-winning Belgian-Beninese photographer Fabrice Monteiro paid a visit to the school, seeking volunteers to assist in one of his elaborate photoshoots at Agbogbloshie—once the largest e-waste dump in Africa—where he repurposed discarded electronics into high fashion concepts. “I was very, very keen to be involved,” Awuah-Darko said. “That was the start of my journey into creating work in the art world.”

A detail of the tapestry Chief Justice (2018) by Zimbabwean artist Moffat Takadiwa, made from discarded computer keys, from Joseph Awuah-Darko’s private collection. Courtesy of the Institute Museum of Ghana.

The experience led him to set up the Agbogblo.Shine Initiative a year later. This enterprise turns discarded electronics into high-end furniture, while offering training to scrapyard workers to promote safety and new forms of craftsmanship. Awuah-Darko also created a series of sculptures born from the dump’s detritus, which were shown at Gallery 1957’s space in Accra in 2019. It is no wonder he is drawn to the work of artists who show a similar dedication to circular economy and social change, including Attukwei Clottey, Ibrahim Mahama, and Moffat Takadiwa.

In fact, Awuah-Darko’s position as a reigning tastemaker within Accra’s art ecosystem has grown organically through his friendships with other artists. This has also led him to build a collection rich in the works of Ghanaian art stars, such as Serge Attukwei Clottey and Gideon Appah. His influence has also garnered attention on the wider world stage, including a name-check in Forbes Africa’s “30 Under 30” list in 2019, where he was celebrated both as an artist and the managing director of the African Modern Art Fund.

In 2020, Awuah-Darko embarked on his biggest project yet: founding the Noldor Residency and Museum Institute of Ghana, housed in an old pharmaceutical factory in Accra’s seaside neighborhood of Labadi. This initiative supports emerging artists from the African continent and its diaspora with studio space and exhibitions, as well as inviting more established individuals on a range of fellowships.

“I really want African artists to be able to create work and build careers without ever having to travel abroad,” Awuah-Darko explained, which is no mean feat considering the complete lack of public funding for the visual arts in Ghana. “When we think of amazing artists such as Amoako Boafo and Otis Kwame Kye Quaicoe, there is a sense that they had to become diasporan to further their careers, before coming back.”

Installation view of “Think Pink, Go West” by Noldor alumnus Samuel Olayombo at the Institute Museum of Ghana (March 24–June 24, 2023). Courtesy of the Institute Museum of Ghana.

The residency was inspired in part by the legacy of Peggy Guggenheim, who Awuah-Darko said “supported artists in a very unique and meaningful way.” He sees this as being a conduit that connects artists with galleries and cultivates opportunities, to help further their careers. Among the success stories, he points to Noldor alumni such as Maku Azu, who has exhibited at Peres Projects in Berlin, and Youssra Raouchi, who has been shortlisted for the 2024 Norval Sovereign African Art Prize.

Today, Awuah-Darko is one of the most active members of a wider network of artists and innovators who are creating the change they want to see in the city. “Labadi has really become something of an arts district now,” he explained. “We have Serge Attukwei Clottey’s incredible studio, Ablade Glover’s Artists Alliance Gallery, Amoako Boafo’s dot.ateliers, the Dikan Center, which is one of the largest photography libraries in Africa—the list goes on!”

Despite the success of these artist-run initiatives, contemporary art collecting is still at an embryonic stage in Ghana, Awuah-Darko added. “On the continent, very few people collect African art on the scale that it is done in the west, with the unique exception of Nigeria, which has a very big collecting class along with art fairs such as Art X Lagos,” he explained. “I’d say I’m one of the only Ghanaians living in and collecting in Ghana—but that is starting to change.”

A fashion show by Ajabeng held at the pavilion courtyard of the Noldor Residency, founded by Awuah-Darko in 2020. Courtesy of the Institute Museum of Ghana.

A positive force when it comes to democratizing and demystifying the process of buying art is the proliferation of art marketplace apps, Awuah-Darko said, which “can be really transparent regarding price points and budget ranges.” He also praised the power of Instagram, which he said was invaluable when he was starting out. “Social media is a powerful tool when it comes to discovering artists. You can get a sense of a body of work, or a creative trajectory, very quickly.”

While the digital sphere has certainly aided his networking and research, Awuah-Darko professed that nothing beats an in-person studio visit. “It is one of the most enriching parts of being a collector,” he said. “I’ve been to studios in Paris, Dakar, Amsterdam and Lagos, and my dream would be to do some sort of roadshow, where I could conduct a series of visits and discussions which could be broadcast.”

On entering the new year, Awuah-Darko is taking time to reevaluate his collection and plans to focus on gender parity and more textile-based pieces, as well as works on paper. “A lot of glory is given to works on canvas, but drawing is really the genesis of any remarkable idea,” he said. In terms of his latest acquisitions, a favorite is a sculpture by Senegalese ceramicist Seyni Awa Camara, which features a siren. Her totemic terracotta pieces were show in dialogue with paintings by the Kenyan-born British artist Michael Armitage at White Cube in London in 2022.

Walk In Gardens (2023) by Youssra Raouchi, an alumna of the Noldor Residency who has been shortlisted for the 2024 Norval Sovereign African Art Prize. Courtesy of the Institute Museum of Ghana.

Awuah-Darko also predicts a move away from the dominance of figurative painting. “It has had a really explosive moment over the past few years and I think there will be something of a correction,” he said. “There have been a lot of artists playing the imitation game, which had led to a saturation of this kind of work. Collectors aren’t mindless. The work really needs to speak to more than just bodies on bodies, or a Black person painting another Black person. It has to move beyond that.”

With all this activity, Awuah-Darko sees his chosen home city as poised to become a bigger hub. “Accra is going through a period of awakening and resurgence,” he said. “The blossoming of residency programs and artist-led initiatives is creating an environment with the capacity for collecting to happen.”

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“You know how when you smell a fragrance that brings you to a specific time—like if you wore a certain scent for a year in college or if your grandmother always smelled like Channel No. 5—each time you smell that fragrance it brings you right back,” says Suzanne Saroff. “The process of chewing the gum for this series did that in a jarring way.”

Saroff is referring to a new body of work highlighting tiny bubblegum sculptures on the brink of deflating or popping. Conjuring memories of childhood competitions and absent-minded chomping, the photos zoom in on chewed wads of pink, blue, and green that appear almost corporeal, their pudgy folds and pockets evoking the beauty and repulsion of the human body.

The series started instinctively when Saroff spotted a pack of gum in her studio. Having previously photographed ephemeral subject matter like flowers, fish, and milk bubbles, the stretchy material was a welcome direction even though it popped within seconds of blowing. She made several trips to the nearest bodega for different flavors and colors and eventually, assembled dozens of combinations. “With the milk bubbles, I was interested in capturing something a bit mischievous and visceral that pops within seconds. The bubble gum is a continuation of that,” she adds.

Find information about available prints and more of Saroff’s work, including a recent short film about transformation, on her site and Instagram

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 Suzanne Saroff’s Playful Bubblegum Photos Capture Delicate Forms on the Brink of Bursting appeared first on Colossal.

Whether deep in slumber or perched on ornamental pedestals, Willy Verginer’s bold, whimsical sculptures (previously) invite us into a surreal dream world. His latest series, The Lost Garden, draws on the paradisiacal notion of Eden and the alpine landscape and animals of the Dolomite Mountains near the artist’s home in northern Italy.

Verginer uses linden, or basswood, to chisel life-size sculptures of birds, bears, and human figures who merge with their natural surroundings. For example, in “Il fiume e la notte,” or “the river and the night,” a child sleeps atop a thicket of branches, simultaneously calm yet balancing precariously on thin supports. And in “Fiore del giardino,” or “garden flower,” a child’s head and shoulders are tightly enveloped with magenta flowers like a cloak.

Like much of Verginer’s work, The Lost Garden draws correlations and contrasts between society’s quickly advancing technologies and the way our reliance on phones or cars further separates us from nature. The artist’s sculptures stand like totems or nostalgic emblems, calling on a desire for a more interconnected world.

Verginer is working toward a solo exhibition at Studio d’Arte Raffaelli in Trento, Italy, this autumn. Find more on his website and Instagram.

Left: “Fra poco arriverà” (2022), lindenwood, acrylic, and aluminum leaf, 76 x 23 x 33 centimeters. Right: “Oceano verde dietro alle spalle” (2023), lindenwood, burned wood, aluminum leaf, 148 x 80 x 74 centimeters

Installation view of ‘The Lost Garden’

“Il fiume e la notte” (2023), different types of wood and acrylic, 55 x 85 x 53 centimeters

“The pink bear” (2022), lindenwood and acrylic, 85 x 225 x 90 centimeters

“Quattro zoccoli in paradiso (blue)” (2023), lindenwood, acrylic, and aluminum leaf, 235 x 150 x 70 centimeters

“Venuto dalle spiagge gelate” (2023), different types of wood, 100 x 78 x 45 centimeters

Work in progress in the artist’s studio

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 Children and Animals Merge with the Natural World in Willy Verginer’s Whimsical ‘Lost Garden’ appeared first on Colossal.

In the mid-20th century, a bold, angular architectural style emerged as a celebration of post-war renewal, innovation, and symbolic strength. Brutalism, known for its bare, monochrome, industrial materials like concrete, brick, and steel, became a way for centers of influence like municipal hubs, government buildings, and cultural institutions to convey magnificent resilience and contemporaneity. Religious architecture was no exception.

There is hardly a more symbolic building than a church or cathedral, from the pilgrimage-like progression down the nave toward the altar to the lofty height and sweeping arches that draw the eye upward as a metaphorical connection to Heaven. And starting the 1950s, architects began designing cavernous brutalist buildings to house congregations around Europe, taking ecclesiastical structures in remarkable new directions.

In his new book Sacred Modernity, photographer Jamie McGregor Smith explores Europe’s most stunning brutalist churches, capturing cavernous meeting halls, remarkable geometry, and characteristic concrete and brick textures. Published by Hatje Cantz, the volume traces the dramatic, modernizing shift in the Catholic church in the early 1960s, marked by the Vatican’s search for an appropriate architectural language to show that the Catholic Church was still relevant in contemporary society.

St. Paulus Kirche, Weckhoven, Dussoldorf, Germany. Designed by Fritz Schaller and Stefan Polónyi, constructed 1966-1970

Smith has long been captivated by industrial and urban design. Inspired by the New Topographics documentary photography movement in the U.S., he began focusing on the defunct pottery industry in the British Midlands and iron ore processing plants in Middlesbrough. When he moved from London to Vienna in the summer of 2018, he was immediately struck by a seeming paradox when he visited a impressively blocky, asymmetrical church in the district of Liesing. He says:

The concept for the church began life as a sculpture, the artist believing its design had been delivered to him by God in a dream. I was bewildered that this piece of progressive art, consisting of 152 irregular concrete blocks, had been commissioned by such a conservative institution. It redefined my idea of what a church could be: at once beautiful yet brutal.

Smith broadened his search and quickly became enthralled by the forward-thinking movement in sacred design, spurring a series that aims to collate the religious architecture of mid-century high modernity. At more than 200 pages with well over 100 photographs, the new volume catalogues locations across the continent, highlighting the distinctive use of cast concrete, light-catching facets, and monumental proportions.

Sacred Modernity is scheduled for release in the U.S. on May 14, and you can preorder a copy now on Bookshop. Find more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

Christi Auferstehung Kirche, Cologne, Germany. Designed by Gottfried Böhm, constructed 1968-1970

Interior of Christi Auferstehung Kirche, Cologne, Germany

Heilig-Kreuz-Kirche, Vienna, Austria. Designed by Hannes Lintl, constructed 1971-1975

Chiesa di Santa Maria Immacolata, Longarone, Italy. Designed by Giovanni Michelucci, constructed 1975-1977

Osterkirche, Oberwart, Austria. Designed by Gunther Domenig and Eilfried Huth, constructed 1967-1969

Kościół św, Dominika, Poland. Designed by Władysław Pieńkowski, constructed 1985-1994

St Theresia Kirche, Linz, Austria. Designed by Rudolf Schwarz, constructed 1959-1962

Santuario della Beata Vergine della Consolazione, San Marino. Designed by Giovanni Michelucci, constructed 1964-1967 

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 Jamie McGregor Smith Illuminates Europe’s Most Striking Brutalist Churches in ‘Sacred Modernity’ appeared first on Colossal.

Tucker, GA — The ARTucker spring art market at the Church Street Greenspace on Saturday, April 27, featured 40 local art vendors, performances, crafts, and interactive chalk walls for people to express their creativity.

“These vendors are our neighbors. This is a fantastic event for our local community,” ARTucker Board Member Harper Evans said.

Sisters Valentine and Louisa Martinez brought Ducky and Lamby to check out the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Philip S. Poole of Art Via Shane stands with a large work during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Poole is a mixed media artist who paints on canvas, and then hand sews glass beads and sequins on the canvas. Poole spends anywhere from 5-100 hours on each piece. “It’s art of patience,” Poole said. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Fin, Claire, Kai and George make musical instruments from recycled material at the Scraplanta Creative Reuse kids craft station during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Elizabeth Wagner and her son McAllister check out the ARTucker art market with their dog Klouseau at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

ARTucker Board Member Harper Evans talks to people during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Mila Howard, 15, creates art on one of the 8 ft. chalk walls during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

People check out original art from EA Design Shop during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Dunkin’ corporate gives out free refreshments and gift cards during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Multidisciplinary artist Sarah-Jane May of May’s Monsters at their booth filled with illustrations, buttons, pins, patches, jewelry, screen-print apparel and more during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Tarot reader, astrologer and artist Jenny-The Young Crone, holds a tarot deck that features pulp fiction themed illustrations during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

Tom Hill gets set up to perform with the Tom Hill Trio during the ARTucker art market at the Church Street Greenspace in Tucker on Saturday, April 27, 2024. Photo by Dean Hesse.

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When a massive star dies, it collapses with an enormous explosion that produces a supernova. In some cases, the remains become a black hole, the enigmatic phenomenon that traps everything it comes into contact with—even light itself.

The life cycle of stars informs the most recent works by artist Lauren Fensterstock, who applies the principles of such stellar transformations to human interaction and connection. From her studio in Portland, Maine, she creates dense mosaics of fragmented crystals and stones including quartz, obsidian, and tourmaline that glimmer when hit by light and form shadowy areas of intrigue when not.

Cloaking sculptures and large-scale installations, Fensterstock’s dazzling compositions evoke natural forms like flowers, stars, and clouds and speak to cosmic and terrestrial entanglement. “I have to admit that I agonize over the placement of every single (piece),” the artist shares. “There are days where it flows together like a magical puzzle and other days where I place, rip out, and redo a square inch of surface again and again for hours. Even amidst a huge mass of material, every moment has to have that feeling of effortless perfection.”

“The totality of time lusters the dusk” (2020), mixed media, installation at The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photo by Ron Blunt

The gems are sometimes firmly embedded within the surface and at others, appear to explode outward in an energetic eruption. Celestial implosions are apt metaphors for transformation, the artist says, and “pairs of stars speak to the complexities of personal connections… In the newest work—which explores vast sky maps filled with multiple constellations—I attempt to move beyond a single star or an isolated self to show the entanglement of the cosmic whole.”

While beautiful on their own, the precious materials explore broader themes in aggregate.  Just as astrology uses constellations and cosmic machinations to offer insight and meaning into the unknown, Fensterstock’s jeweled sculptures chart relationships between the individual and the universe to draw closer to the divine.

The artist is currently working toward a solo show opening this fall at Claire Oliver Gallery in Harlem. Inspired by her daily meditation practice, she’ll present elaborately mapped creations of lotuses, black holes, fallen stars, and a bow and arrow that appear as offerings to the universe. In addition to that exhibition, the artist is showing in May at the Shelburne Museum and will attend a residency in Italy this September, to work on a book about entanglement and artist muses. Find more about those projects and her multi-faceted practice on her website and Instagram.

Detail of “Dwelling” (2023), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, and mixed media, 18 x 16 x 13 inches. Photo by Luc Demers

Left: “The Undiluted” (2023), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media. Photo by Luc Demers. Right: “The Unhurt” (2023), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, and mixed media, 22 x 27 x 14 inches. Photo by Luc Demers

“The totality of time lusters the dusk” (2020), mixed media, installation at The Renwick Gallery of the Smithsonian American Art Museum. Photo by Ron Blunt

Left: “The Many” (2023), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, and mixed media, 38 x 38 x 10 inches. Image courtesy of Claire Oliver Gallery. Right: “Heart of Negation” (2022), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, and mixed media, 54 × 54 × 14 inches

“Eclipse” (2022), vintage crystal, glass, quartz, obsidian, tourmaline, and mixed media. Photo by Luc Demers

“The Order of Things” (2016), shells and mixed media

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The most recent Art Basel and UBS Global Art Market Report [1] reported that the Global Art Market, while down 4% year-on-year from 2022, has passed the 2019 pre-pandemic levels to $65 Billion on 39.4 million transactions, up 4% over 2022. This strength of the Global Art Market is good news, but it poses a challenge to art collectors and their estate planners. Any volatility can complicate estate planning and volatility in the value of collections in particular, leading to potential tax complications and challenges in asset distribution among heirs. However, sophisticated estate freeze techniques offer effective solutions, allowing collectors to manage and mitigate these risks. Here’s an exploration of the top strategies that art collectors can utilize to safeguard their legacies in the face of market uncertainty.

Understanding the Challenge

Art collections are unique assets not only because of their cultural and personal value but also due to their potential for significant appreciation. However, this value can be highly volatile, influenced by market trends, artists’ reputations and economic factors. This volatility can create estate planning challenges, particularly concerning estate tax liabilities and the equitable distribution of assets.

Estate Freeze Techniques

1. Family Limited Partnerships (FLP) and Limited Liability Companies (LLC)

By transferring art into an FLP or LLC, collectors can manage their collections under a business structure, gifting or selling shares to heirs at current values, and having the artwork treated as an investment rather than as a collectible. This strategy not only keeps the future appreciation of the art out of the collector’s estate, it also preserves control over the collection during the collector’s lifetime, while providing significant income tax advantages for the collector.

2. Grantor Retained Annuity Trust (GRAT)

A GRAT involves transferring art to a trust, where the collector retains the right to receive an annuity for a fixed period. This results in any appreciation above the IRS-approved interest rate passing to the beneficiaries tax-free, effectively freezing the estate value of the art at the time of the initial transfer.

3. Intentionally Defective Grantor Trust (IDGT
SPDR Global Dow ETF
)

Selling art to an IDGT in exchange for a promissory note can also freeze its current value for estate purposes. The trust pays the seller an interest rate, while any appreciation beyond this rate accrues to the beneficiaries without additional estate or gift tax.

4. Qualified Personal Residence Trust (QPRT)

Not just for real estate, a QPRT can include art displayed in the residence. The trust freezes the value of the art along with the home, with the future appreciation passing to heirs, thereby reducing potential gift and estate taxes.

5. Charitable Lead Annuity Trust (CLAT)

A CLAT allows collectors to support charities while eventually passing the art to heirs. The trust’s initial value is reduced by the present value of the income stream to the charity, lowering the taxable estate.

6. Other Notable Techniques

· **Grantor Retained Income Trust (GRIT)**: Similar to a GRAT but the collector retains the income instead of an annuity. This technique should be combined with a program of leasing artwork through the FLLP or FLLC.

· Dynasty or Purpose Trust: Extends the benefits of a freeze beyond one generation.

· Self-Canceling Installment Note (SCIN) and Private Annuity: Both allow for a transfer of assets in exchange for a financial instrument that provides payments to the collector with significant tax benefits, if the collector passes away before the end of the note’s term.

Benefits of Using Estate Freeze Strategies

These techniques not only help to manage estate tax liabilities but also allow collectors to achieve their legacy goals, such as keeping collections within the family or donating to cultural institutions. By locking in current market values and controlling how collections are handled after their passing, collectors can ensure that their estates are not forced to sell off pieces in a potentially unfavorable market.

Conclusion

The volatile nature of the art market makes it essential for collectors to consider advanced estate planning techniques. Estate freezes are a crucial strategy, allowing collectors to navigate market fluctuations and secure their financial legacies. With proper legal and financial advice, these strategies can be tailored to meet individual needs, ensuring that both financial goals and personal values are maintained for generations to come.

[1]

For the last two years, Yuko Nishikawa (previously) has prioritized traveling. Chasing the unbridled inspiration that new environments bring to her practice, the Brooklyn-based artist has found herself in Japan, participating in residency programs and appreciating time on her own. Using local materials, crossing paths with people, and immersing herself in different landscapes has become the starting point for much of her recent work.

Nishikawa’s previous body of work incorporates more bulbous vessels, whereas the artist’s newest solo exhibition, Mossy Mossy, returns to the classic paper pod mobiles she’s known for and evokes a physical reflection of her musings from Hokuto-shi. Located in Yamanashi Prefecture, the city is replete with moss sprawling atop rocks, alongside waterfalls, and covering buildings. This simple plant “spreads from the center to the periphery and grows and increases,” she says. Methodically balanced by weight and connected by wire, Nishikawa suspends a plethora of green pods uniquely shaped from paper pulp.

Composed of more than 30 sculptures, all works in Mossy Mossy represent a system of growth that evokes the plants’ rambling qualities and always stem from a single, fixed line hanging from the ceiling. Delicate, dangling elements invite each mobile to respond to the movement of viewers and airflow. “Rather than looking at it from one point, the shape changes when you move your body to see and experience it from all directions,” she explains.

Mossy Mossy is on view now at Gasbon Metabolism until May 27, and Nishikawa is also preparing for an exhibition and lecture in October 2024 at Pollock Gallery. Follow on Instagram for updates, and see her website for more work.

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 Yuko Nishikawa’s Sprawling Mobiles Mimic the Rambling Growth of Moss and Plants appeared first on Colossal.