In Ant Hamlyn’s latest body of work, flowers and plants at the prime of life attempt to burst from their habitats in a desperate search for air and room to grow. The London-based artist is known for his sculptures of botanicals suffocating underneath acrylic panels, a subject matter he continues for his forthcoming exhibition Terrarium.

Opening this week at Weserhalle in Berlin, the show features Hamlyn’s signature specimens made of velvet and shiny, inflatable plastic. Like earlier works, Venus fly traps, plush petals, and the hallucinogenic spotted fly agaric mushroom make an appearance, although this time, they’re unable to breach the plastic panes. Small cork tops seal each stifling terrarium, choking the plants of oxygen and confining them to claustrophobic environments that, unlike the real-life chambers, aren’t created to promote and sustain life.

Terrarium runs from March 15 to April 13. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

“Cactus”

“Shroom”

“Snake Plant Bonsai”

“Carnivores”

“Big Shroom”

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 Bright Succulents, Cacti, and Plants Attempt to Break From Ant Hamlyn’s Claustrophobic Terrariums appeared first on Colossal.

As part of its 20th Anniversary celebration, The Woodlands Arts Council (TWAC) is proud to announce the first-ever Young Makers Market, to be held on September 7, 2024, at Market Street The Woodlands. This one-of-a-kind opportunity for students aged 8-18 in Montgomery County to sell their unique artistic creations in a one-day mini-arts festival will teach participants about entrepreneurship, marketing, and what it is like to be a working artist in workshops before the big event.

Young Artists of ALL SKILL LEVELS are encouraged to apply. Please see the website for full details about applying and participation:https://www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org/p/programs/young-makers-market

“As an organization, we are having so much fun collaborating with community partners like Market Street, The Woodlands Compounding Pharmacy, and Woodforest National Bank to put together this experience for the young artists in our community,” said TWAC Executive Director Jenny Carattini-Wright. “It is a great way to kick off our 20th Anniversary and reflect our non-profit mission.”

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“Market Street is a longtime supporter of the local arts community,” said Market Street Marketing Director Noemi Gonzalez. “We are delighted to host the first Young Makers Market and look forward to the event inspiring creativity in both participants and attendees.”

TWAC has produced The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival, April 12, 13 & 14, 2024, since 2005. This beloved community event brings over 200 juried fine artists from around the world to Town Green Park and The Woodlands Waterway annually.

Applications are open now through April 30 on the TWAC website:https://www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org/p/programs/young-makers-market

Tickets to The Woodlands Waterway Arts Festival April 12, 13, & 14 are on sale now:https://www.thewoodlandsartscouncil.org/p/buytickets

The Woodlands Compounding Pharmacy, Woodforest National Bank, Market Street, and Howard Hughes sponsor the Young Makers Market.

Source: The Woodlands Arts Council

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When he was 20 years old, Narsiso Martinez immigrated to the U.S. from Oaxaca, Mexico, with a powerful resolve to learn English and pursue a university education. “I wanted to break the cycle,” he says. “In my family of six siblings, I wanted to be the difference and have a college degree before having my own family.”

At 29, Martinez finished high school, and in 2012, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. And while he continued his education in pursuit of an MFA, he began to work seasonally in the apple orchards of eastern Washington state. Drawing from the visual language of produce brands and relationships with people he met on the farms, he developed vivid mixed-media works emphasizing the individuals who perform the labor necessary to fill grocery aisles, restaurants, and refrigerators around the country.

“Fruit Catcher” (2021), ink, charcoal, and gold leaf on cardboard produce box, 20 x 15 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

Martinez’s solo exhibition From These Hands at Buffalo AKG Art Museum brings together pieces completed within the past few years, focusing on produce boxes as both collage components and as framing devices for striking portraits. He often portrays his subjects wearing baseball caps and scarves over their faces, which protect them from the elements.

The artist typically works from photographs of people he knows personally, rendering his subjects in charcoal and ink. He often applies gold leaf in addition to the bright logos of various produce companies, juxtaposing cheap labels and cardboard often destined for the landfill with an opulent aesthetic evocative of Western Baroque paintings.

The face coverings also draw attention to the workers’ anonymity while emphasizing each person’s often unacknowledged role in keeping food on Americans’ tables. Martinez depicts fellow immigrants and stalwart workers, celebrating the labor of marginalized people.

From These Hands continues through April 22. Find more on the artist’s Instagram.

“Always Fresh” (2018), ink, charcoal, gouache, gold leaf, collage on reclaimed produce boxes, 92 1/2 x 278 inches. Photo by Michael Underwood

Detail of “Always Fresh” (2018)

“Checker Leading the Crowd” (2023), charcoal and simple leaf on produce cardboard, 23 1/2 x 15 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Golden Crop” (2021), ink, gouache, charcoal, and acrylics on juice carton. 11 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Nature’s Candy Picker” (2023) ink, gouache, charcoal, and simple leaf in cherry box, 23 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 6 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“With Care” (2020), ink, gouache, charcoal, and matte gel on found produce box, 35 x 38 inches. Photo by Joshua Schaedel

“Paula” (2021), ink, gouache, charcoal, and acrylic on produce cardboard box, 16 x 27 3/4 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Unlimited Edition” (2023), triptych: ink, charcoal, and simple leaf on berry boxes, 15 x 10 x 4 1/2 inches each. Photo by Spike Mafford

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 In ‘From These Hands,’ Narsiso Martinez Honors Individuals Who Labor for the Food on Americans’ Tables appeared first on Colossal.

When he was 20 years old, Narsiso Martinez immigrated to the U.S. from Oaxaca, Mexico, with a powerful resolve to learn English and pursue a university education. “I wanted to break the cycle,” he says. “In my family of six siblings, I wanted to be the difference and have a college degree before having my own family.”

At 29, Martinez finished high school, and in 2012, he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts. And while he continued his education in pursuit of an MFA, he began to work seasonally in the apple orchards of eastern Washington state. Drawing from the visual language of produce brands and relationships with people he met on the farms, he developed vivid mixed-media works emphasizing the individuals who perform the labor necessary to fill grocery aisles, restaurants, and refrigerators around the country.

“Fruit Catcher” (2021), ink, charcoal, and gold leaf on cardboard produce box, 20 x 15 1/2 x 4 1/2 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

Martinez’s solo exhibition From These Hands at Buffalo AKG Art Museum brings together pieces completed within the past few years, focusing on produce boxes as both collage components and as framing devices for striking portraits. He often portrays his subjects wearing baseball caps and scarves over their faces, which protect them from the elements.

The artist typically works from photographs of people he knows personally, rendering his subjects in charcoal and ink. He often applies gold leaf in addition to the bright logos of various produce companies, juxtaposing cheap labels and cardboard often destined for the landfill with an opulent aesthetic evocative of Western Baroque paintings.

The face coverings also draw attention to the workers’ anonymity while emphasizing each person’s often unacknowledged role in keeping food on Americans’ tables. Martinez depicts fellow immigrants and stalwart workers, celebrating the labor of marginalized people.

From These Hands continues through April 22. Find more on the artist’s Instagram.

“Always Fresh” (2018), ink, charcoal, gouache, gold leaf, collage on reclaimed produce boxes, 92 1/2 x 278 inches. Photo by Michael Underwood

Detail of “Always Fresh” (2018)

“Checker Leading the Crowd” (2023), charcoal and simple leaf on produce cardboard, 23 1/2 x 15 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Golden Crop” (2021), ink, gouache, charcoal, and acrylics on juice carton. 11 3/4 x 15 1/4 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Nature’s Candy Picker” (2023) ink, gouache, charcoal, and simple leaf in cherry box, 23 1/2 x 15 1/2 x 6 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“With Care” (2020), ink, gouache, charcoal, and matte gel on found produce box, 35 x 38 inches. Photo by Joshua Schaedel

“Paula” (2021), ink, gouache, charcoal, and acrylic on produce cardboard box, 16 x 27 3/4 inches. Photo by Yubo Dong

“Unlimited Edition” (2023), triptych: ink, charcoal, and simple leaf on berry boxes, 15 x 10 x 4 1/2 inches each. Photo by Spike Mafford

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 In ‘From These Hands,’ Narsiso Martinez Honors Individuals Who Labor for the Food on America’s Tables appeared first on Colossal.

A market analysis highlights growing
appreciation of women artists.

A devoted conservationist, Ansel Adams (1902-1984) was known for photographing the beauty and grandeur of the American West, entangling his art and advocacy into awe-inspiring images. He pioneered an approach to the medium that documented his subject matter with exquisite clarity and a full tonal range. Whether zeroing in on a single, slick road in northern California or watching a thundercloud roil across the Sierra Nevada, his black-and-white photos offer a stunning glimpse at the wide expanses and myriad textures of the American landscape.

Despite their monumental subject matter, sixteen of Adams’ photos will squeeze inside the tiny confines of a USPS forever stamp for a new collection. The series is slated for release this spring and contains several of his most well-known images from Yosemite to Denali. Celebrating Adams’ contributions to both photography and environmental activism, the stamps make such an unprecedented approach more widely accessible.

The collection will be available on May 15.

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 16 of Ansel Adams’ Magnificent Photos Nest Inside a New USPS Stamp Collection appeared first on Colossal.

Whether running errands or visiting the local park, when nature calls, the options can be iffy. In the busy ward of Shibuya City, Tokyo, which attracts visitors for shopping and entertainment, the local administration faced a two-pronged problem: public restrooms have a reputation for being dark, dirty, and off-putting, and people just don’t like to use them. Then Shibuya City government teamed up with The Nippon Foundation and conceived of a way to hit two birds with one stone.

Launched in 2020, The Tokyo Toilet project (previously) invited 16 acclaimed architects and designers, including fashion brands and interior design studios, to transform 17 public restrooms into inviting, high-tech facilities. The initiative placed enormous emphasis on a high standard of maintenance and accessibility for all genders, ages, and abilities.

Modern structures by the likes of Kengo Kuma, Tadao Ando, and Sou Fujimoto respond to each location and its surroundings, from an immersive forest-inspired building in Nabeshima Shoto Park to a museum-like entrance in Hatagaya to a futuristic globe in Nanago Dori Park. The Tokyo Toilet’s website monitors the upkeep of each facility along with a map of the locations, and as of March 2023, all of the renovations are complete.

You might also enjoy this Tokyo museum dedicated entirely to miniature architectural models, featuring concepts by many of the architects involved in this project.

Kengo Kuma, Nabeshima Shoto Park

NIGO®, Jingumae

Masamichi Katayama and Wonderwall®︎, Ebisu Park

Tomohito Ushiro, Hiroo Higashi Park

Kazoo Sato and Disruption Lab Team, Nanago Dori Park

Shigeru Ban, Haru-no-Ogawa Community Park

Sou Fujimoto, Nishisando

Left: Kashiwa Sato, Ebisu Station, West Exit. Right: Mark Newson, Urasando  

Junko Kobayashi, Sasazuka Greenway

Toyo Ito, Yoyogi-Hachiman

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 Sixteen Architects Transform Aging Public Toilets in Tokyo into Extraordinarily Inviting Facilities appeared first on Colossal.

By Emily Innes
March 11, 2024

Rachel Du, Chinese art specialist and porcelain expert at Bonhams auction house, will deliver a lecture titled “Beyond Brushstrokes: Navigating the Evolution of the Chinese Art Market” at Washington and Lee University on March 25 at 5:30 p.m. in Leyburn Library’s Northen Auditorium. The lecture is sponsored by the Museums at W&L.

The lecture is free and open to the public and will be streamed online via Zoom. Registration for the Zoom livestream can be accessed here.

In her talk, Du will delve into the history of Chinese art collecting in the West, shedding light on the contributions of Gilded Age millionaires, missionaries and art dealers who played key roles in establishing significant Chinese art collections outside of East Asia. Du will provide valuable insight into the current Chinese art market and how geopolitical factors, such as the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic, influence the market.

Du is currently the Head of Sale for Chinese works of art at Bonhams in Los Angeles, California. Her areas of expertise include jades, porcelain, scholar’s objects and bronzes. During her tenure at Bonhams, Du has played a significant role in acquiring property for successful Asian art auctions and has overseen both live and online Asian art auctions, increasing Bonhams’ presence with major institutions across the United States.

Prior to joining Bonhams in 2017, Du worked in the gallery and museum sector. She received her bachelor’s degree from the University of California, Davis, and her master’s degree from the University of Chicago.

Leaving Dentons

Beijing Dacheng Law Offices, LLP (“大成”) is an independent law firm, and not a member or affiliate of Dentons. 大成 is a partnership law firm organized under the laws of the People’s Republic of China, and is Dentons’ Preferred Law Firm in China, with offices in more than 40 locations throughout China. Dentons Group (a Swiss Verein) (“Dentons”) is a separate international law firm with members and affiliates in more than 160 locations around the world, including Hong Kong SAR, China. For more information, please see dacheng.com/legal-notices or dentons.com/legal-notices.