Keegan Mapes, a senior art student at the University of North Alabama, said putting her work up for sale at events and art exhibitions like the Winter Art Market at the Tennessee Valley Museum of Art in Tuscumbia not only validates her passion, but it also motivates her to create more.
Florals? For Miami? Groundbreaking.
Across the fairs at Miami Art Week is an abundance of works featuring flowers: big, small, in color, and greyscale. It seemed that every other booth across Basel, NADA, and Untitled Art Fair had a painting or a sculpture featuring a flower—whether it was a large Kusama sculpture of a dotted daisy at Victoria Miro’s booth at Art Basel or the decorative still lifes on offer at other fairs (as one art advisor said, “Lots of living room art!).
These floral works, most seem to agree, appeal to Miami’s already lush landscapes and vibrant sensibilities. But there are more flowers now than in years past, and it might be a sign of a struggling market, though gallerists seem reluctant to speak to that, preferring to highlight their own attraction to the specific bodies of work they’ve brought to Miami.
Claudia Hart, Russian Roulette (A Game of Life): Second Prize V.2 (2023). Courtesy of the artist and Annka Kultys Gallery.
“I had a collector come to me and show me all the photos he had of paintings of flowers he had seen,” said Annka Kultys, whose eponymous London-based gallery is showing a series of works by Claudia Hart titled “Russian Roulette,” that feature still lifes of bouquets in which AR works are embedded. Digitally rendered and then transferred onto wood panels, the works have a painterly quality that draws in curious viewers.
“They come to the paintings looking for nature and they see this unnatural, digital work instead,” said Kultys. Flowers as collector bait? Perhaps.
“Miami is all about colors, painting, this is why we chose Hart’s work over our video works, for example.” Kulty further suggested that given the presence of flowers in historical painting themes, they feel familiar and legitimate to hesitant collectors. Hart agreed it was a good move.
“There are joyous flowers and there are flowers that speak to death,” said Hart. “This fair is mostly about happy flowers.”
Over at Basel, naturally, more flora was in bloom.
Lush images of flora and fauna rendered in all types of media were on display at Art Basel. Photo: Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.
The Milan- and New York-based gallery kaufmann repetto was showing large floral, vegetal works by Andrea Bowers and Dianna Molzan.
While Francesca Kaufmann wouldn’t speak to the general trend, she credited her own gallery’s focus on the floral to a feminist preoccupation with the Earth and its splendors.
“Women are the ones that care about the environment much more than men so it’s no coincidence that we bring 99 percent women to the booth and there are a lot of natural themes showing here,” said Kaufmann. “It’s eco-feminism, women just care more.”
While a more formal analysis would have to be done it does seem that the majority of artists bringing floral works are women.
But at the end of the day what it seems to comes down to is that florals are a safe bet for skittish collectors. In a somewhat depressed market, gallerists can count on a non-threatening bouquet to seal the deal.
Atmosphere during Art Basel Miami Beach Art Fair 2023 VIP Preview. Photo by Sean Zanni/Patrick McMullan via Getty Images.
Francisco Correa Cordero, owner of Lubov, was stunned by the amount of flower works he saw around the fairs this week, with a photo album full of works he had seen featuring orchids, tulips, roses, and the rest.
“Flowers are a quintessential symbol of tranquility, love, care, support, growth,” said Correa Cordero. “Plus, regardless of the current political or economic climate, they’re a safe and easy sell considering it’s been a difficult year for a lot of galleries. Remember Karma’s first show after the lockdown, ‘(Nothing but) Flowers’?”
Hopefully these vegetal beauties do their part to prop up a lackluster market.
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We’re thrilled to announce our next limited-edition print release with Jon Ching (previously). Longtime Colossal readers will recognize Ching’s fantastic hybrids, which seamlessly meld flora and fauna into otherworldly compositions. In “Sanguines,” blush-colored petals and feathers merge into a delicately layered crest, while “Adaptive Radiation” depicts two fluffy rabbits wearing a crown of pink gladiolus.
Both giclée prints are signed and numbered and available in editions of 40 from the Colossal Shop.
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 Colossal Releases Two New Limited-Edition Prints with Jon Ching appeared first on Colossal.
A legendary rivalry dukes it out one more time in Dog & Rabbit’s animation, “The Beatles Vs The Stones.” As iconic album covers from both rock groups come to life, the character from Voodoo Lounge rides a yellow submarine while Keith Richards, Paul McCartney, Mick Jagger, and Ringo Starr have a food fight.
What started out as funny adaptations to album art eventually became a labor of love as Andrew Kelleher explains. “I love music (good music is my favourite kind, to get specific), and animating this collection of iconic and sometimes odd album covers was a full-on joy. It was a bloody pleasure to make, from start to finish.” To create the film, Kelleher cut, re-assembled, and spliced together existing photographs alongside hand-drawn elements from fellow animators Sanjana Chandrasekhar and Hannah Brewerton.
Watch “The Beatles Vs The Stones” above, and find more on Dog & Rabbit’s website 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 In an Animated Battle of the Bands, The Beatles and The Stones Clash Through Dozens of Albums appeared first on Colossal.
All images © 1+1>2
The historic village of Bat Trang in northern Vietnam has been a hub for ceramic production since the 11th century. Home to vast reserves of white clay, the town’s economy is still deeply rooted in creating and selling various functional and decorative objects, while becoming increasingly popular for tourism.
In homage to the village’s enduring traditions, the architects of 1+1>2 studio designed the Bat Trang Pottery Museum, a spacious, four-story venue devoted to sharing the history of the region and offering a space where local artisans can showcase their works. Constructed with fiber-reinforced concrete, the building swells upward in tiers to evoke the shape of vessels thrown on a potter’s wheel, while the terracotta color references the earthen material and bricks used in kilns.
Comprised of seven segments, the museum is a multi-use space. Exhibitions, festivals, and studios occupy much of the building with a restaurant and auditorium on the fourth floor. Lush with potted plants, the rooftop features a workshop, play area, and space for people to gather in the open air.
Find more about the project on the studio’s website. (via designboom)
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 The Cavernous Bat Trang Pottery Museum Swells Upward Like a Hand-Thrown Ceramic Vessel appeared first on Colossal.
Stacey Edgar to Lead Santa Fe’s International Folk Art Market
SANTA FE, NM / ACCESSWIRE / December 8, 2023 / The International Folk Art Market is pleased to announce that Stacey Edgar has been appointed Executive Director. IFAM’s Executive and Search Committees managed a competitive application search and interview process over several months. Edgar was selected because of her acumen and strategic vision for the organization moving forward.
“I am really excited for the folk artists because of Stacey’s background. She has deep international experience in Latin America and Africa and experience creating markets for artists. She understands the small businesses of the folk artists and the difficulties and challenges the artists experience every day at the grassroots level. It is a terrific match,” said IFAM co-founder Tom Aageson.
Stacey Edgar is an award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, researcher, and artisan business consultant with over 20 years of experience working with folk artists globally. For the past five years, Edgar has served as an assistant teaching professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business in the Social Responsibility & Sustainability Division.
“I am incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to join the IFAM team – with its amazing founders, board, advisory board and staff – as we work together to celebrate our 20th anniversary. My goal is to partner with our global community of folk artists to expand the role and positive impact of IFAM in creating connection and opportunities for folk artists as we move into our next 20 years,” said Stacey Edgar.
In addition to Edgar’s qualifications, she has been honored by the Microsoft Corporation as a recipient of the company’s Start Something Amazing Awards, by Organic Style as one of their Women with Organic Style, and by Multichannel Merchant magazine as a “Maven of Merchandise.” Her most recent research study Artisan Social Enterprises in Zambia: Women Leveraging Purpose to Scale Impact was published last month in the Social Enterprise Journal.
For 2024, 167 artists from 51 countries have been selected for IFAM’s 20th anniversary market. IFAM is excited to welcome 41 first-time artists and a new country, Papua New Guinea, to the market. Look forward to an incredible 20th anniversary market July 11-14, 2024, at the Santa Fe Railyard Park.
Media Inquiries:
Audrey N. Rubinstein
505-490-5029
[email protected]
About The International Folk Art Market:
The International Folk Art Market Santa Fe is a 501(c)(3) with the mission to create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide who celebrate and preserve folk art traditions. The International Folk Art Market envisions a world that values the dignity and humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and supports the work of folk artists serving as entrepreneurs and catalysts for positive social change.
Contact Information
Audrey Rubinstein
Publicist
[email protected]
505-490-5029
SOURCE: International Folk Art Market
View the original press release on accesswire.com
SANTA FE, N.M., December 8, 2023 (Newswire.com)
–
The International Folk Art Market is pleased to announce that Stacey Edgar has been appointed Executive Director. IFAM’s Executive and Search Committees managed a competitive application search and interview process over several months. Edgar was selected because of her acumen and strategic vision for the organization moving forward.
“I am really excited for the folk artists because of Stacey’s background. She has deep international experience in Latin America and Africa and experience creating markets for artists. She understands the small businesses of the folk artists and the difficulties and challenges the artists experience every day at the grassroots level. It is a terrific match,” said IFAM co-founder Tom Aageson.
Stacey Edgar is an award-winning social entrepreneur, educator, researcher, and artisan business consultant with over 20 years of experience working with folk artists globally. For the past five years, Edgar has served as an assistant teaching professor at the University of Colorado Boulder, Leeds School of Business in the Social Responsibility & Sustainability Division.
“I am incredibly honored and excited for the opportunity to join the IFAM team — with its amazing founders, board, advisory board and staff — as we work together to celebrate our 20th anniversary. My goal is to partner with our global community of folk artists to expand the role and positive impact of IFAM in creating connection and opportunities for folk artists as we move into our next 20 years,” said Stacey Edgar.
In addition to Edgar’s qualifications, she has been honored by the Microsoft Corporation as a recipient of the company’s Start Something Amazing Awards, by Organic Style as one of their Women with Organic Style, and by Multichannel Merchant magazine as a “Maven of Merchandise.” Her most recent research study Artisan Social Enterprises in Zambia: Women Leveraging Purpose to Scale Impact was published last month in the Social Enterprise Journal.
For 2024, 167 artists from 51 countries have been selected for IFAM’s 20th anniversary market. IFAM is excited to welcome 41 first-time artists and a new country, Papua New Guinea, to the market. Look forward to an incredible 20th anniversary market July 11-14, 2024, at the Santa Fe Railyard Park.
Media Inquiries:
Audrey N. Rubinstein
505-490-5029
audrey@themettaagency.com
About The International Folk Art Market:
The International Folk Art Market Santa Fe is a 501(c)(3) with the mission to create economic opportunities for and with folk artists worldwide who celebrate and preserve folk art traditions. The International Folk Art Market envisions a world that values the dignity and humanity of the handmade, honors timeless cultural traditions, and supports the work of folk artists serving as entrepreneurs and catalysts for positive social change.
Source: International Folk Art Market
Carla van de Puttelaar for Iris van Herpen, various collections (2020). All images courtesy of Musée des Arts Décoratifs, shared with permission
Water, skeletons, and the origins of life usher in a major retrospective of the exquisite, otherworldly garments of Iris van Herpen (previously). On view now at the Musée des Arts Décoratifs, Sculpting the Senses is a celebration of the Dutch designer’s groundbreaking contributions to fashion, particularly her collaborative sensibilities and interest in working across art and science.
Van Herpen founded her eponymous brand in 2007 and has since created a vast oeuvre embracing the beauty of the natural world. Her “Arachne bustier,” part of the Meta Morphism collection, for example, features a sculptural form evocative of wings atop a gossamer bodice. Other works are similarly shapely, like those in Hypnosis, which feature bulbous skirts and mind-bending patterns that sway with mesmerizing movement.
“Dynamic tension, fluidity, delicacy, and complexity, as well as poetry and philosophy: these are the main elements of the dialogues she establishes between body and clothing, which allow her to convey a new, rich, enthusiastic perspective on the world to come,” writes curator Cloé Pitiot.
In addition to van Herpen’s designs, the exhibition also includes works by artists like Casey Curran, Rogan Brown, and Janaina Mello Landini, who have either inspired or collaborated with the designer over the years.
Sculpting the Senses is on view through April 28 in Paris. Pick up the accompanying monograph, which contains a forward by Tilda Swinton, from Bookshop.
“Epicycle” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), glass organza, crepe, PetG, mylar. Image © Dominique Maitre
Luigi and Iango for Iris van Herpen, “Skeleton Dress,” in collaboration with Isaie Bloch, ‘Capriole Collection’ (2020)
Left: “Suminagashi” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), polyurethane, mylar, tulle. Image © Dominique Maitre. Right: “Epicycle” dress, ‘Hypnosis’ collection (2019), glass organza, crepe, PetG, mylar. Image © Dominique Maitre
Iris van Herpen in collaboration with Perry Hall, “Fractal Flows” dress, ‘Sensory Seas’ collection (2020), glass organza, Komon Kobo, tulle. Image © Dominique Maitre
“Arachne bustier,” ‘Meta Morphism’ collection (2022), polyester silk, mylar, tulle, Swarovski crystals, embroidery thread, stainless steel. Image © Dominique Maitre
David Uzochukwu for Iris van Herpen, “Hydrozoa Dress,” ‘Sensory Seas’ collection'(2020). Right: David Uzochukwu for Iris van Herpen, “Sensory Seas Dress” and “Nautiloid Dress,” ‘Sensory Seas’ collection (2020)
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 A Major Retrospective Celebrates Iris van Herpen’s Mesmerizing Designs at the Intersection of Art, Fashion, and Science appeared first on Colossal.
