Articles from November 2023

Faceted Limes and Apples with Scribbled Skin Shape Yuni Yoshida’s Vivid Photographs

A fine art photograph of gem-shaped fruits.

All images © Yuni Yoshida, shared with permission

Gem-like limes, hand-drawn apples, and sweet stilettos are just a few of the subjects of Yuni Yoshida’s vibrant photographs. Combining elements of design and commercial photography, the artist (previously) taps into preconceptions tied to the textures, shapes, densities, and ripeness of fruit and florals. She manipulates each item by hand, meticulously cutting, preserving, and arranging individual pieces. “I pay a lot of attention to food and flowers because I like things that are natural and have life,” she tells Colossal. She has long been drawn to organic materials because of what she describes as their warmth and individuality.

Find more on Yoshida’s website and Instagram.

A fine art photograph of a skinless apple with its skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

A fine art photograph of two stiletto shoes made from watermelon and forks stuck in for the heels.

A fine art photograph of pieces of fruit cut together to resemble an optical illusion of magnification.

A lime carved to look like a diamond.  A fine art photograph of a skinless apple with its green skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

A fine art photograph of three skinless apples with the red skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

Flowers arranged and shaped to look like an orange, cherries, grapes, bananas, and other berries.

A fine art photograph of two skinless pears with the skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

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 Faceted Limes and Apples with Scribbled Skin Shape Yuni Yoshida’s Vivid Photographs appeared first on Colossal.

Faceted Limes and Apples with Scribbled Skin Shape Yuni Yoshida’s Vivid Photographs

A fine art photograph of gem-shaped fruits.

All images © Yuni Yoshida, shared with permission

Gem-like limes, hand-drawn apples, and sweet stilettos are just a few of the subjects of Yuni Yoshida’s vibrant photographs. Combining elements of design and commercial photography, the artist (previously) taps into preconceptions tied to the textures, shapes, densities, and ripeness of fruit and florals. She manipulates each item by hand, meticulously cutting, preserving, and arranging individual pieces. “I pay a lot of attention to food and flowers because I like things that are natural and have life,” she tells Colossal. She has long been drawn to organic materials because of what she describes as their warmth and individuality.

Find more on Yoshida’s website and Instagram.

A fine art photograph of a skinless apple with its skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

A fine art photograph of two stiletto shoes made from watermelon and forks stuck in for the heels.

A fine art photograph of pieces of fruit cut together to resemble an optical illusion of magnification.

A lime carved to look like a diamond.  A fine art photograph of a skinless apple with its green skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

A fine art photograph of three skinless apples with the red skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

Flowers arranged and shaped to look like an orange, cherries, grapes, bananas, and other berries.

A fine art photograph of two skinless pears with the skin in the foreground cut to appear as if it was drawn on with marker.

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 Faceted Limes and Apples with Scribbled Skin Shape Yuni Yoshida’s Vivid Photographs appeared first on Colossal.

Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms

a hand holds a pink platter with a selection of paper mushrooms

All images © Ann Wood, shared with permission

You don’t need to head out to the forest to find plump morels or chanterelles. After years of cultivating a robust collection of paper flowers and produce, artist Ann Wood (previously) has turned her focus to fungi, sprouting myriad specimens within her Minneapolis studio. White-spotted red caps of the fly agaric mushroom, plum-colored mushrooms with thick, fleshy gills, and bright yellow spores spring from patches of moss and dried leaves or rest on a platter as if ready to eat.

Wood has a background in painting and wood sculpting, although she began working with paper exclusively eight years ago. She’s since crafted more than 300 lifelike renditions of flora and fauna. Each piece is the result of study and observation, and she grows many plants from seeds in her backyard, which then serve as models for her recreations. “Throughout the years, I’ve basically tried to cover as much of the natural world—butterflies, bees, various other insects, all kinds of flowers, branches, leaves, birds, bulbs with roots, and various types of root balls that are attached to garden plants,” she says.

The mushrooms shown here are life-size or larger, and Wood is particularly adept at capturing the fleshy gills that often hide underneath the cap, along with the fringed, peeling layers of the woody stems. “It’s my goal to create that magical feeling that you get by finding mushrooms out in nature. They are fragile and startling when you come across them. I hope my paper versions inspire that same emotion,” she says.

Explore more of the artist’s paper cultivars on her site and Instagram.

two red capped mushrooms with white spots and dense white gills sprout from a mossy base

a collection of paper mushrooms rest on a blue table

four images of paper flowers, a paper swan with white fringed feathers, and a yellow and black bird perched on a branch

five pink, yellow, and white mushrooms grow from a wood base

two heavily gilled purple mushrooms grow from dried brown leaves

an assortment of paper vegetables and fruits arranged as a flat lay with cut watermelon and citrus on a wood platter at the center

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 Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms appeared first on Colossal.

Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms

a hand holds a pink platter with a selection of paper mushrooms

All images © Ann Wood, shared with permission

You don’t need to head out to the forest to find plump morels or chanterelles. After years of cultivating a robust collection of paper flowers and produce, artist Ann Wood (previously) has turned her focus to fungi, sprouting myriad specimens within her Minneapolis studio. White-spotted red caps of the fly agaric mushroom, plum-colored mushrooms with thick, fleshy gills, and bright yellow spores spring from patches of moss and dried leaves or rest on a platter as if ready to eat.

Wood has a background in painting and wood sculpting, although she began working with paper exclusively eight years ago. She’s since crafted more than 300 lifelike renditions of flora and fauna. Each piece is the result of study and observation, and she grows many plants from seeds in her backyard, which then serve as models for her recreations. “Throughout the years, I’ve basically tried to cover as much of the natural world—butterflies, bees, various other insects, all kinds of flowers, branches, leaves, birds, bulbs with roots, and various types of root balls that are attached to garden plants,” she says.

The mushrooms shown here are life-size or larger, and Wood is particularly adept at capturing the fleshy gills that often hide underneath the cap, along with the fringed, peeling layers of the woody stems. “It’s my goal to create that magical feeling that you get by finding mushrooms out in nature. They are fragile and startling when you come across them. I hope my paper versions inspire that same emotion,” she says.

Explore more of the artist’s paper cultivars on her site and Instagram.

two red capped mushrooms with white spots and dense white gills sprout from a mossy base

a collection of paper mushrooms rest on a blue table

four images of paper flowers, a paper swan with white fringed feathers, and a yellow and black bird perched on a branch

five pink, yellow, and white mushrooms grow from a wood base

two heavily gilled purple mushrooms grow from dried brown leaves

an assortment of paper vegetables and fruits arranged as a flat lay with cut watermelon and citrus on a wood platter at the center

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 Fleshy Gills and Spotted Caps Sprout from Ann Wood’s Lifelike Paper Mushrooms appeared first on Colossal.

Moss, Pine Bark, and Roots Camouflage Tiny Refuges Among the Wild Swedish Forests and Farmland

a man peers out from the hole of a round moss covered hut

“Moss Hut.” All images © Ulf Mejergren, shared with permission

Artist and architect Ulf Mejergren (previously) continues his interest in cozy, outdoor constructions with a new series titled Farm Art. Collaborating with farmer Robert Pettersson, Mejergren built several site-specific structures from materials found around Pettersson’s property in Grödinge, Sweden.

For “Pine Bark Hut,” the pair layered thick, gnarly wood into a slender cabin camouflaged between two trees, a space first used for hunting and then storing tools. Similarly, “Root Hut” entwines gathered branches with the existing roots to create a small, sand pit enclosure nestled beneath the forest, while the circular “Moss Hut” stands 4.5 meters tall among the trees. The latter work “stems from the farmers’ hunting interest,” Mejergren writes. “For many years, he has put food at certain points in the forests so wild boars come to feed there. The problem is they are like bulldozers in the forests, looking for insects and roots in the soil, so they have dug up moss from the forest floor and left them scattered in big droves.” Cloaked in the remaining lichen, the structure is a disguised refuge among the wild landscape.

Other works in Farm Art are more aesthetically driven, like the vivid “Sunset.” Made of dandelion heads at full bloom, the spherical form appears to glow in a field of weeds and wildflowers. Find the full series on Mejergren’s site and Instagram.

a hut in between two trees made of bark. a person peers out from the center

“Pine Bark Hut”

a young girl sits underneath a large round circle made of bright yellow dandelions

“Sunset”

a man peers out from the center of a mossy hut

Detail of “Moss Hut”

two girls sit in front of a bright yellow orb made of dandelions

“Sunset”

a child sits under bank with a branch-constructed hut in front of him

“Root Hut”

dried hay envelops a home

“Hay House”

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 Moss, Pine Bark, and Roots Camouflage Tiny Refuges Among the Wild Swedish Forests and Farmland appeared first on Colossal.

Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations

An illustration of a silhouetted young figure sitting inside the outline of a human head.

All images © Simón Prades, shared with permission

Stories come to life on the page and introspective figures explore inner worlds in the dreamlike illustrations of Simón Prades (previously). His surreal scenes often feature silhouettes of people peering into the unknown, whether toward a distant memory, the wilderness, or the future. Rendered in deep hues with an emphasis on the effects of light and contrast, he draws attention to human nature and universal, emotional experiences of hope, nostalgia, and wonder.

Prades has worked as a freelance illustrator for more than ten years, finding visual language to express ideas in editorial and book publishing, film, music, and advertising. His clients have included The New York Times, Penguin Random House, Scientific American, and many more. “While I still love solving problems for clients, I must say that the urge to work on more personal projects has been growing and might manifest in a book or something like that soon,” he tells Colossal.

Prades is looking forward to a project next year that merges illustration with his other passion, cycling. During a 10-day tour through the Pyrenees, he plans to capture the experience in his sketchbook. Explore more of his work on his website and Behance, and follow updates on Instagram.

An illustration of a naval ship sailing across an open book.

An illustration of a glowing green capsule of forest, with a small silhouetted figure at the bottom.

A silhouetted figure sits among foliage in the evening with a book.

An illustration of a human skull with the cranium removed, and the brain is a bunch of flowers.

An illustration of a tree with its leaves falling, shaped like a human profile.

An illustration of two hands holding coral.

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 Introspective Figures Navigate Surreal Worlds in Simón Prades’ Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings

a woman with a large sunhat stands in a garden surrounded by cacti. the painting is gridded

“Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters. Photo by Auryn F. All images © Stelios Pupet, shared with permission

Whether working on a wall or canvas, artist Stelios Pupet begins with a grid. What starts as uniform blocks slowly morph into varied, angular shapes as he works, adding depth and structure to his largely figurative compositions. Viewed through the subtle distortion of the grid, his subjects are often crouching amid cacti and potted plants or curled into themselves in moments of contemplation. He describes his process:

I am focusing on creating a nice image, different or contemporary and easy on the eye. Sometimes, there is a personal story behind a canvas or a painting on a wall that makes the artwork more powerful or important (to me at least)…I believe that if you give everything in the creation of an artwork, somehow a part of you is captured and in this way, feelings are being created (for) the viewer.

Following a busy few months of working on murals across Europe, Pupet is currently creating a small piece in a park near his home in Athens. Follow his progress on Instagram.

a woman's back is turned to the viewer as she grasps a potted plant on the floor

“Amongst Greenery,” oil on canvas, 120 x 120 centimeters

a close up of a woman wearing a sunhat

Detail of “Les murmures du jardin,” oil on canvas, 200 x 200 centimeters

an aerial view of a robot like character mural amid rubble

“MR Tlaloc,” Athens. Photo by Dimitris Maniatis

a mural of a crouching woman with a large sunhat surrounded by cacti

“Amidst the Cacti,” Zaragoza, Spain. Photo by Marcos Cebrián

A grid-like portrait of a stern woman looking directly at the viewer

Remake of the Jean Auguste Dominique Ingres painting, “Portrait of Madamme Gaudry” (1864), acrylic and crayons on canvas , 40 x 40 centimeters

an aerial view of a mural of a woman curled up on a blue background

“Solitude of Contemplation,” Antonis Tritsis Metropolitan Park, Athens

A woman on a wooden chair with her legs pulled up. All on a gridded purple backdrop

Study for the canvas “They keep coming,” gouache on paper, 25 x 18 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 Contemplative Women Emerge Through Subtle Grids in Stelios Pupet’s Paintings appeared first on Colossal.

Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries

A large embroidery hoop with a piece made of thread and real flowers.

All images © Olga Prinku, shared with permission

Using a vibrant array of real flowers and foliage, North Yorkshire-based artist Olga Prinku (previously) designs intricate embroideries that explode with natural colors and textures. The artist embraces experimentation at a large scale, challenging the traditionally more intimate surfaces of embroidery.

In addition to blooms and leaves, Prinku has recently focused on branches in a new series called Graft. Using primarily silver birch, she describes the works as “a reference to the horticultural process of transferring twigs from one setting to another but also a nod to the slang meaning of ‘hard work’—it takes a lot of time and patience!”

Prinku’s embroideries are currently on view in a group exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts in London through November 18, and a piece selected for the SCAF Emerging Artist Award is on view until January at Lawrence Batley Theatre Gallery. She is currently working toward a major exhibition for Hidcote in the Cotswolds next year. Find more on her website, and follow her on Instagram for updates.

A delicate embroidery piece made with real yellow flowers on a transparent screen.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

Detail of embroidery made with real flowers.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface, with a wooden frame.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface, hinting at the shape of an eye.

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 Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries appeared first on Colossal.

Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries

A large embroidery hoop with a piece made of thread and real flowers.

All images © Olga Prinku, shared with permission

Using a vibrant array of real flowers and foliage, North Yorkshire-based artist Olga Prinku (previously) designs intricate embroideries that explode with natural colors and textures. The artist embraces experimentation at a large scale, challenging the traditionally more intimate surfaces of embroidery.

In addition to blooms and leaves, Prinku has recently focused on branches in a new series called Graft. Using primarily silver birch, she describes the works as “a reference to the horticultural process of transferring twigs from one setting to another but also a nod to the slang meaning of ‘hard work’—it takes a lot of time and patience!”

Prinku’s embroideries are currently on view in a group exhibition at Contemporary Applied Arts in London through November 18, and a piece selected for the SCAF Emerging Artist Award is on view until January at Lawrence Batley Theatre Gallery. She is currently working toward a major exhibition for Hidcote in the Cotswolds next year. Find more on her website, and follow her on Instagram for updates.

A delicate embroidery piece made with real yellow flowers on a transparent screen.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

Detail of embroidery made with real flowers.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface, with a wooden frame.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface.

An embroidery artwork made with real flowers on a transparent surface, hinting at the shape of an eye.

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 Olga Prinku Grafts Blooms and Branches Into Expansive Embroideries appeared first on Colossal.

Monumental Paper Installations by Marianne Eriksen Scott-Hansen Bring Vibrant Flora Indoors

A large paper sculpture of a flower, held by a figure to show its large scale.

All images © Marianne Eriksen Scott-Hansen, shared with permission

Enormous blooms crafted from thousands of sheets of creased, textured, and twisted paper explode in Marianne Eriksen Scott-Hansen’s vibrant installations. The Copenhagen-based artist (previously) draws inspiration from real blossoms like peonies or dahlias, adding fantastical, patterned embellishments to the pistils and stamens. The artist emphasizes larger-than-life sculptures, often creating painstakingly detailed displays that radiate from floor to ceiling.

If you’re in Copenhagen this winter, you can see Scott-Hansen’s Christmas installation at Illum department store. She is currently working with The Spaceless Gallery to make some of her pieces available for purchase and is collaborating with HAGD Contemporary to take the botanical theme a step further in a series of masks. You can explore more work on Instagram.

A large display of paper flower sculptures.

A draping paper botanical sculpture, photographed in a studio.  A large paper installation of flowers held by a figure to show its large scale.

Two images of large paper sculptures of flowers, held by a figure to show the large scale.

Detail of a huge colorful paper flower sculpture.

Two details of paper flower sculptures. The left image shows numerous flowers in different shapes and colors. The right image shws the center of a yellow flower.

The artist is shown holding a large paper sculpture of a flower with green and pink interior and petals of blue and white.

A detail of the center of a large paper sculpture of a flower in bright red and pink.

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 Monumental Paper Installations by Marianne Eriksen Scott-Hansen Bring Vibrant Flora Indoors appeared first on Colossal.