Stitching the Social Fabric
January 8, 2021Tschabalala Self surveys Black American life in figurative paintings, textile collages, and sculptures. Continue reading
Tschabalala Self surveys Black American life in figurative paintings, textile collages, and sculptures. Continue reading
Here’s what we’re reading this morning. Continue reading
UPDATED (ORIGINALLY PUBLISHED JUNE 8, 2020 4:09 PM) If you purchase an independently reviewed product or service through a link on our website, we may receive an affiliate commission. Do you have an old denim jacket you’re looking to repurpose or an idea for a mixed-media installation or textile design you can’t get out of […] Continue reading
Working out of her studio in Melbourne, textile artist Cat Rabbit (previously) felts a quirky troupe of characters complete with distinctive garb and accessories. A croissant-headed figure dons a striped skirt and floral hat, Pomeranians carry pin cushions on their backs, and four swaggering poodles outfitted with roller skates appear ready to compete in the rink.
Some of the anthropomorphized creatures are particularly personal to the artist, like the blanket-enshrouded toad (shown below) that was inspired by a friend’s love for the children’s series, Frog and Toad. More Continue reading
A selection of personal and commissioned work by artist Steph Lau. While Lau’s personal work involves drawing in physical mediums like sketchbooks and textile pieces, the things she creates for herself usually end up fuelling the 2D and 3D digital pieces she gets commissioned to do. “I’m endlessly inspired by the timeless artistry of nature, … Continued Continue reading
Shetland wool is warm, thick, and comfortable to the touch. It isn’t as luxurious and soft as merino or cashmere, but it doesn’t have prickly guard hairs, the hairs that itch. Lofty and light, this wool allows you to makes textile art or sweaters that aren’t too heavy. Shetland fibers are strong and weather well: […] Continue reading
Known for his sculptural textiles, Faig Ahmed fuses contemporary glitches and distortions with traditional weaving techniques. A recent artwork, titled “Doubts,” is one of his larger pieces that while conventionally shaped and patterned on top, appears to ooze out into a massive puddle. A stunning piece, the ornate motif blurs into swirls of color and an amorphous shape on the floor.
The Baku, Azerbaijan-based artist (previously) said in a statement that he began “Doubts” about one month prior to widespread lockdowns due to COVID-19. More Continue reading
In photos, installations, and performances the Berlin-based Canadian artist offers ways to “work through” our postcolonial challenges. Continue reading
A controversial move by Yale University’s art history department is part of a larger shift taking place. Continue reading
Through life-sized sculptures, artist Yinka Shonibare CBE considers the grasp of colonialism and its lasting effects on modern conceptions of identity. Each faceless figure is in the midst of an action, presented shooting a mass of cherry blossoms from a rifle, lumbering forward with a hefty mesh sack, or balancing a towering stack of cakes. Evocatively posed, the figures are topped with globes and astronaut helmets, which simultaneously gestures toward movement in the form of travel and exploration while obscuring individual identities. More Continue reading
While many people are spending their days starting batches of sourdough, Karin Pfeiff-Boschek has been busy baking sweet pies with mesmerizing arrangements that appear almost too pretty to eat. She tops each pastry with a delicate floral motif of flaky dough, a precisely arranged gradient of sliced fruit, or a checkered weave braided in rows.
The pastry designer tells Colossal that she was raised in a family of bakers, although pies weren’t her first form of artistic expression. More Continue reading
Whether unwrapping themselves from textile folds or balancing atop spindly stools, Monica Rohan’s figures are perpetually in motion. The painter depicts adventurous subjects set amongst whimsical worlds of overgrown bushes, vibrant seas of fabric, and cloudless skies rendered in patches blue. “The figure brings tension, the possibility of a narrative,” she tells Colossal. Rohan envisions each character as the impetus for action in her playful landscapes and thickly decorated domestic scenes.
Each piece begins with the artist exploring a photographic catalog she maintains with imagery of nature, interiors, and self-portraits. More Continue reading
Beginning with asymmetrical ovals and amorphous shapes, Australian textile artist Tammy Kanat (previously) loops, twists, and weaves her sizable wall hangings. Using a steel frame, Kanat hangs up the copper forms that provide the structure for her abstract tapestries. She then combines natural materials like wool, linen, and silk to create small tufts and organic rows of varying hues that add a range of densities and textures to each piece. More Continue reading
During the last four years, the Royal Bank of Scotland launched a democratic project to capture what one collaborator termed “the more ordinary aspects of Scottish identity including otters, midges, mackerel and tweed.” The result is Fabric of Nature, a series of recently released banknotes that feature illustrated wildlife and portraits of some of Scotland’s most influential women. This week, the third installment of the project was released, presenting a new £20 note featuring a pair of bushy-tailed red squirrels. More Continue reading
Belgian artist Élodie Antoine understands the behavior of fibers, controlling them in ways to produce textile designs that are organic, fungal, and oftentimes anatomical in nature. Her anatomies emerge from taut lycra, dense felt structures, and an impressive number of zippers. The pieces are as much a reflection of the numerous tissue types in the human body as the textiles themselves.
Antoine shares with Colossal her view on the connection between textiles and anatomy. More Continue reading
It’s well understood that producing a single book is an arduous task, making it even more impressive that British photographer Alastair Philip Wiper is offering three distinct versions of his newly released work, Unintended Beauty. The monograph is available in three covers—an orange or blue option with architectural and machine focuses and a black one with hanging sausages—created by the design firm, IRONFLAG.
The Copenhagen-based artist has an eye for spotting the sublime complexities inside warehouses, factories, and shipyards of global institutions like Adidas, Boeing, The European Space Agency, and the Swiss research laboratory CERN, where he captured the pattern and symmetry of the industrial spaces. More Continue reading
London-based artist Daisy Collingridge layers amorphous blobs of fabric and textiles to form wearable pastel-colored body suits. With names like Burt, Clive, and Lippy, each member of Collingridge’s family has a personality that matches his/her form. Inspired by human anatomy and infused with elements of fantasy and impulse, the artist says that the costumes are an exercise in “pushing quilting to the absolute extreme.”
Each new character begins with the construction of the head. More Continue reading
Alexandra Kehayoglou Alexandra Kehayoglou’s Website Alexandra Kehayoglou on Instagram Continue reading