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Kate MccGwire On Discerning Duality, Connecting with Nature, and Making Art in the Belly of a Dutch Barge

Inside glass vitrines redolent of cabinets of curiosities or Victorian-era natural history collections, Kate MccGwire’s "creatures" appear locked in an intense, writhing struggle. Known for sculptures and installations that incorporate thousands of bird feathers into serpentine bodies and gushing spills, the artist (previously) houses works in bespoke cases or historic buildings that induce a sense of surprise, unease, and wonder. MccGwire, who is now based in London, grew up on the Norfolk Broads, a network of waterways in the eastern lobe of England that are mostly navigable by boat, where her explorations of the region's wetlands and wildlife provided a…

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Art

Eerie Shelters in Miniature Tower Over a Post-Apocalyptic Universe by Simon Laveuve

Tagged with graffiti and pockmarked with decay, the ramshackle structures by Simon Laveuve envision a disquieting safe haven in a post-apocalyptic world. The Paris-based artist (previously) creates miniature shelters on wooden support beams or atop grassy hills that soar high into the air, appearing to offer refuge from below. Constructed as assemblages of worn materials, vintage signs with peeling paint, and a stockpile of everyday objects, the mixed-media sculptures imagine a landscape where only…

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Art

Teeming with Flourishes, Narrative Sculptures by Amber Cowan Revitalize Vintage Pressed Glass

The monochromatic assemblages of Amber Cowan (previously) are at once domestic narratives and homages to an abandoned industry. Delicate baubles frame a central figure or scene that the Philadelphia-based artist illustrates with scraps of pressed glass. Whether focused on a lone bridesmaid or a hen hoarding eggs, Cowan's works explore the feminine experience through themes of "loneliness, the search for meaning, the search for love,…

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Art

In ‘Colonial Ruptures,’ Artist Sharif Bey Defies the Constraints of Time through Fragmented Figures

Artist Sharif Bey centers his practice around recontextualizing, a process he undertakes by fracturing long-held perspectives through fragments. His figurative sculptures unify disparate materials and broad cultural references across generations and eras—his works are notably undated—drawing on both the aesthetics of West-Central Africa, particularly the spiritual protectors known as nkisi, and the industrial histories of his family and current city of Syracuse. Largely crafted around bits of his own ceramic vessels, Bey's works are on view at Toronto's Gardiner Museum in a…

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Art

Giana De Dier Introduces Anonymous Women of the African Diaspora in Bold Collaged Portraits

The mystique of anonymity is a powerful presence, exemplified by a common fascination with family albums and historical archives in which we try to recognize unknown faces. Who were they? What are their stories? In bold, mixed-media portraits, Panama City-based artist Giana De Dier is driven by the enigmatic quality of early photographs centering on women of the African Diaspora. Her subjects are often portrayed wearing patterned fabrics,…

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Art

Towering New Mixed Media Portraits by Andrew Salgado

Canadian-born artist Andrew Salgado (previously here and here) presents a new body of work composed of towering portraits that span over eight-feet-tall. The mixed media works incorporate materials as diverse as paperback books and miniature cacti—objects that bring even more texture to the cross-hatched oil and pastel faces portrayed on each canvas. The works are included in his solo exhibition A Room With a View of the Ocean which runs through August…

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