Oooh! This is “Packed”, a cardboard wonderland by American artist Nicki Crock… and look, I think a few of the neighbors are home! Here is Nicki’s description of this beautiful pile of suburbia:

“‘Packed’ is a topsy-turvy investigation into the architecture, accumulation, and curious atmosphere of suburbia. An expansive landscape of tumbled track housing made from utilitarian cardboard, piqued by pockets of fantasy. Conveying the duality of a curious, beautiful, engineered neighborhood.

In order to complete my investigation of this cardboard community, I turned my own talented community of artists to help me create several of the fantasy interiors. Packed includes artistic contributions from Alexis Zabor, Mark Eberhardt, Nick Stull, Liz Morrison, Miriam Chon, Laurie Ihlenfield and Alex Conrad.

Three of Nicki’s projects – “Packed”, “Paper Interventions”, and her stunning “Dream House” installation {which I’ve written about before} are debuting this Saturday, October 5th, at the Springfield Museum of Art in Springfield, Ohio. Go!

Sigh. This is the dreamy mixed media sculpture of Swiss artist Juliette Sallin. Her work – the colors, those textures, the delicate elegance of it all – are absolutely poetic on their own, but then you add her artist statement:

“I am a visual artist who has always been fascinated by the way we perceive and remember the landscape through our senses. I translate this interest into sculptures made of paper, but also of silk, brass and other materials. I select them for their ability to transcribe the beauty of the elements with their shapes and colors of course, but also for their tactile qualities, and sometimes even how they sound when you touch them.

Enlightened by my own experiences of Nature, by the non-dualistic oriental philosophies (Shivaism, Taoism), the phenomenological philosophy of Merleau-Ponty, and the environmental writings of David Abram, I perceive our inner plenitude as a communion with Nature and the elements. This feeling could be reached when we open ourselves to our sensations, and let our perceptions wrap us.

During the process, I borrow various crafts’ techniques, such as embroidery, silk dyeing, paper decoupage and metal forming. By assimilating these gestures in my artistic practice, I get closer to a form of humbleness and sincerity, where patience and mastery of the mind help me to get closer to my subject and to recreate, in a subjective way, the sensations I experienced in a brief moment of fullness.

My work can be considered as part of the Slow Art movement, and offers a reflection about Time; a very fleeting one, perceived while being in communion with Nature, and another one, longer and precise, during the creation of the artwork.”

Aaaaaaand exhale. Happy Friday.

{via Create Magazine}

An art show AND an art challenge all rolled into one? Yep! California based artist Clare Szydlowski Odom stepped up to that challenge by creating 50 artworks in 50 days. I’ve written about Clare’s 2D silkscreens before, but these lovely, beautifully composed houses bring a whole new dimension to her work {see what I did there?}. Not only is there actual folded dimension, but she’s also constantly on the look out for even more than that:

“For the past three years I have been photographing the shadows in my suburban neighborhood in Burlingame where my husband and I rent an in-law unit. This Spring, we adopted a baby boy and on our walks I have continued this practice. The forms of these shadows are visually intriguing, but more interesting to me is the simultaneous sense of presence and absence they project, appearing at once substantial and insubstantial. I am also drawn to the way they mark the passage of time shifting across lawns, sidewalks and on the sides of houses. These shadows have become ghosts of my desires to own a home, to be able to freeze the precious moments of my son’s babyhood and to make the passing of time feel more substantial, something I can hold on to. Collecting these shadows has become a practice in understanding these desires, but also appreciating where I am in the present moment.”

Collecting shadows… sigh… beautiful. Clare’s shadow-covered houses are currently floating on the wall at the Sanchez Art Center in Pacifica,CA as part of their annual 50/50 Show. The show, featuring 50 pieces by over 60 artists*, runs until September 22, 2019. *Art math… that’s over 3000 pieces!

GOUACHE. He did this with gouache!? These are a few recent pieces from UK based artist Tom Butler. His delicate, tiny, wispy brushstrokes transform these proper subjects, on their vintage Albumen prints, into hair-covered wonders {that I’m quite sure Diane Arbus would love to photograph}. I found Tom’s beautifully bizarre work through Charlie Smith London.

I don’t usually suffer from FOMO, but I definitely wish I could see this show in New York! Summer Mixer, at Joshua Liner Gallery, features the work of some of my favorite artists… from Arno Beck‘s typewriter landscapes, Jen Stark‘s dizzying pieces, the gorgeous abstracts of Kathryn Macnaughton, and Mark Wagner‘s cut up cash to the colorful sculptures of Stephen Ormandy, Terri Loewenthal‘s vibrant photographs, and – of course – brand new funny and fantastic text paintings by Wayne White. WHAT? How can I possibly be missing this!? If you, however, happen to be in New York, you don’t have to miss it. Summer Mixer runs until August 23, 2019.

A cardboard car … CARdboard. Okay, sorry. This is the work of American artist Shannon Goff. She does fabulous things with clay as well, but this car – the 1979 Lincoln Continental Mark V, to be specific – stopped me in my tracks. That dashboard? The wheels? That trunk!? Detail and craftsmanship that would make her grandfather proud. You see when Shannon was little, her grandfather bought one of these American beauties (in metallic turquoise no less), and she remembers “the Mark V’s smooth ride conjuring up the sensation of floating on a cloud.” Here is a little more info about this project:

“‘Miles To Empty‘ (2015) explores the car as a metaphor for the complexities of American life in general, and for my own experiences as a native of the city of Detroit specifically.” … and an extract from the exhibition text … “In ‘Miles to Empty’, Goff reflects on how our increasing reliance on adaptive technologies has diminished the routines of human industry, and is changing our aesthetic sensibilities. Dauntingly laborious, challenging in concept and ambitious in scope, this monumental sculpture embodies Goff’s immense energy and her love of making. Goff demonstrates a high level of skill and ingenuity, which used to be present in all manufacturing before the production line eradicated first the hand, then the whole individual. Each part of the car is uniquely made, and in making it, she has imagined the many hands that collectively fabricated the vehicles on the Lincoln company assembly line.”

Gold! … or metallic turquoise.

Sooooo, apparently this is paper. What? Yes. These meticulous pieces are the work of American artist / paper engineer Matt Shlian. I wrote about him way back in 2010… he was good then, but now? Whoa. Here is part of Matt’s artist statement:

“As a paper engineer, my work is rooted in print media, book arts and commercial design. Beginning with an initial fold, a single action causes a transfer of energy to subsequent folds, which ultimately manifest in drawing and three dimensional forms … He begins with a system of folding and at a particular moment the material takes over. Guided by wonder, his work is made because he cannot visualize its final realization; in this way he comes to understanding through curiosity.” 

His latest show, titled “Relief”, opens this SATURDAY JUNE 8th {2pm} at Duran Mashaal Gallery in Montreal.

A 15 artist exhibition celebrating all things “pa•per”, and this isn’t even half of them! From insane paper-cutting pieces and embossed bodies, to ‘knife drawings’ and found image collage… Paradigm Gallery in Philadelphia has put together an exciting and eclectic show titled, yes, “pa•per” , and I am beyond thrilled to be one of the artists in this stellar lineup. Here’s a little more info about this upcoming exhibition:

“Though paper is often thought of as craft material, Jason Chen’s exhibition, pa•per, tries to re-contextualize the medium by showcasing 15 artists who use nontraditional techniques to elevate it. Artists participating in pa•per include: Kanako Abe, Daria Aksenova, Joey Bates, Albert Chamillard, Colette Fu, Lizzie Gill, Sally Hewett, Danielle Krysa, Rosa Leff, Huntz Liu, Ryan Sarah Murphy, Marianne R. Petit, Lucha Rodríguez, and Nayan & Vaishali. The gallery is known for working with established and emerging paper artists, but pa•per’s lineup is fresh and unexpected.” 

The show opens THIS Friday, April 26, 2019 from 5:30 – 10pm, and will be on view until May 18. Go, okay? Thanks! ♥

So apparently, that is what you look like after turning zillions of hand-rolled paper cones into gigantic paper caves! If you have Instagram {hahaha!} you’ve probably seen these insane “Paper Caves” by American artist Samuelle Green. Most recently, the interweb was going crazy over her work at the Art on Paper fair in New York. Well good news … if you’re in New York, you can still wonder through one of her paper caves at 601Artspace until May 5th. Here are a few words from Samuelle’s site about this work:

Upon entering the cavern like space, viewers will be aware of the amount of time and work involved in the creation of the installation and liken it to often overlooked art forms in nature. There is structure and design inherent in the natural world which we constantly draw from and take for granted. We generally fail to acknowledge the skill, time, and detail required to manifest the intricate structures found in objects we encounter regularly — such as those found in bird and wasp nests, beehives, spider webs, rock formations, anthills, feathers, and countless others. Samuelle’s installation references these forms on a human scale – inspiring contemplation.

Paper paint drips? I don’t even, but how, are these, I don’t, oh my word. That was exactly what went through my head when I came across the paper-cutting work of Seattle {now Stockholm based} artist Joey Bates. If you’d like answers to all of my highly intelligent / well-spoken questions, just keep an eye on Joey’s Instagram feed for the inside scoop on how he does what he does! It’s all a little bit insane… in a wonderfully inspiring way, of course. ps. Joey and I are in a show together, titled “pa-per”, that opens on April 26 in Philadelphia at Paradigm Gallery! The opening reception is from 5:30-10pm.

Represented by Montreal’s Galerie Youn