Photos: Lake Charleston Butterfly Gardens
Jun. 10th, 2025 01:52 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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Joy Machine is excited to announce a joint exhibition with The Jaunt. Opening this week in Chicago, Ventus features paintings, sculptures, and prints by Cody Hudson, Seonna Hong (previously), Seth Pimentel, Stevie Shao, and Scott Sueme.
Founded and curated by Jeroen Smeets, The Jaunt (previously) is a travel project that sends artists around the world to experience new locations and cultures. Once they return home, artists create a limited-edition silkscreen print inspired by their journeys.
Being outside our comfort zones heightens our senses and opens us up to new experiences and inspiration. The Jaunt is a gust of new perspective and energy that flows through artists’ creative processes, allowing them to reorient and establish a new current.
For Ventus, Smeets gathered a group of artists who have each participated in the project, traveling to places like Shanghai, Mexico City, and Jeju Island, along with the towns of Shelton, Washington, and Joseph, Oregon. Each lets their experiences and observations lead as they create new artworks.
Chicago has always been somewhat of a home away from home for The Jaunt. The very first exhibition was in the city, and over the years, amazing artists living and working in Chicago–including Cody Hudson, David Heo, Liz Flores, and others–have participated. The Jaunt and Joy Machine are excited to partner and present these five artists, many of whom are showing here for the first time.
Ventus runs from June 13 to August 2. RSVP to the opening reception here.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article At Joy Machine, Five Artists Bring a Gust of Fresh Air for a Joint Exhibition with The Jaunt appeared first on Colossal.
Nestled in the rolling Alloa Hills near the Sabarmati River in Gandhinagar, India, Studio Sangath has conceived of a bold, contemporary home using terracotta and recycled brick. Headed up by principal architects Khushnu Panthaki Hoof and Sönke Hoof, the project serves as a peaceful retreat where its owners can reconnect with nature and host visiting writers, artists, and filmmakers in an environment conducive to creativity.
The building’s angular archways, stairs, veranda, and interior surfaces are constructed using compressed bricks made from the powdered waste produced in brick kilns. “The design prioritises harmony with nature, featuring an open interior courtyard that draws the landscape inside, framing views from every angle,” the studio says. Explore more projects on the firm’s website.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Studio Sangath Designs a Dream Home from Terracotta and Recycled Bricks in India appeared first on Colossal.
For Japanese marine photographer Ryo Minemizu, some of the world’s tiniest creatures prove to be the most awe-inspiring. Capturing the vibrant hues and otherworldly features of plankton (previously), he scouts locations to do nighttime dives around Japan and other Pacific regions in search of never-before-seen specimens and behaviors.
“Although I only dive to depths of around 25 meters at most, each dive now presents an opportunity to encounter juvenile deep-sea fish and jellyfish in forms that most of humanity has never seen before,” Minemizu tells Colossal. “I have been fortunate to report some of these remarkable discoveries in collaboration with researchers each year.”
Recent finds include new species of Hydrozoa, which are related to jellyfish and corals, and a phenomenon in which parasitic larvae cooperate to build swimming colonies, luring hosts. Minemizu increasingly encounters unwelcome material, too, in the form of trash—especially plastics—that impacts marine life far out at sea.
“We now regularly dive in ocean areas where humans have never ventured, and yet even in such remote regions, we are finding plastic waste carried there by human activity,” Minemizu says. “I am deeply concerned about the very real and significant impact this is having on the lives of these creatures.”
Minemizu is currently featured in an exhibition on view in the Blue Ocean Dome, presented by ZERI JAPAN, at EXPO 2025 in Osaka, Kansai, Japan. “I speak about the current relationship between marine life and plastic pollution, sharing my photographs and footage,” he says. “I sincerely hope that visitors to the expo will take the time to view it.”
Minemizu also runs Black Water Dive, an ongoing series of brief chartered expeditions that invite participants to dive during both day and night—in “blue” and “black” dives—to encounter rarely seen or entirely new underwater creatures. Find more on his 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 $7 per month. The article Ryo Minemizu Illuminates the Incredible Diversity of Plankton Off the Coast of Japan appeared first on Colossal.
The 2025 Hit the North Street Art Festival has brought new vibrancy to the streets of Belfast with over 60 street artists painting the town with fresh murals. Organised by Seedhead Arts, thousands of onlookers soaked up the carnival atmosphere at Hit the North’s annual ‘block party’ as some of the biggest names in street art and fresh new talent brought creations to life. One of Europe’s longest street art festivals, Hit the North is internationally renowned with artists travelling from as far afield as Thailand to take part.
Speaking about the impact of this year’s festival, Adam Turkington, Director of Seedhead Arts said; “Once again we’re blown away by the creativity, technique and talent of the muralists who continue to breathe vibrancy into Belfast’s urban landscape. Northern Ireland is truly unique when it comes to street art, notorious for its fiercely independent approach to urban culture that’s grown from its grassroots beginnings.
“Not only do these incredible artworks contribute to regeneration efforts across Belfast, they also tell a story that helps spark creativity and reflection in others. We are so grateful to the artists who take part and the inspiration they help encourage in others.”
Paul Stone, better known as My Dog Sighs from Portsmouth is one of the street artists who took part this year. His literal eye-catching mural now adorns a prominent wall on Talbot Steet in Belfast.
Speaking about his piece and visit to Belfast, My Dog Sighs said; “Belfast is a fascinating place. Of course, like many I arrived with preconceived ideas based on its past but what I found meeting the artists, crew and locals blew those preconceptions apart. So many people I spoke to talked with pride and excitement at a Belfast full of energy ready to positively move forward. And it was evident, everywhere. Belfast has such a buzz.
“So with this in mind I decided with my wall to focus the reflection in my piece around the positivity moving forward. Three-year-old Teddy is the son of Belfast artist Codo. Codo had recently painted in my home city of Portsmouth so on meeting we had a commonality and spent some time chatting. He kindly agreed to let me include Teddy. A symbol of the future of a city with I think, rightly so, should be proud of its vision, positive outlook and bright future.
Those familiar with Belfast might also pick out some iconic landmarks hidden inside the reflection in the eye.
“A huge thank you to the entire Hit the North team. I know working with artists is akin to herding cats and you all herded with a smile and a ‘can do’ attitude.”
Hit the North Street Art Festival 2025 is supported by local organisations including Belfast One, Translink, Bullitt, Daisy Chain Inc, Arts and Business and the Sunflower Bar.
The post My Dog Sighs reflects on Hit The North Street Art Festival appeared first on I Support Street Art.
In Symbiotic Utopia, Agus Putu Suyadnya imagines a future in which tropical ecosystems not unlike those of Southeast Asia become sites for humanity to commune with nature.
Surrounded by verdant foliage and moss-covered roots that seem to glow with blue and green fuzz, a recurring astronaut figure approaches each scene with comfort and ease. In one work, the suited character cradles a chimpanzee à la notable conservationist Jane Goodall and waves a large bubble wand to create trails of the iridescent orbs in another. And in “Cosmic Self Healing,” the figure sits in a comfortable chair, a large potted plant at his side. This typical domestic scene, though, is situated on the moon, and Earth’s swirling atmosphere appears behind him.
While alluring in color and density, Suyadnya’s paintings are surreal and portend an eerie future irredeemably impacted by the climate crisis. The astronaut, after all, is fully covered in a protective capsule, a sign that people can only survive with this critical adaptation. “Humans cannot live without nature,” the artist says, “whereas the natural world without mankind will continue to survive. So why, as humans, do we think we have the upper hand?”
Symbiotic Utopia is on view through July 7 at Sapar Contemporary in New York. Find more from Suyadnya on Instagram.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article An Astronaut Finds Symbiosis with Nature in Agus Putu Suyadnya’s Uncanny Paintings appeared first on Colossal.
The thrills of childhood play are on full display in the miniature works of William Mophos. On salvaged bricks, cracked tiles, and other architectural matter found throughout São Paulo, the Brazilian artist composes mixed-media scenes of a toddler drinking from a water hose or a youngster walking a dog. Intimate in size, the dioramas meld photorealistic portraits in acrylic with sculptural elements like minuscule flip-flops flung off a child’s feet or a red balloon frozen in an acrylic pane.
Shown here are pieces of Colossal, a series that’s taken shape during the last five years. Marked with age, the materials evoke times passed and conjure a nostalgic, wistful longing for days filled with exploration and imagination. Find much more of Mophos’ work on his 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 $7 per month. The article William Mophos Conjures the Carefree Joys of Childhood on Salvaged Architecture appeared first on Colossal.