From feminist activist Angela Davis to iconic symbols of peace amid political upheaval, Shepard Fairey is known for his bold illustrations and instantly recognizable posters. He rose to prominence within the world of street art and skateboarding culture, creating a sticker in 1989 with the phrase “Andre the Giant has a posse,” which was distributed widely and led to a recurring motif of the wrestler’s face on dozens of subsequent prints.

Fairey’s graphic motifs hit the mainstream in 2008 during Barack Obama’s presidential campaign, in which his portrait sits above the word “hope.” The optimistic work exemplifies how grassroots activism, especially through the form of printing and sharing imagery, can become iconic and have immense influence.

Out of Print, a retrospective of Fairey’s work presented by Beyond the Streets, celebrates what the gallery calls “the rebellious, democratic force of ink and paper.” More than 400 prints designed over the past few decades are joined by new works. Many of the posters emphasize his interest in activism, empowerment, and protest. His subversive practice, known as Obey Giant, even has a slogan: “Manufacturing quality dissent since 1989.”

Fairey often incorporates the color schemes and modernist, graphic motifs of early 20th-century propaganda posters, especially of the Soviet Union. By incorporating design motifs associated with fascism into messages of peace, feminism, love, and democracy, he reinforces the power of the medium. “Some people say digital media has ended print, but the provocative, tactile experience of a print on a wall or in the wild can’t be replaced,” Fairey says. “Printing still matters!”

The exhibition runs from November 15 to January 11 in Los Angeles. Learn more on the gallery’s website, follow updates on Fairey’s Instagram, and purchase prints in his shop.

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 ‘Out of Print,’ a Shepard Fairey Retrospective, Delves into the Power of Protest appeared first on Colossal.

Mysterious light sources, geometric puzzles, disjointed figures, and bold hues characterize the diverse, narrative compositions of Bryce Wymer. The Brooklyn-based artist is known for his enigmatic, emotive murals, paintings, and illustrations. Merging the analog and the digital, Wymer’s pieces often explore themes of social interactions and power dynamics, often through a lens tinged with anxiety, mystery, and solitude.

Whether working on large-scale commissions or more intimate drawings, sketchbooks remain Wymer’s primary jumping-off points. “I’ve been keeping sketchbooks since middle school, when I filled them with graffiti tags, local DIY show flyer ideas, and zine layouts,” Wymer tells Colossal. “Over the years, they’ve evolved from casual notebooks into an essential part of my creative process. I carry one with me at all times, and without it, I feel pretty untethered.”

The artist often makes his way through three to four books each year, sometimes experimenting with compositions on grander canvases but often leaving them within their small format. “Some lose their raw energy when translated to a larger scale, which is a tension I enjoy trying to navigate,” he says. “That in-between space, where an idea first lands and where it eventually ends up, is part of what keeps the process so compelling.”

Wymer has recently been focused on figurative motifs that examine what he describes as “quiet tension and emotional complexity.” He positions the figures within minimal environments, highlighting social dynamics with undercurrents of vulnerability and perceptions of control—or lack thereof.

Flat planes of saturated color nod to Social Realism, a movement that emerged between the World Wars and shone a light on everyday people as heroes in the face of especially government-generated adversity. For Wymer, Social Realism is indelibly linked to emotional and collective experience, which he channels through a varied and ever-evolving contemporary aesthetic. “More than anything, the sketchbook is my playground, free from expectations or fear of failure,” he says. “In any artistic practice, it’s important to have a space where very few rules exist.”

See more on Wymer’s website and Instagram, and watch even more timelapses on his Vimeo channel.

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 Social Realism and the Surreal Converge in Bryce Wymer’s Evocative Sketchbooks appeared first on Colossal.

For fans of cozy cottages, sipping tea with a good book, exploring misty woodlands, and relishing timeless folk- and fairytales, the illustrations of Vanessa Gillings tap into a sense of comfort and wonder. Her protagonists, often donning witchy or wizard-like hats, appear to be on marvelous and mysterious journeys, sometimes accompanied by ravens, foxes, or butterflies as they explore forests, pen stories, or attempt to cast spells.

The works shown here formed part of the artist’s recent solo exhibition, Into the Woods, with Gallery Nucleus. See more on Gillings’ 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 Charming Flights of Fancy Fill Vanessa Gillings’ Imaginative Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

In the hands of Argentinian tattooer Nano Ponto, lush gradients and surreal compositions emerge from layers and layers of tiny dots. Entirely self-taught, Ponto never learned to use the machines typical for many artists working in the medium. He instead embarked on an experimental journey 13 years ago that has since produced a vibrant catalog of designs, from a grayscale eye crying primary colors or a vivid beam shooting from a flying saucer.

Ponto shares that while his process is typically slower than that of artists who utilize machines, his tools and approach are simple. “I just have to layer dots until I reach my desired saturation and look, which varies from skin to skin and the tattoo’s characteristics,” he says. “I use several kinds of needles to play with dot width, resolution, tattooing depth, ink saturation, and a few more variables to create my designs.”

While based in Buenos Aires, Ponto has spent the past few years moving between Europe, Mexico, and the U.S. Travel has been essential to his development from the beginning because most artists work with newer technologies and don’t share the same technical approaches. “Ten years ago, it was key for me to start traveling to meet other handpoked tattoo artists to share experience and knowledge, as there was no one in Argentina I could do this with,” he adds.

Ponto’s latest travels have brought him to Brooklyn, where he’s a guest resident this month at Atelier Eva. Find more about his availability and bold designs 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 Innumerable Dots Form Bright, Bold Gradients in Nano Ponto’s Entirely Handpoked Tattoos appeared first on Colossal.

Curious foxes, sleepy fawns, and daring mice are just a few of the woodland creatures that populate Laura Catherwood’s dreamy drawings and paintings. Working primarily in graphite and oil, she situates recognizable animals into unexpected and fantastical situations in illustrations that “explore the inner emotional landscape while simultaneously soothing the viewer,” she says.

It often takes a moment to comprehend the scope of each of Catherwood’s scenarios. A pair of spotted frogs in “Rue,” for example, is not what it seems at first, as two heads emerge from one body, and their long tongues are both pierced with a fishing hook. And in “Inexhaustible,” a toad with an unusual, bowl-like back full of water provides a tiny oasis for a troupe of flying fish.

Catherwood is interested in the power of illustration to channel feelings, questions, and experiences that may be challenging or revolve around grief. Her scenarios are surreal and even a little cryptic, yet we’re invited to witness intimate, affecting, and enigmatic narratives that prompt curiosity and wonder.

A couple of these works are currently on view alongside Jerome Tiunayan and Joseph Renda Jr. in The Scenic Route at at Vertical Gallery, which runs through September 27 in Chicago.

Catherwood is also currently working on a series of nine small murals as part of a public outreach project about invasive species, plus a small body of work related to species found in Upstate New York, where she’s soon moving. And she’s also preparing for two solo exhibitions next year. See more on the artist’s 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 Surreal Narratives Unfurl Between Animals in Laura Catherwood’s Dreamy Paintings appeared first on Colossal.

Whether portraying a graffiti tag below a retail window or the bond patterns of bricks, the artist known as Pizza in the Rain, or PITR, illuminates city streets and commercial ephemera in striking detail.

With meticulous attention to geometry and quotidian features, the Chicago-based artist highlights business signage and urban facades in an almost narrative way, with the occasional figure passing through on foot or on a bike. Simultaneously immersive and nostalgic, we’re invited in and at the same time reminded of disappearing vestiges of past eras.

From storefront to storefront, we can imagine PITR’s compositions are snapshots of one continuous city, even though many of the distinctive locations are in different places around the U.S. Many recent scenes are evocative of New Orleans, with boarded-up shutters, like those often seen in the French Quarter, or historical markers. Circo’s Pastry Shop is a real place in Brooklyn, and The California Clipper is a well-known lounge in Chicago.

PITR renders everyday details with equal importance, from sprayed markings on the sidewalk, like the kind the gas company might make, to weathered awnings and neon logos. Nothing blurs into the background in his portraits of individual buildings and maximalist city blocks. On one hand, the locations appear realistic, yet on the other, there is a sense of fantasy and surrealism in their precisely drawn, slightly dystopian imperfections.

If you’re in New Orleans, stop by Mortal Machine Gallery to check out these pieces alongside new works by Max Seckel in Parallel Structures, which opens on September 12. Explore even more on PITR’s 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 PITR Highlights Storefronts, Signage, and Graffiti in Ultra-Detailed Portraits of Urban Streets appeared first on Colossal.

Rendered in delicately cross-hatched ink, dozens of figures inhabit towering structures or assemble in crowds in the elaborate scenes of Pittsburgh-based artist Ben Tolman. Evoking the playfulness of Where’s Waldo? and the optical illusions of M.C. Escher, the artist conjures what Galerie LJ calls “a kind of human zoo.”

Opening next month, the gallery presents Tolman’s solo exhibition, Control, the title of which takes its cue from current events. Throughout the last 15 years, the artist has channeled an undercurrent of disconnection and imagined dystopian settings. His forthcoming show acknowledges the uncomfortable notion that some of these elements have become disconcertingly close to reality.

Tolman depicts faceless humans that move in sheeplike herds, “willingly following paths that clearly go against their own interests: technology, invisible barriers, belief systems, trends, politics,” the gallery says. The works in Control ask: how far are they (or we) willing to go? At what cost comes folly—or simply not paying attention?

In works like “Apartment” and “Routine,” anonymous figures mill about in individual, soulless boxes. Some appear to be working, relaxing, or socializing. Others just seem to stand there, staring into their phones. And in the darkly comical “Connected,” people queue to walk up a towering ramp structure, absorbed so much in their screens as they head up the incline that it’s too late before they realize they’ve stepped right off the precipice.

“With a generous dose of cynicism and voyeurism, Tolman portrays the eccentric truths and social failures of Western society,” the gallery says. “That’s what (he) is trying to understand—or to condemn. The future he sketches might seem bleak, were it not infused with a delicious sarcasm.”

Control runs from September 5 to October 4 in Paris. Find more on Tolman’s 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 ‘Where’s Waldo?’ Meets Sarcastic, Dystopian Visions in Ben Tolman’s Elaborate Ink Drawings appeared first on Colossal.

Anyone who’s donned protective glasses and spent hours camped outside with eyes toward the sky knows the strange, life-changing experience of witnessing a solar eclipse. The lunar equivalents are intriguing, too, and have fascinated people around the world for millennia.

A new archive collects maps, illustrations, and newspaper clippings documenting this alluring phenomenon from 1654 to the present day. Eclipse Atlas is a veritable trove, particularly the section cataloging ephemera from across the globe. There are 17th-century diagrams depicting the phases of totality, early photographs chronicling the events, and vivid advertisements prodding people to hop on the train so they don’t miss “the thrill of a lifetime!”

In addition to historical documents, Eclipse Atlas also shares footage from recent events and offers insight into how to best view those coming in the next few years.

See some of our favorite finds below, and explore for yourself on the project website. (via Kottke)

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 Eclipse Atlas Is a Searchable Archive Capturing the Alluring Phenomenon Through the Ages appeared first on Colossal.

From glowing portals that open up in swimming pools to an oversized cat sipping from an ornamental fountain, Masha Foya celebrates wonder and imagination in her dreamy digital illustrations. Based in Kyiv, the artist has previously collaborated with clients like Adobe, The New York Times, Sierra Club, Scientific American, and more, and her personal work continues to explore gauzy, surreal scenes of reflection and solitude.

“Despite the difficult times we live in, I still try not to forget to notice the beauty around me: from mysterious summer shadows to incredible water reflections,” Foya says. See more on her website, Behance, 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 Dreamlike Scenes Unfold in Masha Foya’s Ethereal Illustrations appeared first on Colossal.

In the bold, imagined portraits of Sofia Bonati (previously), women gaze confidently from swaths of fabric and symmetrical organic elements. Whether cloaking her figures in geometric patterns or natural details like insect wings, each individual gazes directly at the viewer amid vibrant backgrounds and elegant garments.

Bonati often derives her patterns and outfits from historical sources, especially hairstyles and gowns from the early 20th century. Surrounded by optical designs and repetitive motifs, her compositions are as nostalgic and surreal as they are contemporary. Find more on the artist’s 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 Hypnotic Patterns Envelop Sofia Bonati’s Nostalgic and Stylish Imagined Portraits appeared first on Colossal.