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  • Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments Kate Mothes
    From recognizable scenes around her home in Scotland to delicately rendered snapshots of places she visits, Laura K. Sayers’ meticulously crafted postage stamps nod to connections from afar. The artist, who also illustrates children’s books and is commissioned for special projects like greeting cards, incorporates itty-bitty cuts of colorful paper into tiny tableaux that can fit in the palm of a hand. Much of the work seen here is currently on view solo in Sayers’ solo exhibition of miniat
     

Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments

30 April 2026 at 12:42
Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments

From recognizable scenes around her home in Scotland to delicately rendered snapshots of places she visits, Laura K. Sayers’ meticulously crafted postage stamps nod to connections from afar. The artist, who also illustrates children’s books and is commissioned for special projects like greeting cards, incorporates itty-bitty cuts of colorful paper into tiny tableaux that can fit in the palm of a hand.

Much of the work seen here is currently on view solo in Sayers’ solo exhibition of miniatures titled The Wee Small Hours at N. atelier. An array of everyday scenes is chronicled in a format we typically associate with significant events and remembrance, documenting fleeting moments like little treasures. Some of her recent pieces are inspired by the Finnish landscape that emerged during the artist’s stay at the Fiskars Artist-in-Residence program, organized by Onoma.

A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a Finnish landscape with water and trees

The Wee Small Hours continues through this weekend in Glasgow. And keep an eye out for a joint update from Tiny Art Show. Find more on Sayers’ Instagram.

A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a window with a baker and his goods inside
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring people swimming in a swimming pool with stained glass windows
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring two figures on the shore of a loch
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a tall clock tower and a splashing river
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a city scene
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring two figures at the base of tall trees
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a small barn at night amid some trees
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a window with a person working inside
A hand holds a small paper artwork resembling a postage stamp, featuring a window on a red building with a woman inside

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 Laura K. Sayers’ Vibrant Postage Stamps Celebrate the Beauty of Everyday Moments appeared first on Colossal.

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  • May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists Colossal
    Every month, we share opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. Make sure you never miss out by joining our monthly Opportunities Newsletter. Scenerium 2026 Art Award: Exhibition, Publication, Sales, and Global PromotionFeaturedWhere will your art take us? From landscapes and seascapes to cityscapes and imagined worlds, Scenerium 2026 invites artists worldwide to capture the essence of place and turn it into a visual journey. Throu
     

May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

29 April 2026 at 19:16
May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists

Every month, we share opportunities for artists and designers, including open calls, grants, fellowships, and residencies. Make sure you never miss out by joining our monthly Opportunities Newsletter.

Scenerium 2026 Art Award: Exhibition, Publication, Sales, and Global PromotionFeatured
Where will your art take us? From landscapes and seascapes to cityscapes and imagined worlds, Scenerium 2026 invites artists worldwide to capture the essence of place and turn it into a visual journey. Through natural scenes, urban energy, and visionary environments, this juried opportunity celebrates art that draws viewers in and places them inside the world you create. Selected artists receive a smart online exhibition, Artsy feature, global promotion, catalogue, art magazine publication, press release, visitor engagement, editorial reviews, audience feedback, and exclusive awards.
Learn more and submit: www.gallerium.art/scenerium
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 7, 2026.

The Hopper Prize $4,500 Artist GrantsFeatured
The Hopper Prize is accepting submissions for $4,500 and $1,000 artist grants. Six grants totaling $13,000 USD are available. Two artists will each receive $4,500, and four artists will each receive $1,000. All media is eligible. Additional exposure is available via a 30-artist shortlist, online journal, and Instagram, currently reaching over 165,000.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT May 12, 2026.

 

Open Calls

SaveArtSpace Billboard Art Open Call (International)
SaveArtSpace presents Wild & Free, a public art exhibition on billboard ad space in New York City, opening June 26, 2026, and curated by Gigi Chen. The theme is related to the close connection between nature, mythology, and civilization. There is a $10.99 per image application fee.
Deadline: May 7, 2026.

YICCA Art Prize (International)
This competition is open to all media and techniques and geared toward emerging artists, with a total prize pool of €4,500. The application fee varies depending on the number of images submitted and starts at €50.
Deadline: May 7, 2026.

CIFRA Award (International)
CIFRA welcomes any form of digital art, and the only condition is that it must be possible to submit as a video. Per the theme “RestArt Reality,” applicants can share screen-native works that engage with pseudo-evidence, invented archives, alternative chronologies, reconstructions, “false” testimonies, and more. Five winners each receive €1,000.
Deadline: May 8, 2026.

Cass Art Prize (U.K. and Ireland)
The Cass Art Prize 2026, presented by The Cass Group, aims to champion contemporary art from across the U.K. and the Republic of Ireland with a top cash prize of £10,000. Additional awards total more than £20,000, including a Students Award, an Art Educators Award, and more. Winning works will be included in a group exhibition at The Bomb Factory, Marylebone, London, in Autumn 2026.
Deadline: May 8, 2026.

Sunshine Coast National Art Prize (Australia)
The acquisitive Sunshine Coast National Art Prize is a dynamic visual arts award reflecting outstanding contemporary 2D and new media arts practices in Australia. The top prize is AUD $25,000, and the entry fee is AUD $45.
Deadline: May 10, 2026.

Get Published in Artistonish: Visibility, Engagement, and Sales (International)
The 70th issue of Artistonish Contemporary Art Magazine, published in May 2026, will feature a juried selection of contemporary artworks from around the world, showcased online and on premium glossy pages in print. Each selected work is presented with a full-page image and a dedicated QR code for deeper engagement. Artists will be featured on Artsy, receive a certificate of achievement and exclusive artwork badges, and be promoted through extensive outreach with lasting online visibility in the global art community. Learn more and submit: www.artistonish.com/calls
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 11, 2026.

Abbey Mural Prize (International)
The Abbey Mural Prize awards grants to support the creation and restoration of public murals in the United States. Juried by artist and architect members of the National Academy, the Abbey Mural Prize supports projects with grants typically ranging from $10,000 to $40,000. Artists may be from anywhere, but the murals must be in the United States, Tribal Nations, or U.S. territories, including American Samoa, Guam, the Northern Mariana Islands, Puerto Rico, and the U.S. Virgin Islands.
Deadline: May 18, 2026.

2027 Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize Award Exhibition (International)
The Elizabeth R. Raphael Founder’s Prize was established to recognize excellence in contemporary craft, with a focus on the theme of transformation. The 2027 prize will be awarded for an artwork in small metals. This program offers $5,000, and there is a $45 application fee to submit up to six pieces.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 31, 2026.

BEERS London Group Exhibitions (International)
This is an opportunity for artists working across all media to apply to be a part of a group exhibition at BEERS London. BEERS’ objective is to discover new, compelling, and contemporary work to present at its gallery. There is a £10 application fee.
Deadline: June 1, 2026.

21st Edition of Arte Laguna Prize (International)
Apply for this unique opportunity to exhibit your work at the Arsenale Nord in Venice. The finalists’ exhibition will take place from November 6 to 29, 2026. The jury will select 120 finalist artists, including the winner of the first prize of €10,000, among other awards. The application fee is €97.60 (VAT included) for artists under 35 years old and €122 for those 35 and older.
Deadline: June 30, 2026.

 

Grants

Franklin Furnace Jacki Apple Award (New York City)
The Jacki Apple Award grants $10,000 to fund a project in performance, media, exhibition, and/or publication by a New York City-based artist working in performance art.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 1, 2026.

Tulsa Artist Fellowship (Tulsa, Oklahoma)
This unique place-based program will award up to ten artists and arts workers a comprehensive three-year support package in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Each awardee will receive up to $150,000 in financial support, along with a private studio, a $36,000 housing stipend, a $1,500 studio move-in stipend, a $3,600 studio assistant stipend, a $3,600 health and wellness stipend, and access to shared facilities and professional resources designed to sustain ambitious, community-engaged practices over time.
Deadline: May 7, 2026.

Serendipity Arts Food Matters Grant (India)
Individual artists or collectives are welcome to apply for this grant of up to 1 Lakh (about $1,050) that emphasizes a knowledge network and supports inquiry into food practices across India. The grant invites researchers, artists, writers, practitioners, and collectives to pursue projects that explore culinary practices at the intersections of literature, politics, technology, and culture.
Deadline: May 8, 2026.

Fundación Botín Art Grants (International)
The Fundación Botín offers six scholarships for artists of any nationality with an expected duration of nine months and a grant of €23,000 each, in addition to medical insurance. One grant is reserved for an artist who is Spanish or a resident in Spain, under 30 years of age, who wants to spend time abroad. Grants cover a period of nine months. Applicants need to register online and also submit physical materials by mail, which must be postmarked by May 8.
Deadline: May 8, 2026.

Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants (U.S.)
The Rauschenberg Medical Emergency Grants program provides one-time grants of up to $5,000 for recent unexpected medical, dental, and mental health emergencies to artists in financial need who are creating in the visual arts, film/video/electronic/digital arts, and choreography. Applications for the Rauschenberg Dancer Emergency Grants (up to $3,000) are also open through May 19.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on May 12, 2026.

JGS Fellowship for Photography (New York)
The JGS Fellowship for Photography is an $8,000 cash grant open to New York State photography artists living and working outside of New York City.
Deadline: 5 p.m. EDT on May 19, 2026.

ArtPrize Artist Seed Grant (International)
The Artist Seed Grant program supports exceptionally talented emerging artists and designers, helping them bring compelling work to ArtPrize 2026 in Grand Rapids, Michigan. Each selected artist or designer will receive $2,000 to assist with artwork creation and logistical costs, ensuring they can fully participate in the event. These grants help maintain ArtPrize’s accessibility for artists worldwide and at all career stages. In addition to grant opportunities for Grand Rapids-area artists, a venue exhibition grant is also available. Deadlines vary.
Deadline: May 30, 2026.

The Adolf and Esther Gottlieb Emergency Grant (International)
This program provides one-time financial assistance to qualified painters, printmakers, and sculptors whose needs resulted from an unforeseen catastrophic incident and who lack the resources to meet that situation. Awardees typically receive $5,000 and up to $15,000.
Deadline: Rolling.

Pollock-Krasner Foundation Grant (International)
The foundation welcomes applications from painters, sculptors, and artists working on paper, including printmakers. Grants are intended for one year and range up to $50,000. The artist’s circumstances determine the size of the grant, and professional exhibition history will be considered.
Deadline: Rolling.

 

Residencies, Fellowships, & More

The Martin House Creative Residency Program (U.S.)
This competitive program is open to applicants who seek the resources to support ongoing projects or the creation of new work, with special emphasis on the Frank Lloyd Wright-designed Martin House. Creative makers who are selected to participate will generally spend two to four weeks on site. Residents will receive a stipend of $5,000, and travel expenses of up to $1,000 will also be provided to residents from outside New York’s Buffalo-Niagara region.
Deadline: May 13, 2026.

Quinn Emanuel Los Angeles Residency (Los Angeles)
This residency is open to emerging and mid-career artists working in all disciplines across Greater Los Angeles. For four months, the artist-in-residence has access to a studio in the Quinn Emanuel Los Angeles office to support their existing practice or a new project. At the end of the residency, an exhibition will be held, and at least one work will be incorporated into the permanent collection. The resident will receive $5,000 per month, for a total of $20,000, plus a materials allowance.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. PDT on May 14, 2026.

Dieu Donné Workspace Residency Program (New York City metro area)
With a focus on experimentation and collaboration, Dieu Donné’s Workspace Residency provides three artists the opportunity to explore paper pulp as an artistic medium. The program includes an introduction to papermaking, six days in the studio with a dedicated collaborator, and a $600 stipend.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2026.

Women’s Studio Workshop Studio Residency Grant (International)
The Studio Residency Grant is a six- to eight-week residency for artists to create new work in any of our studio disciplines: intaglio, letterpress, papermaking, screenprinting, or photography. WSW invites applications from artists at any stage in their careers, and the grant includes a stipend of $350 per week, up to $500 for materials used during the residency, up to $250 for travel within the continental U.S., free onsite housing, and 24/7 studio access. Applicants may also opt to be considered for a Studio Workspace Residency or the Anita Wetzel Residency Grant by checking the corresponding box on their application.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 15, 2026.

Monson Arts Residency Program (International)
Monson Arts, in Monson, Maine, supports emerging and established artists and writers by providing them time and space to devote to their creative practices over the course of two or four weeks. A cohort of artists and writers receives private studios, private bedrooms in shared housing, all meals, and a $500 stipend ($250 for two-week programs).
Deadline: May 15, 2026.

Center for Craft — Craft Archive Fellowship (International)
Four fellowships of $5,000 will be awarded to support archival research on underrepresented and non-dominant craft histories in the United States. Funding is intended to support independent research, and proposals are welcome from a range of scholars—both emerging and established—including artist-researchers. Artists may be based anywhere, but must be able to earn taxable income in the U.S.
Deadline: May 20, 2026.

VIA Art Fund Artistic Production Grants (International)
VIA’s Artistic Production Grants fund the production of newly commissioned works of visual art exhibited beyond museum walls, in the public realm, or in non-traditional exhibition environments.  These grants are awarded to projects that best exemplify VIA’s three core values of Artistic Production, Thought Leadership, and Public Engagement. Grant amounts range from $25,000 to $100,000.
Deadline to submit letter of inquiry: May 21, 2026.

Grantham Foundation Visual Arts Residency (International)
Grantham Foundation supports established artists whose practices or approaches recognize environmental issues. The four-week residency, which takes place in Saint-Edmond-de-Grantham, Québec, includes a grant of CAD $5,000 to $10,000, depending on the scope of the project.
Deadline: 11:59 p.m. EDT on May 27, 2026.

Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence (International)
A program of Oak Spring Garden Foundation, the Eliza Moore Fellowship for Artistic Excellence is awarded annually to one early-career artist who is developing new works that address plants, gardens, or landscapes. This award is open to visual artists, literary artists, dancers, and musicians. The award includes a $10,000 individual grant and requires a two- to five-week stay at Oak Spring in Upperville, Virginia.
Deadline: May 31, 2026.

Headlands Center for the Arts Residencies (International)
The Artist in Residence program at Headlands Center for the Arts in Sausalito, California, awards fully sponsored residencies to approximately 50 local, national, and international artists each year. Residencies of four to ten weeks include studio space, chef-prepared meals, housing, travel, and living expenses.
Deadline: June 1, 2026.

Residencia Corazón (International)
Residencia Corazón is an independent, artist-run residency in La
Plata, Argentina—a home for artists since 2006. The program welcomes visual
artists, writers, curators, and creative researchers from around the
world for one- to three-month residencies. Each stay is fully personalized, and fees range from $800 to $1,500 per month.
Deadline: Rolling.

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 May 2026 Opportunities: Open Calls, Residencies, and Grants for Artists appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Linocuts by Eduardo Robledo Celebrate Mexican Heritage and Community Kate Mothes
    In the richly detailed linocuts of Eduardo Robledo, festive ceremonies, spiritual motifs, and dream-like interactions unfurl. The Mexico City-based artist was born and raised in the southern borough of Xochimilco, which is famous for its canals—vestiges of a huge Aztec water transport system still used today for bringing goods into the city. This area and its time-honored customs provide a bounty of inspiration for Robledo. Community and celebration are at the heart of his work, as creatur
     

Linocuts by Eduardo Robledo Celebrate Mexican Heritage and Community

29 April 2026 at 17:02
Linocuts by Eduardo Robledo Celebrate Mexican Heritage and Community

In the richly detailed linocuts of Eduardo Robledo, festive ceremonies, spiritual motifs, and dream-like interactions unfurl. The Mexico City-based artist was born and raised in the southern borough of Xochimilco, which is famous for its canals—vestiges of a huge Aztec water transport system still used today for bringing goods into the city. This area and its time-honored customs provide a bounty of inspiration for Robledo.

Community and celebration are at the heart of his work, as creatures and figures converge in enigmatic, sometimes ritualistic choreographies. Traditional motifs like skulls and skeletons, which represent remembrance, joy, and an acceptance of the cycle of life and death, interact with denizens of the region like armadillos, birds, reptiles, and more.

a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of a peacock and an armadillo on either side of an upside-down rose
“Adiós” (2021), three-color linocut, 15 x 22 inches

Social activism has also played a strong role in Robledo’s practice, tapping into the power of printmaking to spread messages about causes he cares deeply about. “Printmaking is democratic; it’s more supportive,” he shares in a profile. “There is a very strong graphic arts tradition in social movements.”

Robledo’s compositions are playful yet mysterious, universal and also arcane. Winged hearts, known as Sagrado Corazón, or the Sacred Heart, symbolize love, healing, and spiritual devotion. Armadillos represent protection and abundance, and numerous other foods, plants, and nods to culture—such as Xochimilco’s colorful canal boats known as trajineras—are venerated in scenes of dancing or totem-like configurations.

RobledFrFo’s prints can be found at Hecho a Mano in Santa Fe, and the artist is also a co-founder of Lugar de Huida in Mexico City, a gallery highlighting Mexican printmakers. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of an armadillo or reptile-like creature with a huge cornucopia of flowers and other motifs on its back
“Arbol de la Vida” (2025), linocut, 30 x 22 inches
a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of dancing skeletons, birds, and other creatures
“Carnaval” (2023), linocut, 15 x 22 inches
a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of two skeletons inside of a larger motif of a skull-headed figure, holding a hybrid bird-tree
“El Pacto” (2024), linocut, 15 x 11 inches
a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of an armadillo amid a number of red hearts with winds
“Soltar” (2024), three-color linocut, 22 x 15 inches
a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of a figure perched atop a group of compartments with snakes and other motifs
“Hombres de Conocimiento” (2020), linocut, 44 x 30 inches
a linocut print by Eduardo Robleno of a deer standing over purple agave plants, in front of an orange sun, looking at an anatomical heart
“El Camino” (2026), serigraph, 15 x 11 inches

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 Linocuts by Eduardo Robledo Celebrate Mexican Heritage and Community appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Spell Your Name with NASA’s Earthly Alphabet of Aerial Images Kate Mothes
    From rivers and oxbow lakes to crop-field patchworks and mineral sediments, Landsat has seen it all. A program of NASA and USGS, the satellite initiative has documented the Earth’s surface since 1972, making it the longest continuous record of our planet’s ever-evolving landscapes. And to mark Earth Day 2026, the organizations launched a playful way to interact with some of their findings collected over the past five-and-a-half decades—a name generator. Using the tool is simple: type in yo
     

Spell Your Name with NASA’s Earthly Alphabet of Aerial Images

29 April 2026 at 12:44
Spell Your Name with NASA’s Earthly Alphabet of Aerial Images

From rivers and oxbow lakes to crop-field patchworks and mineral sediments, Landsat has seen it all. A program of NASA and USGS, the satellite initiative has documented the Earth’s surface since 1972, making it the longest continuous record of our planet’s ever-evolving landscapes. And to mark Earth Day 2026, the organizations launched a playful way to interact with some of their findings collected over the past five-and-a-half decades—a name generator.

Using the tool is simple: type in your name, or any word, and Landsat returns it in the form of vertical snapshots of a wide range of terrain. Just like we see with composites of Mars, for instance, scientists have digitally enhanced some images to highlight specific features. Those used for “Your Name in Landsat” sport a wide array of hues, textures, and patterns that glimpse the diversity of our planet’s surface.

Eight vertical frames of the earth's surface captured from NASA's Landsat program with landforms that loosely resemble letters of the alphabet, arranged to spell "COLOSSAL"
“Colossal”

Landsat is an incredible resource that features time-lapses of changing land use over several decades. Even this playful name generator allows you to hover over individual images and learn the exact locations—down to the coordinates—and all of the program’s data is publicly accessible. For example, the “C” in “Colossal” above is a vertical view of a cloud-speckled Deception Island in Antarctica, and the “A” is the uniquely shaped Lake Mjøsa in Norway.

You might also enjoy Overview, a book that chronicles how the landscape has changed over time. Learn more about Landsat from NASA. (via PetaPixel)

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 Spell Your Name with NASA’s Earthly Alphabet of Aerial Images appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Lina Lapelytė Fills Hamburger Bahnhof with 400,000 Wood Blocks for Communal Building Grace Ebert
    Inside the cavernous former train station that now houses Hamburger Bahnhof, 400,000 wooden cubes stack and topple into piles. Conceived by Lithuanian artist Lina Lapelytė and commissioned by Chanel, “We Make Years Out of Hours” is a large-scale installation that invites the public to remake structures from these 10-centimeter blocks made of pine and spruce. Lapelytė often combines sound and performance and collaborates with both professionals and novices. This participatory work continues
     

Lina Lapelytė Fills Hamburger Bahnhof with 400,000 Wood Blocks for Communal Building

28 April 2026 at 21:35
Lina Lapelytė Fills Hamburger Bahnhof with 400,000 Wood Blocks for Communal Building

Inside the cavernous former train station that now houses Hamburger Bahnhof, 400,000 wooden cubes stack and topple into piles. Conceived by Lithuanian artist Lina Lapelytė and commissioned by Chanel, “We Make Years Out of Hours” is a large-scale installation that invites the public to remake structures from these 10-centimeter blocks made of pine and spruce.

Lapelytė often combines sound and performance and collaborates with both professionals and novices. This participatory work continues the artist’s interest in collective making and caretaking, particularly as it relates to shared authorship and how we might amend and reshape what currently exists.

people work on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building

A trio of weekly performances on Tuesdays, Thursdays, and Saturdays will feature a libretto with the words of 15 writers, including Vietnamese-American poet Ocean Vuong, Lebanese-American painter Etel Adnan, Iranian filmmaker
Forugh Farrokhzad, and Palestinian poet Mahmoud Darwish. Centered around community, love, and loss, these songs create another dimension in the space to consider agency and hope.

“We Make Years Out of Hours” opens on May 1 and is on view through January 10, 2027, in Berlin. Explore more of Lapelytė’s multi-disciplinary works on her website and Instagram.

a man works on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
a woman works on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
people work on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
people work on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
a woman sits on an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
the artist poses with an installation of wooden blocks by Lina Lapelytė in a cavernous building
Portrait of Lina Lapelytė

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 Lina Lapelytė Fills Hamburger Bahnhof with 400,000 Wood Blocks for Communal Building appeared first on Colossal.

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  • 7 Artists Discuss the Power and Urgency of Textiles Grace Ebert
    “We live with so many hard things,” says Sheila Hicks, “that we’re crying for softness.” The pleasure, simplicity, and tactile qualities of textiles ground a new film from Louisiana Channel, which explores the ways in which fiber art remains both evocative and relevant in this increasingly digital era. “7 Artists on Soft Sculptures” weaves together a variety of distinct approaches to textiles. Nick Cave describes incorporating found plastics, toys, metals, fringe, and more into elaborate s
     

7 Artists Discuss the Power and Urgency of Textiles

28 April 2026 at 16:43
7 Artists Discuss the Power and Urgency of Textiles

“We live with so many hard things,” says Sheila Hicks, “that we’re crying for softness.” The pleasure, simplicity, and tactile qualities of textiles ground a new film from Louisiana Channel, which explores the ways in which fiber art remains both evocative and relevant in this increasingly digital era.

7 Artists on Soft Sculptures” weaves together a variety of distinct approaches to textiles. Nick Cave describes incorporating found plastics, toys, metals, fringe, and more into elaborate suits that mask the wearer’s identity, while Icelandic artist Shoplifter shares her obsessions with brightly dyed synthetic hair, which she transforms into immersive installations.

And Kaarina Kaikkonen offers her deeply personal reason for incorporating used clothing into her large-scale installations: “When I was 14, after my father’s death, I wanted to wear his clothes,” she says. “I felt very strongly that my father is near me if I wear his clothes.” This invisible presence continues to inform her work, offering a connection to people and times passed.

Louisiana Channel hosts a trove of videos featuring artists, writers, and designers, including earlier studio visits with Shiota and Shoplifter, on Vimeo.

ernesto neto sits on the floor while touching his sculpture
Ernesto Neto

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 7 Artists Discuss the Power and Urgency of Textiles appeared first on Colossal.

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  • From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns Kate Mothes
    Growing up in the Australian Outback, where he first picked up a camera as a teenager to document his surroundings in the bush, Jon McCormack developed a keen eye for the beauty and subtleties of nature. Throughout his career, he’s stepped foot on all seven continents. Yet the idea for his new book, Patterns: Art of the Natural World, emerged from a period of quieter reflection. Like many of us during the pandemic, McCormack’s travels were limited to his immediate area. He began visiting t
     

From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns

28 April 2026 at 12:59
From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns

Growing up in the Australian Outback, where he first picked up a camera as a teenager to document his surroundings in the bush, Jon McCormack developed a keen eye for the beauty and subtleties of nature. Throughout his career, he’s stepped foot on all seven continents. Yet the idea for his new book, Patterns: Art of the Natural World, emerged from a period of quieter reflection.

Like many of us during the pandemic, McCormack’s travels were limited to his immediate area. He began visiting the same spots repeatedly and “discovered a new way of seeing, using photography to reveal the hidden harmony and symmetry of the natural world,” says a statement. Patterns, forthcoming from Damiani Books, draws upon this patient and attentive approach to nature’s rhythms, emphasizing its interconnectedness, resilience, and fragility.

a photograph by Jon McCormack of bright yellow aspen trees along the edge of a lake in the mountains
Golden aspens and their reflection join to shape a luminous triangle of color

The snapshots view slivers of our world from a range of perspectives, whether honing in on the recurring features of crystals or flying over a flamboyance of flamingos in Kenya. Patterns contains 90 striking images and text contributions from fellow photographers and conservationists.

Find your copy on Bookshop, and keep up with McCormack’s travels on Instagram.

a photograph by Jon McCormack of an aerial view of streams that look abstract
Patterns of minerals left behind by volcanic eruptions in Iceland
a photograph by Jon McCormack of an abstract pattern in nature
A microscope reveals the crystalline patterns of caffeine
a photograph by Jon McCormack of prismatic spray above a waterfall in Yosemite National Park
A prismatic waterfall at Yosemite
a photograph by Jon McCormack of birds flying over yellow streams, seen from high in the air
Flamingos in flight mirror the shifting patterns etched across Kenya’s Lake Magadi
a photograph by Jon McCormack of dolphins swimming, seen from a vertical perspective
A pod of dolphins swim near the Channel Islands
a photograph by Jon McCormack of microscopic crystals in repeating patterns
In every drop of water, diatoms are algae with glass-like silica shells that resemble tiny jewels under a microscope
the cover of the book 'Patterns' by Jon McCormack featuring an abstract up-close image of stone

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 From Micro to Mega, Jon McCormack’s Striking Photos Reveal Nature’s Patterns appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Cassandra Dias Takes an Impressionistic Approach to Painting with Thread Grace Ebert
    What better way to meditate on nature’s most majestic features than to recreate its details one stitch at a time? Since picking up a needle and thread in 2020, Cassandra Dias has translated rugged cliffsides, neat vineyards, and sun-streaked mountains into lush embroideries. The Southern California-based artist uses a technique known as thread painting, which combines a variety of stitches to create richly textured scenes. Having developed a dreamy, impressionistic style, Dias’ embroideri
     

Cassandra Dias Takes an Impressionistic Approach to Painting with Thread

27 April 2026 at 18:19
Cassandra Dias Takes an Impressionistic Approach to Painting with Thread

What better way to meditate on nature’s most majestic features than to recreate its details one stitch at a time? Since picking up a needle and thread in 2020, Cassandra Dias has translated rugged cliffsides, neat vineyards, and sun-streaked mountains into lush embroideries.

The Southern California-based artist uses a technique known as thread painting, which combines a variety of stitches to create richly textured scenes. Having developed a dreamy, impressionistic style, Dias’ embroideries mimic the pointed and gestural movements of a paintbrush, with the depth of impasto. Whether depicting a single autumnal tree or a wide seascape stretching for miles, the artist’s works direct attention to the minuscule details and the abundant life all around us.

a process shot of hands creating a lush landscape embroidery in a light wood hoop by Cassandra Dias

Many of the images shown here are from Dias’ forthcoming book, Richly Stitched Landscape Embroidery: Mastering Thread Painted Scenes, which will be released in May. To dive into her techniques and distinctive approach, pre-order your copy from the Colossal Shop. You can also find more on Instagram.

a collection of lush landscape embroideries in light wood hoops by Cassandra Dias
a collection of natural objects in light wood hoops by Cassandra Dias
a lush landscape embroidery in a light wood hoop by Cassandra Dias
a collection of lush landscape embroideries in light wood hoops by Cassandra Dias
a lush landscape embroidery in a dark wood frame by Cassandra Dias
an autumn tree embroidery with supplies around

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 Cassandra Dias Takes an Impressionistic Approach to Painting with Thread appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City Kate Mothes
    Over the course of two decades, Queens resident Joe Macken meticulously built an entire city from the ground up. In fact, he built New York City—the whole thing—one building, house, and bridge at a time. Now, his expansive scale construction is on view in He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model at the Museum of the City of New York. Macken began working on the 50-by-27-foot model in 2004, first in Middle Village, Queens, before moving to Clifton Park, New York. It comprises 340 individual s
     

Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City

27 April 2026 at 16:22
Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City

Over the course of two decades, Queens resident Joe Macken meticulously built an entire city from the ground up. In fact, he built New York City—the whole thing—one building, house, and bridge at a time. Now, his expansive scale construction is on view in He Built This City: Joe Macken’s Model at the Museum of the City of New York.

Macken began working on the 50-by-27-foot model in 2004, first in Middle Village, Queens, before moving to Clifton Park, New York. It comprises 340 individual sections, each built from everyday materials like cardboard and glue, with many of the buildings constructed of balsa wood and detailed with pencil and paint. He completed the structure in 2025, and it’s now on long-term view at the museum, where visitors can walk around it and are encouraged to use binoculars to find familiar buildings and neighborhoods.

a detail of a cityscape and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey. All images courtesy of the artist and the Museum of the City of New York, shared with permission

You may also enjoy the “Panorama of the City of New York” at the Queens Museum, which was completed in 1964 and took a team of more than 100 people about three years to complete.

visitors to the Museum of New York look over an expansive handmade model of the city
Photo by Filip Wolak
a detail of an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey
a detail of a steam ship in an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey
A young visitor to the Museum of New York looks over an expansive handmade model of the city
Photo by Filip Wolak
a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey
a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey
a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey
a detail of a steam ship and an expansive, hand-built scale model of New York City
Photo by David Lurvey

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 Joe Macken Spent 21 Years Hand-Assembling a Vast Model of New York City appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Rachel Mentzer Transforms Discarded Cartons into Dusky Collagraphs Kate Mothes
    One of the most common sights in cities is birds perched on power lines, although it rarely elicits a second look. Starlings chortle, pigeons coo, and the occasional hawk perches on a pole to scan the ground for its next meal. And yet, as normal as this seems, there’s nothing natural about it. Instead of trees, these feathered creatures rely on whatever infrastructure is around them, from wires and pylons to fences and rooftops. For Ohio-based artist Rachel Mentzer, nature’s resilience is
     

Rachel Mentzer Transforms Discarded Cartons into Dusky Collagraphs

27 April 2026 at 14:07
Rachel Mentzer Transforms Discarded Cartons into Dusky Collagraphs

One of the most common sights in cities is birds perched on power lines, although it rarely elicits a second look. Starlings chortle, pigeons coo, and the occasional hawk perches on a pole to scan the ground for its next meal. And yet, as normal as this seems, there’s nothing natural about it. Instead of trees, these feathered creatures rely on whatever infrastructure is around them, from wires and pylons to fences and rooftops.

For Ohio-based artist Rachel Mentzer, nature’s resilience is central to a practice focused on sustainability and environmental renewal. Her work “invites viewers to reflect on the interplay between human activity and the natural world, emphasizing the adaptability and fragility of nature,” says a statement.

a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of three hawks in the air, surrounded by smaller birds
“Flying Hawks”

Mentzer’s practice emphasizes collagraphy, an intaglio printmaking technique in which flattened materials—especially paper and card but also other items like leaves or acrylic surfaces—can be used to create a plate from which to make prints. She meticulously carves the delicate surfaces of found cartons with motifs of birds, trees, and energy infrastructure, then brushes them in polyurethane to preserve and prepare them for printing. Occasionally, she also employs chine collé, which uses delicate papers, to add colorful backgrounds.

The artist then coats the design with ink, wipes off the excess, and places the damp substrate into an etching press to transfer the image to a larger sheet of paper, producing the final piece. Thanks to the pressure of the transfer and the way the ink seeps into every handmade and incidental mark, the final print reveals a textural composition with crisp outlines. Birds and urban details alike are inextricable from the silhouette of a material that may have otherwise been destined for the landfill, summoning a constant reminder of the relationship between humans and nature.

Mentzer’s work was recently included in the Manhattan Graphics Center’s community print studio exhibition, and this summer, she’s looking forward to participating in the Suzanne Wilson Artist-in-Residence Program at Glen Arbor Arts Center in Michigan. See the artist’s process on her website, where you can also check if she will be at an art fair in your area throughout the spring and summer. See more on Instagram.

a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of power lines and many birds in the air
“At the Flats”
a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of an electrical pylon
“Pylon Birds”
a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of a silhouetted, leafless tree with birds and a nest
“Golden Eagles”
a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of a water tower and birds
“Still Standing”
a collagraph print made in the outline of three small, flattened, cardboard cartons with imagery of pelicans sitting on wooden posts
“Dockside Watch”
a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of an electrical pylon and birds in the sky
“Skybound Over Steel”
a collagraph print made in the outline of a small, flattened, cardboard carton with imagery of a small songbird on a branch
“Magnolia Warbler”

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 Rachel Mentzer Transforms Discarded Cartons into Dusky Collagraphs appeared first on Colossal.

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  • An Interactive Archive Celebrates the Wide-Ranging Projects Inviting ‘Unruly Play’ Grace Ebert
    “Play is how we give permission,” says Vitor Freire, co-founder of the Amsterdam-based studio Imagination of Things. “Permission to challenge what’s fixed, rehearse what doesn’t exist yet, and close the distance between people who wouldn’t otherwise meet.” Freire and co-founder Monique Grimord take play seriously and, in a new project, their studio created a vast repository of 169 artworks, designs, games, and more that have offered an unexpected encounter with imagination and joy. From Ra
     

An Interactive Archive Celebrates the Wide-Ranging Projects Inviting ‘Unruly Play’

24 April 2026 at 16:50
An Interactive Archive Celebrates the Wide-Ranging Projects Inviting ‘Unruly Play’

“Play is how we give permission,” says Vitor Freire, co-founder of the Amsterdam-based studio Imagination of Things. “Permission to challenge what’s fixed, rehearse what doesn’t exist yet, and close the distance between people who wouldn’t otherwise meet.”

Freire and co-founder Monique Grimord take play seriously and, in a new project, their studio created a vast repository of 169 artworks, designs, games, and more that have offered an unexpected encounter with imagination and joy. From Rael San Fratello’s award-winning “Teeter-Totter Wall” to the healing Wind Phone project to a 12-foot puppet walking the world, Unruly Play is a multi-decade archive of participatory projects, public spaces, and digital creations that invite surprise and camaraderie.

“Our collaborators have always asked us where our ideas come from,” Gimrod says, “and the truth is that they come from references that rarely talk to each other—it can be a seesaw through a border wall or a phone booth connected to the dead… We wanted to create unusual dialogues and support new creative practices, and Unruly Play was our answer for that.”

Fully interactive, the project is searchable by theme or browsable through a shuffle feature. To dive deeper into the power of play, check out this compendium of artist-designed spaces.

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 Interactive Archive Celebrates the Wide-Ranging Projects Inviting ‘Unruly Play’ appeared first on Colossal.

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  • Navid Baraty’s Atmospheric Photos Explore Contrasting Scales of Time Kate Mothes
    When we consider that enormous metropolises like New York City and Chicago have only come into being within the past few hundred years, it’s impossible not to stand in awe of ancient cultural sites that have existed for millennia or geological features that expose millions—even billions—of years of the planet’s natural history. For Navid Baraty, the contrasts and tensions of contemporary urban life and timeless landscapes merge in otherworldly photographs. Baraty’s series The Time Between
     

Navid Baraty’s Atmospheric Photos Explore Contrasting Scales of Time

24 April 2026 at 12:33
Navid Baraty’s Atmospheric Photos Explore Contrasting Scales of Time

When we consider that enormous metropolises like New York City and Chicago have only come into being within the past few hundred years, it’s impossible not to stand in awe of ancient cultural sites that have existed for millennia or geological features that expose millions—even billions—of years of the planet’s natural history. For Navid Baraty, the contrasts and tensions of contemporary urban life and timeless landscapes merge in otherworldly photographs.

Baraty’s series The Time Between juxtaposes cityscapes with dramatic terrain, from desert dunes to snow-capped mountains. The project revolves around images in which two distinct digital photographs converge in a composite, drawing on the film technique of double exposure and exploring ideas of permanence, presence, and the “space between different scales of time,” the artist says.

two photographs digitally superimposed, like a double-exposure, depicting a desert lake and a cityscape

The Time Between highlights iconic skylines like Manhattan and Chicago, pairing the outlines of skyscrapers and city lights with dramatic rock formations and atmospheric effects. “The process is intentional but restrained, combining the two frames through careful blending rather than constructing or artificially generating new elements,” Baraty tells Colossal. “I’m interested in combinations that feel impossible at first, yet strangely convincing once they come together.”

See more on Instagram.

two photographs digitally superimposed, like a double-exposure, depicting mountains and a cityscape
two photographs digitally superimposed, like a double-exposure, depicting the Golden Gate Bridge and hazy mountains
two photographs digitally superimposed, like a double-exposure, depicting sand dunes and the Chicago skyline
two photographs digitally superimposed, like a double-exposure, depicting the Statue of Liberty and an evergreen forest

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 Navid Baraty’s Atmospheric Photos Explore Contrasting Scales of Time appeared first on Colossal.

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