David Morrison continues his hyperrealistic explorations of flowers, seeds, and plants, capturing the intricacies and alluring textures found throughout nature in lush colored pencil. Delicate, fine lines and smooth gradients prevail in the artist’s drawings, which present the organic subject matter as if it were bathed in light. Rendered in a soft haze, shadows of individual fronds and nodes add a deceptive sense of depth to the two-dimensional works.
The pieces shown here are some of Morrison’s latest, and you can find more on his Instagram and via Garvey | Simon, where he’s represented.
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Around a decade ago, Shinsuke Inoue sourced a piece of Japanese wood and carved a depiction of his child, “wanting to preserve their likeness in three dimensions,” the artist tells Colossal. The affectionate expression of a loved one in sculptural form spurred a new passion for woodcarving, specifically with an emphasis on the human figure.
Inoue’s pieces possess a kind of elemental groundedness or gravity that makes their restrained, sometimes hard-to-read expressions remarkably alluring. The figures often look straight ahead, and at the right angle, they make powerful eye contact with the viewer. And not unlike the way a small, meaningful smile or tiny frown can emerge from the most minute twitch of facial muscles, the striking characters are physically diminutive, but their inner emotional worlds are infinite.
Inoue works intuitively, allowing the material’s natural qualities to guide his hand. “I have virtually no idea what the finished piece will look like until I actually begin working with the wood,” he says. “As a result, the form often emerges as I carve, and I frequently change my plans midway through the process. Naturally, I keep the many failures a secret.” He always carves using hand tools and rarely titles the pieces.
The artist also references people he’s close to, along with strangers he passes on the street or sees photographs of, but his sculptures aren’t realistic depictions of specific individuals. Instead, Inoue concentrates on capturing a kind of universal expression of “the very essence of human existence… I hope that the inherent appeal of the wood, combined with its form and color, resonates to convey the essence of humanity itself.”
See more on Instagram.
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The expression “wherever you go, there you are” is often wielded to describe futile attempts to escape hangups, anxieties, and a variety of unwanted emotions. Although this truism is typically offered as a negative, it can also be read as a positive that provides comfort and stability amid new environments.
In I Bring Home with Me, Ghanaian artist Amoako Boafo recreates his Accra studio in an architectural reproduction within Roberts Projects’ Los Angeles gallery. Boafo is known for his stylized portraiture of Black people, whose skin the artist renders in swirling gestures made with his fingers. This exhibition presents a collection of paintings embedded within the life-sized replica, created in collaboration with architect and designer Glenn DeRoche.
According to a statement from the gallery, Boafo wanted to reflect both the “images, sounds, people, stories, and events that shape his sense of place” and how community gatherings in his studio are essential to his process. While some portraits depict imagined subjects, many portray friends, family, and public figures.
Monstera wallpaper, porous wall dividers, and floral seat covers add color and texture to the largely black, wooden structure and echo Boafo’s use of paper transfers, embroidered details, and thick impasto. Paired with his portraiture, these architectural details guide viewers through the space and capture how presence and memories shape our inner and outer environments.
I Bring Home with Me is on view through March 21. Find more on the artist’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 Amoako Boafo Weaves His Portraiture into an Architectural Replica of His Accra Studio appeared first on Colossal.
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