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“For All Your Years.” All images © Graham Franciose, courtesy of Gallery Ergo, shared with permission
In watercolor and gouache, a world of wonder unfolds in surreal paintings by Graham Franciose (previously). In his current exhibition What Is Inside the Tree Is Inside of You, It’s Inside of Me at Gallery Ergo in Seattle, the artist considers the climate of the Pacific Northwest, where he’s lived since 2017 and regularly hikes through the region’s temperate rainforests. “The life-to-death-to-life cycle has never been more apparent and obvious to me as it is illustrated by the numerous ‘nurse logs’ you will encounter on most trails up here,” Franciose says in a statement. He continues:
A (nurse log is a) fallen tree, or stump of a giant logged tree that has, in its decomposition, nurtured new life into existence. A new sapling sprouts from the remains, and eventually its roots will reach the ground, and it will continue to grow up and around the deteriorating lump of organic matter that helped bring it into existence.
Franciose’s fascination with the circle of growth, decay, and regrowth led to a series of works that focus on the inherent symbiosis between humans and the rest of the natural world. Figures sit on enormous logs, sprout botanicals from their bodies, and reach out to commune with glowing annual growth rings in enigmatic, metaphysical narratives. He says, “The pieces in the collection of work are not really essays about this subject but more visual poems, with the underlying thread rooted in the connection we have with plants and animals and the natural world as a whole.”
More pieces from What Is Inside the Tree Is Inside of You, It’s Inside of Me can be viewed on the gallery’s website, and you can discover more work by Franciose on Instagram.
“A Dream of a New”
“Humble Seed to Last Leaf”
Left: “Bloom Together.” Right: “I Will Hold Space for Your Tender Heart to Bloom”
“The Arrival of the Sun”
“What Could Be”
“What Was and What Will Be”
“Something Unexpected Emerged”
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Graham Franciose’s Otherworldly Watercolors Revel in Misty Forests and the Symbiosis of Nature appeared first on Colossal.
“Weepy Chrysanthemums.” All images © Felicia Chiao, shared with permission
Whether floating in pools of rainwater in the center of chrysanthemums or navigating the chaos of a fish tank, the characters in Felicia Chiao’s drawings encounter surreal circumstances that tap into complex emotions. Her illustrations (previously) follow the experiences and interactions of solemn figures who search for the sun, become immersed in blossoms, and appear both curious about and overwhelmed by the huge world around them.
Chiao incorporates anthropomorphized elements of nature to represent moods, like in “Try,” which contrasts the cheerful, sunny top level of an apartment with a dim, melancholy lower level that gets little light. In “Bloat,” a dark, inner monster—a recurring specter—is dispelled by the shining sun. Peering past giant flower petals or surrounded by prying eyes, her figures express universal feelings of awe, anxiety, uncertainty, and joy.
Long using Copic markers for her drawings, Chiao recently switched to watercolor for gallery works, maintaining a similar style of washed hues while achieving better archival quality. She continues to use the markers for personal work, sharing with Colossal, “The new medium, however, has enabled me to push the boundaries of scale and color application.” Some of these pieces are part of New Normal, the artist’s solo exhibition at Giant Robot in Los Angeles that continues through June 28 and showcases her new watercolors.
In October, Chiao will be part of a group exhibition presented by Hi-Fructose Magazine at Arch Enemy Arts in Philadephia, and she’s looking forward to another solo show next year in New York City with Harman Projects. Follow updates on Instagram and Patreon, and find prints on Society6.
“Fish Tank”
“Chrysanthemum”
Left: “Growth.” Right: “Bloat”
“Try”
“Floral White”
“Geraniums”
“Handle With Care”
“Pattern Worms”
“Seen”
“Waiting”
“Sun God”
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article In Ink and Watercolor Illustrations, Felicia Chiao Immerses Curious Characters in Surreal Scenarios appeared first on Colossal.
All images © Julian Frost, shared with permission
Illustrator Julian Frost might equate his animations to one-liners. Minimal in composition, his works convey a simple idea through succinct absurdities. A line-drawn character walks with an exceptional amount of purpose only to wander a tiny cube or slam into a pillar obstructing its path, while another figure dances in an endless loop of flying daggers, detached body parts already lining the floor.
When creating, Frost strives to pare down his animations to just the necessities, likening them to jokes “so well-crafted you couldn’t remove a word.” The goal is to create what he calls “idiotic zen poetry,” conveyed through repeating motions, clean lines, and healthy doses of negative space.
Find more of Frost’s animations and illustrations on his site and Instagram. You also might enjoy this conversation with Christoph Niemann who discusses wit and distilling ideas.
Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $5 per month. The article Playful Scenes by Julian Frost Animate the Absurd through Minimal Details appeared first on Colossal.
A mini-planet orbiting in the frigid outer reaches of the solar system has a Saturn-like ring of dust and debris that defies the rules of physics, a new study has revealed.
The planet in question is called Quaoar and it’s the seventh largest of the known dwarf planets of which Pluto is the king. Discovered in 2002 and about 697 miles wide (1,121 kilometers), Quaoar is one of the so-called trans-Neptunian objects, small planets orbiting beyond the solar system’s outermost planet Neptune.
Residing in the Kuiper Belt, the doughnut-shaped ring of rocky and icy debris in the outer solar system, Quaoar is a proud owner of its own moon, the 100-mile-wide (160 km) Weywot. And a recent observation campaign revealed that it also has a ring of material in its orbit.