Colossal

Whether on walls or in boxes, the frisky foxes of Annatomix’s murals and mixed-media sculptures bring vibrancy, playfulness, and just the right amount of cunning. The street artist is known for her vivid geometric animal murals evocative of origami, where planes of color and bold shadows make the animals pop from brick surfaces and wooden containers alike. “I am particularly fond of foxes because I find them so relatable,” the artist tells Colossal. “Sacred to some, vermin t

In the introduction of a new book titled Great Women Photographers, Fiona Rogers writes, “If ‘greatness’ has long been defined by visibility and remembrance, then the continued documentation and celebration of women’s photographic practice is not only relevant but essential.” The forthcoming title spans a multitude of photographic works from 68 countries and covers nearly 200 years of history. It’s the fourth volume in Phaidon’s series of books commemorating influential women in t

From the collection of the Nasher Museum of Art at Duke University, which features a wealth of artwork and artifacts related to social justice and community organizing, a new exhibition highlights American democracy and freedom of speech through the lens of art as an agent of change. Turn the volume up! includes works by a diverse group of contemporary artists and photographers, from Spider Martin’s dramatic documentation of Freedom Marches during the Civil Rights Movement to Kara Walker’s mu

Our oceans are places of mystery and biological wonders as much as they are essential to communities’ livelihoods. We tap these expansive bodies of water for recreation, food, transportation. From the Atlantic to the Arctic, oceans cover around 70 percent of the earth’s surface, and there is an incredible wealth of life yet to be discovered. As the continuing climate crisis melts ice caps and raises sea levels, and industrial fishing and waste threatens endangered marine animals a

“The wind is my nemesis!” says Jennifer Latour, and rightly so. In her sculptural assemblages, single flowers or small clusters of blooms sprout from tree branches or thick stems, appearing like otherworldly forms standing in the landscape. A soft breeze could topple the Vancouver-based artist’s ephemeral works, scattering their delicate petals and spindly shoots before she has the chance to snap a photo. These fleeting moments are preserved in Latour’s Bound Species

From materials we normally discard like padded packaging or the mesh sleeves that protect fruit from bruising, Suzanne Jongmans summons elegant and dreamlike Renaissance portraits. The artist drapes models in lush velvet fabrics and typically positions them against deep backgrounds in the vein of Leonardo da Vinci’s “Lady with an Ermine” (1489-91) or Antonello da Messina’s “Portrait of a Young Man” (c. 1470). The settings and the addition of fine garments

Scientists have long studied how magnetic energy powers solar activity. The constant motion of plasma particles and the sun’s rotation are major contributors to its cycles and events, such as flares and coronal mass ejections, which lob huge quantities of plasma and gas into space. Sometimes these explosions reach the earth’s magnetic field and cause geomagnetic storms, which are when we see some of the most brilliant auroras. But they also disrupt or damage our communications sys

Like many kids, I struggled with bedtime. I was a naturally anxious child with a vast imagination and siblings who loved to watch scary movies, leaving me capable of generating an endless array of terrifying things that could happen once the lights went out. To remedy this problem, my mother designated a particular stuffed bear as my guardian, and before retreating to her own room, she would grab its squishy body and infuse it with her protective “power” should I need some comfort an

Described by its anonymous creators as “the largest search engine for museum art,” The Last Museum is a veritable trove of the the world’s great works. It currently includes pieces by more than 290,000 artists, which are held across 4,903 museums and represent 304 cultures and nationalities. A lot of the works are in the public domain, such as a 19th-century beaded bag attributed to the Lakota, thousands of ancient Etruscan artifacts, and objects spanning thousands of years in

In elegant, meditative paintings by Meghann Stephenson, the inner lives of women are illuminated through subtle symbolism. The Los Angeles-based artist is known for her figurative paintings and still-lifes emphasizing repetition, reflection, and mystery. Often, we encounter a puzzle-like quality to her work in the form of knots, mazes, or duplicates. Next month, a show of nine paintings at Half Gallery continues her exploration of the relationship between inner states and societal constraints.

For Copenhagen-based illustrator and designer Radhika Chitalia, an interest in memories, psychology, and emotions drives a practice centered around connections. From imbuing product design with a bit of humanity to using natural pigments and motifs inspired by Indian folk traditions, she’s drawn to the dynamics of community and relationships. One particular bond stands out in a recent personal project. “After my father passed away, his expired passport remained tucked away for yea

Unlike the coasts, Midwestern culture is synonymous with the manual labor of blue-collar jobs, resilience necessary in harsh winters, and a certain friendliness that lends itself to a deep-rooted sense of community. These humble tenets grounded Melissa Joseph’s childhood in Saint Marys, a small, rural city in Pennsylvania, where she was born to a mother with Irish heritage and a father from Kerala, India. The melange of biracial life, Midwestern niceties, and gendered fiber art traditions are wo

Discover world-class museums, public art, sculpture gardens, local dining, and unforgettable cultural experiences, all within one vibrant, walkable city during the Milwaukee Art Escape. The limited-time promotion runs from August 21 through October 6, 2026, and invites you to explore some of Cream City’s best public art, cultural collections, and creative spaces. Wander the exhibitions of the Milwaukee Art Museum, Haggerty Museum of Art, MIAD Galleries, Lynden Sculpture Garden, Villa Te

In our era of screens and proliferous imagery, it strains the imagination to comprehend a time before photography. Two centuries ago, an inventor named Nicéphore Niépce took the very first picture of his courtyard in France by fitting a pewter plate into a camera obscura. A few years later, a professional scene painter named Louis-Jacques-Mandé Daguerre conceived of the aptly named daguerreotype, in which the image could be permanently fixed. He and Niépce both sold their technologies to the Fre

Known for her lush assemblages of flameworked glass, Amber Cowan reimagines a ubiquitous yet fragile medium. Flowers, filigree, and colorful baubles cluster into dense compositions that invoke fairytale narratives and whimsical nature scenes. Cowan typically works with industrial scraps, antiques, and other offcasts, which allows her to draw on products and colorways that are no longer in production. Currently leaning into cloche and coupe sculptures alongside her wall-based works, the Philad

110 years ago, Thomas Lupo’s grandfather opened the American Wood Column Corporation in Brooklyn’s Williamsburg neighborhood. Specializing in architectural woodwork including decorative moulding, columns, balusters, corbels, and more, the historic family-owned company is shutting down after more than a century. A new documentary directed and produced by filmmaker and photographer Joshua Charrow takes viewers on one final walk-through of the factory. A vast collection of about 6,00

From happenstance and humor to solemnity and tension, the images topping the 2026 Pure Street Photography Awards run the gamut of daily scenes. The annual contest is organized into two categories: black-and-white and open. Reflections of New York City meet dramatic views of urban spaces and pensive tableaux in rural communities, emphasizing timely and candid moments that center diverse human experiences. This year, eight winners were selected from nearly 1,600 entries submitted by photographe

Amid the rugged, wave-churned shoreline of France’s Breton coast, a surprising tidbit of pop culture has kept beachcombers returning for more than 40 years. The short film “Silly Little Plastic Cat” transports us to this slice of Brittany, where local residents grew up collecting parts of a 1984 Garfield-themed plastic telephone on the beach—and still do. Photographer and director Zack Grant, founder the production studio 2020 Land, was intrigued by the story, which made news a

The spiral is one of the most ubiquitous, universal symbols. Or perhaps it is more apt to describe the motif as mimicked from nature, where it occurs in the form of seashells, flowers, and curling waves. From Neolithic stone carvings at Newgrange in Ireland to swirling motifs on prehistoric pottery discovered in Thailand, the spiral represents growth, the cycles of life, and evolution. Sometimes two or more interlink, and other times they emerge from an endless line. For artist Jiang Miao, Ea

In 2022, New York resident and bonafide feline devotee Dan Rimada felt that something needed to be done to shine a light on the city’s cats. The Big Apple not only has a real feral issue, but many of these creatures make their homes in iconic shops found around the city: bodegas. Over time, locals get to know them and they become fixtures of shelves and countertops. Technically, though, New York City considers it a health code violation to have animals in businesses that serve food. In spi