“Reading Between the Lines” {Looz, Limburg, Belgium, 2011} This is the breathtaking work of Belgian architects, Pieterjan Gijs and Arnout Van Vaerenbergh. Their collaborative projects beautifully blur the line between architecture and art, “their primary concerns are experiment, reflection, a physical involvement with the end result and the input of the viewer.” I could definitely do a little reflecting in this amazing space.

{via This Is Paper}

I always wondered what was in those old, falling down buildings… famous works of art! This is the beautifully painted / brilliant work of Scottish born, London based painter Andrew McIntosh. All of these gorgeous paintings are part of his latest show, titled ‘I Saw This Coming’, that opens this Thursday. And, as artists, I’m sure you’ll appreciate the description:

It’s the first full week in March! Okay, fine, I know it’s not the first day of spring, but at least we’re in March now… I’m hoping the flower and bird filled collage work of American artist Vivienne Strauss will help move things along. Hilarious and beautifully made… perfect combo. Happy Monday.

{Vivienne’s work – both prints and originals – available in her shop.}

Yep, I feel like that gal in the middle right now! A gorgeous collage show is opening this weekend at Hashimoto Contemporary in San Francisco. “Lizzie Gill + Hope Kroll: Fragmented Memories” opens tomorrow, Saturday March 2, from 6 till 8pm. Here’s the curatorial statement:

“Fragmented Memories” : two artists with distinct approaches to collage were brought together in order to consider not only the varying techniques utilized within the medium, but also overlapping themes. The contemplation of memory, the past and the incorporation of vintage ephemera create unifying elements in Lizzie Gill and Hope Kroll’s work, calling to question how we recall the past, as well as the ability to create something new, transforming our own sense of memory. ~ Jennifer Rizzo, Curator

If you’re in the Bay Area, you should go! ps. Lizzie and Hope will both be there. 

Be still my collage-loving heart! Look at those perfectly matched lines and shapes… gorgeous. (un)intentional cuts is a collage series by Lithuanian artist Ieva Sliziute, and here are her words about this work:

(un)intentional cuts is a personal project of analog collages, designed by visual coincidences. This assemblage technique paired with creative intuition merges images found in fashion magazines into new scenarios, where everything is seamlessly interconnected through either shape, colour or context. Becoming an extension of each other, all photos are removed from their original stories and layered in unexpected ways to both celebrate the aesthetics of contemporary collage and provide a new contextual setting for visual material.

Embroidered plants on vintage photographs. Lovely… but so much more powerful when you read the description of this series, titled ‘Strange Plants’, by American artist Heather Beardsley:

Last winter I visited Pripyat, the ghost town closest to the site of the Chernobyl nuclear disaster, where over the past thirty years nature that was destroyed by human hubris and incompetence has grown up to dominate the abandoned man-made structures.  The series uses this powerful juxtaposition as a lens to look examine the current relationship between mankind and the natural world.  In a time when cities are growing at an unprecedented rate, nuclear tensions are at a post-Cold War high and we are feeling the effects of climate change more every year, these pieces pose questions about what the future holds.​

Although created in an intimate scale and presented in a whimsical fashion, using embroidered floral and plant motifs usually pejoratively ascribed to the realms of “decorative art” or “craft”, on closer examination the implications become more sinister.  As plants seemingly grow uncontrollably through the buildings and streets, people are either absent from or oblivious to the situation.  Viewers are left to wonder about this change in dynamic, what preceded it, and what can prevent it.  The resulting works exist in an ambiguous space: a drastic shift has clearly occurred, but nature has fought back and perhaps a new balance has been reached. 

Um, so these are paintings… on the artist’s face. I know, right? This is the surreal work of South Korean artist Dain Yoon. Confusing, beautiful, and jaw-dropping. I have no idea what else to say, other than, whoa. Follow her on Instagram to see more of her dizzying paintings … ON HER FACE.

*No photoshop was used in the making of this post. For reals.

Oh my word! This is the latest work by Canadian (currently based in Amsterdam) artist Jessica Bell. I’ve been a fan of Jessica’s work for years, and when I saw these floor quilts, well, this post started writing itself! Here is a description about this work:

Forty Days and Forty Nights (Making the bed) (2018) / Jessica Bell presents, on the floor, an enormous quilt made entirely by hand. Laborious and careful at the same time, it consists of 40 patchworks of muslin fabric meticulously dyed and painted, one by one, at the artist’s home. Using a traditional quilt design — Drunkard’s Path — and through means of repetition, Bell constructs, deconstructs and reconstructs her painting gestures into a plethora of pictorial surfaces that behave like sculpture. The distinct forms of each piece converge into abstract patterns subjected to manipulation and transformation and are only temporarily assembled for the moment of the exhibition. In anticipation of possible iterations, the quilt remains formally and physically tangible: manageable, flexible and moreover fragile.

Sigh. Beautiful. Happy Monday.

Oh, Vancouver based artist Ben Skinner. One of my favorite artists, ever. In fact, on February 22, 2009, I wrote my first post on The Jealous Curator and, yes, it was about Ben. Well, here we are TEN YEARS LATER (!?), so I thought it was only fitting to write about him again. He’s the king of materials, and his brain is filled with the most wonderful words… and the manipulation of those words. “ALL OF MY HEROES ARE WOMEN” is a stunning infinity mirror piece Ben created for a show I curated (in honor of Gord Downey, the lead singer / songwriter of The Tragically Hip) in the summer of 2017. For obvious reasons, I love this piece more than I can explain.

So, ten years. Thank you for coming on this decade-long ride with me! When I wrote that first post (while my two year old was napping), I never could’ve predicted what this site would grow into. Books, a podcast, workshops, etc – yes – but more importantly, all of you. All I ever wanted was a community of like-minded people who “got” what it was like to be an artist – the blocks, the golden zone, the thrill of walking into an art supply store, the frustration of rejection, the pure joy that comes from creating something that wouldn’t have existed without you. Because of this journey, I’ve made lifelong friends, and I’m making art again… and actually showing it to people! I’ve never been happier as an artist than I am at this moment, and that has so much to do with you. Thank you. Here’s to many more years of creative adventures! ~ Danielle xo

Gasp! So there I was, wandering through the San Francisco airport when I was stopped in my tracks by this colorful, glittering masterpiece! This is the work of San Francisco based artist Leah Rosenberg, and I can tell you, this post does not even close to do it justice. Here are Leah’s words about this fantastic, color-coded project:

EVERYWHERE A COLOR // San Francisco International Airport