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

Beautiful and disturbing. These paintings are the work of Copenhagen based artist Esther Sarto. I have so many questions, but haven’t been able to find many answers. I did read somewhere that her work explores “inner visions, dreams and nightmares”… yep, that seems about right.

Damn. How did I miss this? ‘For All We Know’, an exhibition by American artist Oliver Jeffers just came down from the walls at Bryce Wolkowitz Gallery {NYC} on February 16th. I love everything Oliver does – from his oil paintings to his absolutely fantastic kids books – and this show is no exception. Here is a description of this latest body of work:

“This series of paintings illuminate a dream-like nocturnal world populated by astronauts, deep-sea divers, sinking ships, floating pianos, and burning matches. Omnipresent throughout are the night sky and the ocean – the two great and unknown frontiers – glittered with the imaginary lines that create constellations, serving in this case as a mysterious key to unlock our world … Jeffers’ work follows the logic of dreams, of symbolic objects coming into relation with each other, and of the feelings that these objects hold. At the center are the themes of perspective and connectedness: the Earth as seen from the Moon, the stars as they appear from the face of the Earth, our minuscule presence in the greater universe, and how we relate to it all. The existential loneliness of the astronaut in Lost At Space, or of the deep-sea diver peering through his helmet in The Rescue, is portrayed in sensuous twilight shades. These recurring characters are seen together in A Break with the Unknown, sharing a cup of tea that neither can drink, watching the same bonfire reflected in their masks but seeing different things. Throughout this new collection, Jeffers looks at how humankind has always attempted to make sense out of chaos, has always made connections between himself and everything else. These connections, both real and imagined, suggest we are no more than the stories we tell, and the stories we are told. Stories that are brightly vivid, but all too brief.”

Beautiful. ps. Here are a few photos from the show… that I missed!?

FRIDA! Monday morning fun fact: Did you know that, while she was alive, Frida Kahlo only had one solo show in New York City? Yep, it was at the Julien Levy Gallery in 1938. Well, 81 years later, the Brooklyn Museum is shining a huge spotlight on all things Frida with this fabulous show, titled ‘Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving’:

“‘Frida Kahlo: Appearances Can Be Deceiving’ is the largest U.S. exhibition in ten years devoted to the iconic painter and the first in the United States to display a collection of her clothing and other personal possessions, which were rediscovered and inventoried in 2004 after being locked away since Kahlo’s death, in 1954. They are displayed alongside important paintings, drawings, and photographs from the celebrated Jacques and Natasha Gelman Collection of 20th Century Mexican Art, as well as related historical film and ephemera. To highlight the collecting interests of Kahlo and her husband, muralist Diego Rivera, works from our extensive holdings of Mesoamerican art are also included.”

The show runs from February 8 until May 12, 2019. Go!

A post shared by Taili Wu (@tailiwu) on May 6, 2015 at 4:44pm PDT

Ceramics and stop-motion animation… well hello my new favorite combo! These whimsical wonders are the work of Taiwan born, New York based artist Taili Wu. Surprises inside Oreos, bacon ‘n egg eyes, and don’t even get me started on that record-playing ballerina! LOVE. Happy Friday.

Egg. Shells. Whoa. This truly delicate piece is the work of American artist Elisa Sheehan, and while this beauty is probably more appropriate as an Easter post, I’m going to declare my love for Elisa’s “Kintsugi Eggshells” on Valentine’s Day… love, love, oh so much love! ♥