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COLLAGE ON VIEW
Homage to Kept Cloth
Denise Zygadlo at Arusha Gallery in Edinburgh, Scotland. The artist says about this work: "It is my past–Clothes as our second skin are the closest to us, as a loved one, that anything can be. From the moment we are first wrapped or swaddled to our last windings on our final journey. Just as a smell can evoke so clearly a memory of a place or person, so can an item of clothing or a piece of cloth bring back to life a past experience. I became aware of the importance of the tactile qualities of cloth when I came across my first book as a child–looking at the illustrations I was so familiar with the images, but not just visually." MORE
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Winter White
At Northern Daughters in Vergennes, Vermont, USA through 15 January 2021.
“Winter White” features the work of seven Vermont artists, including collage artists Matthew Monk, Hannah Morris, and Erika Lawlor Smith. Curators Sophie and Justine write, "Many of the artists referenced their approach to embracing winter, as Vermonters must, and what it has to offer. It is true that in order to enjoy the sometimes nine-month period when snow may fly, it is helpful to follow winter’s lead. To do as winter does." MORE
FROM THE ARTIST DIRECTORY
Challenge Oblivion
McAllen, Texas, USA. Angela V. Scardigno is inspired by the desolate landscape of Rio Grande Valley, Texas, where it is not uncommon to find large abandoned and forgotten properties, randomly appearing, replicating ghost towns. Her wooden collages challenge oblivion and the concept of objects being forgotten and dying out. These works bring us face to face with the unique beauty of aged matter, worn objects, and colors altered by the vagaries of the weather. MORE
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Colagem Pandêmica
at Galeria Recolte in São Paulo, Brazil online only. At the start of the pandemic, the gallery invited collagists to create an artistic record reflecting the ideas and feelings that the artists experienced during the period of social isolation imposed abruptly and unexpectedly by the pandemic. The online exhibition features collages by thirty-eight Brazilian and international artists. MORE
FROM KOLAJ 30
The City of Objectivity
As editorial policy, Kolaj Magazine neither reprints previously published material nor do we publish fiction. The decision to make an exception in this case was informed by the events of 2020. Knights’ story reminds us that fiction, at times, can speak to a greater truth. The work of fiction is a meditation on art’s relationship to power, or more precisely, the writing is a commentary on how artists negotiate social structures. MORE
Our goal with every issue is that Kolaj Magazine is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of contemporary collage in art, culture, and society. We not only hope you enjoy the articles and images in Kolaj #30, we hope it takes you somewhere you never knew existed.
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CALL TO ARTISTS
Works on Paper
At Paper Circle in Nelsonville, Ohio, USA. Deadline 31 December 2020
Paper Circle is accepting entries for “Works on Paper”, an online exhibition, taking place 1 February-31 March 2021. The jurors are Cecil Touchon, Helen Hiebert, Cyrilla Mozenter. The exhibition celebrates creativity and resourcefulness in works on paper in the time of Coronavirus. During difficult times, artists can lead the way in demonstrating resilience and originality. Only artwork created during the COVID-19 pandemic and that has not been exhibited elsewhere will be accepted. Artwork must be composed of at least 50% paper. MORE
COLLAGE ON VIEW
Feeding the Beast
Bo Joseph at McClain Gallery in Houston, Texas, USA through 30 December 2020. “Feeding the Beast” is a solo exhibition by Bo Joseph, featuring two parallel bodies of work: works on paper, which layer imagery from Renaissance scenes of battle, mythology and religion, and a new series of wall reliefs depicting composites of divergent historical, religious, and ritual objects that span the globe. Joseph’s new series melds together appropriated imagery referencing Greek and Roman mythology, Renaissance battle scenes, Christian Biblical subjects, and depicts Roman, Germanic, Inuit, and African objects. MORE
Recent Publications
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NEW BOOK
Unfamiliar Vegetables: Variations in Collage
Unfamiliar Vegetables is a collection of collage where each of the fifty artists interpreted, in their own way, Carlotta Bonnecaze’s 1892 Carnival float design Familiar Vegetables. Project organizer Christopher Kurts observed, “Unfamiliar Vegetables is an experiment in controlled chaos….tiny variations within each artist’s creative sphere accumulate until the outcomes are as unique as the people creating them.” MORE
Unfamiliar Vegetables is sent automatically to members of the Silver Scissors & Golden Glue Societies and those who join before 31 December 2020. These special subscribers support the work of Kolaj Institute while receiving an item from Kolaj each month. JOIN TODAY!
(The Directory will ship to purchasers and members of the Golden Glue & Silver Scissors Societies the week of 9 December 2020.)
Our goal with every issue is that Kolaj Magazine is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of contemporary collage in art, culture, and society. We not only hope you enjoy the articles and images in Kolaj #30, we hope it takes you somewhere you never knew existed.
SUBSCRIBE OR ORDER A COPY
CURRENT ISSUE
KOLAJ #30
From the island of Cuba to the tip of South America, to Norway and Denmark then back across the Atlantic to North America, Kolaj #30 is a journey through the hearts and minds of the collage community. These artists are responding to social upheaval, questioning the function of the photographic image, repurposing old billboards, encouraging children to engage with art, making new festivals, telling stories about their communities, reflecting on personal histories, imagining cities, and intervening on the urban landscape. MORE
BOOK
The International Directory of Collage Communities
The 104-page book is a survey of collage networks, guilds, communities, and projects as well as online efforts and groups focused on collage research. For each community, the directory presents their key activities, mission, how to join, and a bit of their history. Copious images illustrate the book. MORE
BOOK
Radical Reimaginings
The curators of the 96-page book invited artists who use collage in their practice to put forward a work of art that offers a visual narrative that speaks to the unprecedented change unfolding in 2020. An essay by Ric Kasini Kadour reflects upon collage's unique ability to imagine new realities. Forty artists from nine countries and multiple Indigenous peoples—Salish-Kootenai/Métis-Cree/Sho-Ban, Tlingit/Nisga’a, Oglala/Lakota, and Seneca Nation—offer a variety of perspectives. The voices of Black, Latinx, Native, and white Americans mingle with those from Chile, Colombia, Mexico, Peru, Argentina, Canada, France, and Germany. Artwork is accompanied by a statement in which the artists describe how they want to reimagine the world. MORE
BOOK
Collage Magic
by Emma Anna
Part autobiography, part fantasy, Emma Anna’s vision of The New Old World (aka The NOW) fuses vintage ephemera with modern imaging technologies. Emma shapes this strange world by using the pen tool from Adobe Photoshop as her magic wand, in the process declaring herself to be a “collage magician”. Part artist book, part document of art making, Collage Magic, from La Casa Verde Editions, is Emma Anna’s journey through magic and art. MORE
BOOK
Revolutionary Paths
When the collage is presented in exhibition, it is often done so without the critical framework granted other mediums. In "Revolutionary Paths: Critical Issues in Collage", exhibition curator Ric Kasini Kadour presents examples of collage that represent various aspects and takes on the medium. Each work in the exhibition represents the potential for deeper inquiry and further curatorial exploration of the medium. MORE
BOOK
Cultural Decontructions
Collage is unique as a medium in that it uses as its material artifacts from the world itself. To harvest those fragments, the artist must first deconstruct culture; they must select, cut, and remove the elements they do not wish to use and then reconstruct work that tells a new story. In "Cultural Deconstructions: Critical Issues in Collage", exhibition curator Ric Kasini Kadour presents examples of collage artists who are deconstructing identity as a way to critique culture. MORE
Our goal with every issue is that Kolaj Magazine is essential reading for anyone interested in the role of contemporary collage in art, culture, and society. Each issue of Kolaj Magazine is dedicated to reviewing and surveying contemporary collage with an international perspective. We are interested in collage as a medium, a genre, a community, and a 21st century art movement.
