Art

13 Bronze Figures Reinterpreted from Velázquez’s ‘Las Meninas’ Line Up in a Central Venice Plaza

Thirteen bronze women in wide pannier skirts stand single file in St. Mark’s Square in central Venice. The large-scale installation is the work of Spanish artist Manolo Valdés and on view for the 60th Venice Biennale that opened earlier this month.

Known for recontextualizing the iconic figures, colors, and textures throughout Western art history, Valdés once again pulls from well-known source material for Las Meninas a San Marco as he reinterprets the subjects of Diego Velázquez’s 1656 painting “Las Meninas,” or “The Ladies-in-waiting.” Led by the monumental “Infanta Margarita” who stands at the center of the original painting, the trailing figures are “Reina Mariana,” a nod to the infanta’s mother framed in a portrait in the background of Velzázquez’s work.

Las Meninas a San Marco has come under fire from Italia Nostra-Venezia, an organization that opposes galleries paying for public spaces to stage artworks and what it calls the “‘biennalization’ of the city.”

The project will be on view through June 15, when one of the “Reina Mariana” sculptures will be donated to the city.

 

Photography Social Issues

With Few Glimmers of Hope, the World Press Photo Contest Documents War, Migration, and Devastation

From Israel’s ongoing assault leaving the people of Gaza in horrific destitution to a record-breaking surge of migrants at the U.S.-Mexico border, the last year has seen incredible devastation around the globe. The 2024 World Press Photo contest gathers a profound and illuminating collection of images that approach myriad crises with compassion and clarity.

This year’s competition garnered 61,062 entries from 3,851 photographers in 130 countries. The winning images include a striking black-and-white shot of a man mid-step as he perilously crosses from one moving train car to the next in Piedras Negras and a portrait of an Afghan woman resting on a couch amid the desolate mountain landscape at a refugee camp near the Pakistan-Afghanistan border.

 

One of the few hopeful submissions, Jaime Rojo’s “Saving the Monarchs,” looks up at innumerable butterflies fluttering among the trees of El Rosario sanctuary in Michoacán, Mexico. Due to encroaching industry and a changing climate, the insect population had been in sharp decline since the 1990s, although international efforts have reversed the downturn by more than 80 percent. “This beautiful yet powerful story—a symbol of unity in polarized times—offers a solutions-oriented perspective on environmental change and conservation,” a statement about the series says.

In 2023, 99 journalists and media workers died, about 75 percent of whom were killed in the Israel-Hamas war. It was one of the deadliest years on record, with 2024 already approaching that number. “Work, for a news photographer, can be a dangerous place,” the organization says. “Unlike other journalists, news photographers must be where the story is happening— which might be a war zone, a humanitarian disaster, or somewhere free and open media is not welcomed.” The collection, therefore, is also a stark reminder of the people behind the lens and the risks they take to share essential information. 

World Press Photo will bring the winning images to more than 20 cities in the coming months, and if you’re interested in diving deeper into the stories behind the shots, pick up the 2024 yearbook.

 

Art

Hadi Rahnaward’s Fraying Rug of Charred and Pristine Matchsticks Crumbles Under Violence

Stamped with a footprint and burned patches, Hadi Rahnaward’s matchstick rug at Palais de Tokyo frays at the edges. Titled “Fragile Balance,” the meticulously laid installation is part of the exhibition Dislocations curated in partnership Portes ouvertes sur l’art, a nonprofit supporting artists in exile.

Rahnaward works across film, photography, and installation and is interested in the cycles of violence within his native Afghanistan, particularly concerning Taliban rule. Weaving and rugmaking have long traditions with the region’s nomadic tribes, and the practice today continues both in the country and with refugees who fled during the Soviet-Afghan war. In “Fragile Balance,” innumerable matches cram together, and the combination of pristine, red heads and charred tips creates an ornate motif. Remnants of violence appear to erode such a powerful symbol of value and culture, which splinters and piles up like rubble.

Dislocations is on view through June 30, and you can follow Rahnaward on Instagram.

 

Art

Transforming Fabric into Flesh, Tamara Kostianovsky Fuses Cruelty and Beauty

If you walked into an exhibition featuring work from Tamara Kostianovsky in recent years, you likely encountered life-sized carcasses dangling from meat hooks. The Argentine-American artist (previously) is perhaps best known for these carnal sculptures of bone and flesh made from patterned fabric scraps. Newer additions include botanical vines winding through ribs and tropical birds perched inside that vacillate between beauty and brutality.

“I see these works in terms of metamorphosis,” Kostianovsky says. “The idea is to transform the image of the carcass from a place of carnage into a matrix where life takes root—in the manner of a utopian environment.”

Some of the carcasses will be on view starting April 23 at the Museum of Hunting and Nature in Paris for The Flesh of the World, Kostianovsky’s latest solo exhibition. Featuring about 30 works including multi-colored tree stumps and wall-based panels, the show brings forth the artist’s enduring fascination with the entangled relationship between bodies and the environment.

 

Stitching recycled clothing and various textiles into patterns that resemble marbled muscle, skin, and other tissues, she asks viewers to consider their consumption habits and the cyclical nature of life and death. By contrasting such soft, domestic materials with the grotesque qualities of the animal body, the subtle cruelties of slaughter and gluttony many partake in daily become more visceral.

Much of Kostianovsky’s works also address the impacts of colonialism and violence, particularly in her recent Carnal Geographies series. Layering maps, foliage, and patchwork, she visualizes North and South America and Africa, delineating the outer continental borders with flesh-like parts. Dotted with colorful birds, the works confront the historical and continued brutality waged in these places and the potential for new growth and life in a post-colonial world.

See The Flesh of the World through November 3. The artist also has work in two group exhibitions, one on view through April 27 at Chart Gallery in New York City and the other through June 2 at the Whyte Museum of the Canadian Rockies in Banff. You can also peruse an archive of her work on her site and Instagram.

 

Art

Cyrus Kabiru Fashions Elaborate Mixed-Media Masks and Goggles from Found Objects

Ranging from mechanical parts and cooking utensils to plastic caps and beads, Kenyan artist Cyrus Kabiru fashions dazzling eyewear and helmets from salvaged and found objects. The futuristic forms often obscure the eyes like an ornamental veil, and motorbike helmets provide a fitting canvas for fins and frills.

Kabiru (previously) originally began making innovative glasses after being denied a pair when he was young. The variety of materials the artist found around his hometown of Nairobi inspired him to create playful versions, bringing joy to those around him. Over time, his creations have grown and become more elaborate, hinting at mysterious technological functions.

Kabiru has recently begun larger standalone sculptures, and you can explore more of his work on Instagram.

 

Animation Craft

In ‘Felt Love,’ a Young Boy and His Mother Learn the Value of Spending Quality Time Together

A mother working overtime at home as a seamstress finds it difficult to carve out a few moments for her son in “Felt Love,” a poignant short film about family, togetherness, and quality time. Created by a group of students at San Jose State University as a senior thesis project in 2020, the piece combines a miniature 3D set with 2D animation to tell the story of a young boy who learns the depth of his mother’s hard work and adoration and how she learns to share that with him.

Go behind-the-scenes of “Felt Love” on the project’s Instagram, and you might also enjoy the stop-motion short “Visible Mending” by Samantha Moore.