Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11in.
Gracia the Artist emphasizes the importance of risk-taking in art, seeing it as a path to playful exploration and healing. She believes that art's true potential unfolds when artists embrace risks with intentionality. In her experience, the most significant artistic breakthroughs often lie just beyond these courageous ventures, affirming that facing fears can lead to rewarding discoveries.
Cardstock collage, 11 x 15 in.
For me personally, collage means connection with the tangible world. Some very primal needs are met creatively when I am working analog vs digital. It’s a very specific form of rest and also stimulation. It feels similar to mental yoga but also feels like play-time. Collaging is when I’m having some of the most fun creating.
Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11 in.
Up until recently my work has been very subject heavy. I'm a photographer as well and often (but not exclusively) I'll use photos and portraits I've taken myself as my subject material. In a recent turn of events I've begun marrying together the scraps and pieces left behind into these larger abstract pieces. I've been tickled by this plot twist and love that these collages, despite being so different from my portrait collages, have maintained a familiar visual essence.
Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11 in.
Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11 in.
Much of my collage work is improvisation but my hope is always to produce emotionally resonant visuals. I find there are a lot of different ways to get there. I follow 'the feeling'.
Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11 in.
I think the art of collage does and will change, just like anything else. But I'm not sure what to expect. It feels quite mysterious. I'm already seeing the use of AI within collage though. I'm curious to see how that will change us all.
Cardstock collage, 8.5 x 11 in.
Gracia the Artist was born in 199 in Illinois, USA. She is currently based in Seattle, Washington, USA.
For Your Viewing Pleasure
Vónbjørt Vang (1974) was born and raised in the northern town of Klaksvík in the Faroe Islands. She earned her MA in Comparative Literature and Contemporary Cultural Studies from the University of Copenhagen. Vang is an accomplished photographer who also works as a librarian, editor and freelance critic.
Nicole McLaughlin is a New York-based designer. In 2018, a hobby evolved into a career, one that focuses on the ever-evolving exploration around upcycling and sustainable fashion. Taking a tongue-in-cheek approach to her creative process, Nicole has transformed old volleyballs into slippers, camera bags into bralettes, and crafted board shorts from packets of Haribo gummies. This unexpected translation of materials allows her to uniquely highlight the message of sustainability—a key element to her success in changing the perception around waste and sustainable design.
Y. Malik Jalal (b. 1994) employs traditional methods of craft and collage to expand dialogues on black history, power, and humanity. He draws aesthetically and conceptually from the lineages of his mediums, welding steel and bronze to address histories formed by morphing industries and inequalities.
Lyric Shen’s hybrid practice is focused in sculpture, working with the ancient crafts of ceramics and tattooing alongside more industrialized processes like inkjet printing, hydro dipping, plasma cutting, and iPhone photos/videos. Their work is a reflection on time spent in the US, Taiwan, and Mexico and of the cultural experiences surrounding lesbian and sex-working spaces.
Simon Denny is an artist whose work explores the cultures and values behind some of the new technologies that are changing the world. In recent years, Denny has looked at the exploitation of information in data-economies, using his work to visualise systems of competing political and economic visions, interrelationships of labour, capital, developments in technologies, and impacts on the environment.
Out and About
What to watch, read, and experience, as curated by the Collé team.
VISIT
Untitled Art Fair Dec. 6-10, 2023
Untitled Art is the leading independent art fair taking place annually on the sands of Miami Beach. Guided by a mission to support the wider art ecosystem, Untitled Art offers an inclusive and collaborative platform for discovering contemporary art by emerging artists and historical figures.
READ
In The Dark by Paul Henderson
In the Dark is a 36-page, 8 x 10 inch, full-colour booklet featuring 30 original, analog collages made between 2019 and 2023. Printed on uncoated, recycled paper stock. The publication is available via Paul Henderson's Instagram page.
LISTEN
Lies in the Eyes of Love by Part Time
Part Time is a North American pop band that is fronted by California-based musician David Loca. Loca produced and wrote virtually all of the band's output, with most of their studio recordings created alone at his home. AllMusic critic Tim Sendra described the music as "equal parts psychedelic pop, soft rock, and primitive synth pop.
