Colossal

1 week ago | thisiscolossal.com | Grace Ebert

Tom Leighton (previously) is known for highlighting plants’ photosynthesis process by swapping their characteristic greens for otherworldly fluorescent colors. Often focused on the nightlife of specimens found around his Cornwall home, Leighton photographs in a manner that turns common species into extraordinary subjects. His newest series, Spines, expands on this trajectory. The macro images concentrate on the fine fibers cloaking stems and flowers.

1 week ago | thisiscolossal.com | Grace Ebert

The monumental textile exhibition that took over an 18th-century warehouse last spring is back for a second iteration. In the South Street Seaport area of Manhattan, The Golden Thread 2: A Fiber Art Show returns with more than 100 artworks made by 60 artists from around the globe. As with the first iteration, this reprisal includes eight site-specific installations that respond to the former mercantile space.

1 week ago | thisiscolossal.com | Kate Mothes

Through her tireless research and advocacy for the protection of the world’s oceans, Cristina Mittermeier has emerged as one of the most prominent conservation photographers. Along with Paul Nicklen, she co-founded SeaLegacy to focus on the impact of communication through art and science, confronting critical issues like endangered biodiversity and the climate crisis.

1 week ago | thisiscolossal.com | Kate Mothes

Through colorful squiggles embedded with games, trampolines, and sculptural trees, a new public park in Guangzhou, China, re-envisions the possibilities of play. “Wired Scape,” which design firm 100architects bills as an “an entangling forest of imagination and fun,” takes inspiration from the natural landscape to create a one-of-a-kind playground in a residential area.

1 week ago | thisiscolossal.com | Kate Mothes

“We’re going to make stuff out of beads that is going to take people’s breath away,” says Ralph Ziman in the trailer for “The MiG-21 Project,” a military jet that he and a transcontinental team coated nose to tail in millions upon millions of glass beads. For the past 12 years, the Los Angeles-based artist has examined the impacts of the Cold War Era and the global arms trade through a trilogy titled Weapons of Mass Production, motivated by his upbringing in Apartheid-era South Africa.