In ‘KAUANI,’ Indigenous Mexican Flora Flourishes in Glowing Lanterns

In Nahuatl, an Aztec language indigenous to Mesoamerica still spoken by more than a million people throughout Mexico, kauani means “to flourish.” Designers Inés Quezada and Inés Llasera, co-founders of Tornasol Studio, conceived of a series of luminaires inspired by native flora in celebration of the region’s rich botanic diversity.

The ongoing series, KAUANI, emulates details of endemic species, drawing on textures found on cacti, geometric agaves, and the rhythmic patterns of corn. The duo also find inspiration in the unique seeds of mamey and guanabana fruits or the pigmentation of cacao and chili peppers.

“Cacti symbolize resilience,” Quezada and Llasera say in a statement, sharing how the plants’ adaptations to extreme environments mean they can endure long droughts and high temperatures. The pair adds:

For instance, their spines not only serve as a defense mechanism but also condense water and create a protective layer. Their pale pigmentation, resulting from waxes that insulate their tissues and their water-retention capabilities grant them unique volumetric forms. Unlike most plants, cacti perform photosynthesis at night, closing their stomata during the day to conserve water and nutrients. It is in darkness that they truly “breathe.”

Merging natural forms of fruit and botanicals with textiles, the lanterns incorporate knitted skins with delicate spikes, ruffles, or tentacles that tread the line between representation and abstraction. Melon-like orbs and oblong shapes reminiscent of seed pods are suspended from the ceiling or propped up on surfaces with spindly feet.

If you’re in Mexico City, you can see KAUANI in Noches Árides through May 15 at AGO Projects. Explore more on the designers’ website, and follow updates on Instagram.

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Regal Portraits Evoke Myth and Power in Simone Elizabeth Saunders’ Hand-Tufted Textiles

Emblazoned with vibrant patterns and words like “TRUTH” and “LOVE,” Simone Elizabeth Saunders explores Black identity in relation to kinship, power, and survival. Her hand-tufted textiles (previously) merge cultural narratives and history with mythology, nostalgia, and personal experiences.

Saunders predominantly focuses on women, who she portrays in bold portraits and within fantastical, empowering scenarios. In recent works like “Girl with Butterflies” and “She Manifests Her Destiny,” figures embrace and commune with totem-like snakes, insects, and plants.

Rooted in the myriad histories of the global Black diaspora and rich textile traditions throughout countless cultures, Saunders employs a craft technique historically relegated to a role “beneath” fine art in order to turn the tables on how we comprehend influence, identity, and artistic expression.

Saunders is represented by Claire Oliver Gallery, and you can explore more work on the artist’s Instagram.

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Biological Cells and Chinese Ceramic Traditions Coalesce in Shiyuan Xu’s Porcelain Sculptures

From seeds to the world’s smallest organisms, the inspiration for Shiyuan Xu’s porcelain sculptures (previously) originates in biology. Fascinated by the patterns, shapes, and structures of a wide variety of creatures, the artist creates intricate interpretations of cells, the essential building blocks of all life forms.

Working meticulously with porcelain Paperclay—a mix of clay and cellulose fibers—and glaze, Xu sculpts webbed, amorphous forms that appear amoeba-like, as if expanding and contracting. She is deeply influenced by the work of Scottish mathematical biologist D’Arcy Thompson (1860–1948), whose seminal book On Growth and Form traces the scale and shapes of living things.

A “diagram of forces” is how Thompson described the form of a specimen. For Xu, this dynamic evaluation shapes how she translates micro life forms into her work. “It is about movement, time, and space,” she says. “It records the way they move and grow; the way they react to the surrounding environment by interacting, altering, evolving and adapting to generate infinite new forms.”

Xu views the history of porcelain as deeply intertwined with her own memories and identity, and she often employs a classic Chinese ceramic color palette in her pieces. The irregular structures and ombre colors reference the artist’s personal experiences. She says:

Being an outsider in America for the past decade, my experience offers me a new perspective to reflect my own cultural heritage… The repetitive and labor-intensive process serves as a therapeutic response to the challenges of my experience in navigating dual cultures. My pieces are in many ways like living organisms, a metaphor for the evolving nature of life itself, and my own journey and roots.

If you’re in London, you will be able to see Xu’s work in an exhibition dedicated to Chinese contemporary studio craft at the V&A, which opens October 28 and runs through September 28, 2026. Her work will also be included in a handful of forthcoming juried exhibitions in Portugal, Italy, and Missouri. Find more on her website.

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Adrienna Matzeg’s Punch Needle Embroideries Conjure Nostalgic Summer Road Trips

No matter where the map directs you, a road trip usually conjures some key elements that make it unique from any other kind of journey. Think quirky roadside attractions, diners, spontaneous snack stops, scenic views, national parks—the list goes on!

For Adrienna Matzeg, summertime trips inspire a new series of punch needle embroidery works (previously) in a collection titled The Scenic Route, now available through Tacit Collective.

The Toronto-based artist merges her interests in photography, textiles, and design to create vibrant, narrative embroidery compositions. “Through reducing the subject matter in her work to simplified colours, shapes, and fragments, she explores how we recall memories, with a specific interest in travel destinations and souvenirs,” says a gallery statement.

In works like “Catch of the Day,” Matzeg evokes the timeless experience of a pint of brew and a gingham-lined basket of freshly battered fish. “Lighthouse Route” captures a scenic byway sign, and in “The Afterglow,” a grocery store sign advertises summer vacation staples like ice cream cones and pizza by the slice.

Pieces in The Scenic Route hint at simple joys, brief pauses, and the fading light of day, evoking “in-between” experiences that may seem ordinary enough at the moment but linger in the memory long after summer ends.

Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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Lena Guberman’s Emotive Sculptures Call Upon Childhood Social Anxiety

For any of us who are shy or anxious about interacting with others in the outside world, we might think of the face we “put on” that enable us to feel less fearful. For Lena Guberman (previously), a recent series of ceramic sculptures titled INS_IDE_OUT delves into her childhood experiences with social anxiety and the uncertainties of the unknown.

“The mask provides a protective shell and presents a ‘perfect’ appearance to the outside world but fails to stop the fears and emotions from bursting out,” Guberman tells Colossal.

Each piece is modeled on the same melancholy face of a young, brown-haired girl, with painted and sculpted elements that range from spikes to arrows to a dead bird. Emotionally evocative and sometimes slightly unsettling, her sculptures explore the spectrum of feelings associated with anxiety.

Guberman is currently planning a project that expands upon her use of ceramics by adding other materials. See more work on her website, Instagram, and Behance.

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Joan Clare Brown Juxtaposes Anatomy and Memories in Poignant Porcelain Sculptures

Depending on how you look at them, the tendrils seemingly growing from Joan Clare Brown’s porcelain bases could be perceived as soft and delicate or spiny, defensive, and slightly unsettling. Dualities lie at the heart of the artist’s approach to ceramics, especially in her ongoing series Ed, which takes personal experience and human anatomy as starting points for a poignant study of grief.

“I started this series as a response to my father’s sudden passing,” Brown tells Colossal. “He was diagnosed with widespread pancreatic cancer and passed away the same day, ultimately of sepsis from complications of a perforated bowel.” In the Ed works, the cinched base, which mimics a frilly-edged textile cushion or pouch, represents a perforated organ, and the long, growing blades or tendrils emblematize infection.

The inherent hardness and brittleness of porcelain juxtapose with the softness of textile-like surfaces and organic, plant-like fronds. Each color reflects specific childhood memories of Brown’s father, like the blue and green hues drawn from his favorite flannel shirt or light pinks and purples redolent of a tablecloth used at her family dinners.

“Through the permanence of the ceramic form, my hope was to turn something menacing and insidious into a nostalgic and meaningful reminder,” Brown says. “And by making these pieces, in a way, I feel that he is still present.”

Explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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Signe Emdal’s Chromatic Weavings Manifest Wonder and Joy

Twenty years ago, Signe Emdal founded a business that focused on making unique textile objects and garments, drawing on her background in jacquard weaving, fabric printing, and a range of other techniques. By 2021, though, she was feeling hemmed in and longed for a way to express herself through a more intuitive, less functional creative direction.

“It was time to free myself from a frame I no longer fit and make a new one,” she tells Colossal. “I had no idea what the new frame would look like, but I trusted that life would bring me something better if I said goodbye to a setup that didn’t bring me joy anymore.”

A self-described “textile composer,” Emdal views the loom as a window where warp and weft interact to create storage vessels for memories. She is also deeply influenced by exploring new locations. “Art allows me to travel in a completely new way because I get to be in a creation process while spending time with or (being) in other cultures,” she says. Many works she makes on-site, influenced by her surroundings.

Process is central to Emdal’s artistic education and continues to be the primary influence in her practice. “Everything is process, and everything is changing all the time,” she says. “Nothing is ever going to be finished!” She shares that through textiles, she learned to hone her concentration on both physical and metaphysical levels, finding that the meditative methodology of weaving echoes how she views art-making and life more broadly.

Emdal’s related series Touch and Loop comprise sculptural, loom-woven wool in vibrant colors. From radiating puffs of vibrating color to elegant, draping details, her pieces are inspired by science fiction, feminism, art history, and music. “The sculptures are layers of delicate memories,” she says, embodying fragility, resilience, sophistication, and joy.

Emdal’s work will be included in the Textile Art Biennial Slovenia, which runs from May 31 to August 14 across five cities. Find more on Emdal’s website and Instagram.

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Signe Emdal’s Chromatic Weavings Manifest Wonder and Joy

Twenty years ago, Signe Emdal founded a business that focused on making unique textile objects and garments, drawing on her background in jacquard weaving, fabric printing, and a range of other techniques. By 2021, though, she was feeling hemmed in and longed for a way to express herself through a more intuitive, less functional creative direction.

“It was time to free myself from a frame I no longer fit and make a new one,” she tells Colossal. “I had no idea what the new frame would look like, but I trusted that life would bring me something better if I said goodbye to a setup that didn’t bring me joy anymore.”

A self-described “textile composer,” Emdal views the loom as a window where warp and weft interact to create storage vessels for memories. She is also deeply influenced by exploring new locations. “Art allows me to travel in a completely new way because I get to be in a creation process while spending time with or (being) in other cultures,” she says. Many works she makes on-site, influenced by her surroundings.

Process is central to Emdal’s artistic education and continues to be the primary influence in her practice. “Everything is process, and everything is changing all the time,” she says. “Nothing is ever going to be finished!” She shares that through textiles, she learned to hone her concentration on both physical and metaphysical levels, finding that the meditative methodology of weaving echoes how she views art-making and life more broadly.

Emdal’s related series Touch and Loop comprise sculptural, loom-woven wool in vibrant colors. From radiating puffs of vibrating color to elegant, draping details, her pieces are inspired by science fiction, feminism, art history, and music. “The sculptures are layers of delicate memories,” she says, embodying fragility, resilience, sophistication, and joy.

Emdal’s work will be included in the Textile Art Biennial Slovenia, which runs from May 31 to August 14 across five cities. Find more on Emdal’s website and Instagram.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Signe Emdal’s Chromatic Weavings Manifest Wonder and Joy appeared first on Colossal.

Order and Chaos Entwine in Abstract Embroideries by Kristine Stattin

Where someone might see opposition, Kristine Stattin finds fitting companions. Working in her studio in the Occitanie region of southern France, the artist alternates between hand and machine embroidery as she layers long, sweeping lines and tiny, tufted French knots. The contrasts create tension and intrigue and ensure that Stattin doesn’t get too comfortable with any one mode.

“My work is all about the process, being in and surrendering to the moment, embracing the unknown, not being attached to outcomes and expectations, and bringing the threads to life,” she says.

Bursting with color and texture, Stattin’s abstract embroideries evoke movement and energy through several layers of thin, sewing thread stitched atop one another. There’s tension between orderly rows and chaotic smatterings. “Each new piece is an internal journey, a sort of enigma that asks to be solved, and I use the needle and threads to capture a feeling, movement, and life itself,” she shares.

Occasionally, appliqué, screen-printing, and acrylic-painted details appear in her pieces, and decisions to incorporate new materials are part of an instinctive process guided by the work itself. Color is similar, with combinations of pastel hues and bold, saturated palettes derived from nature, the artist’s surroundings, or even the way sewing thread falls on her table.

“I am interested in an intuitive, yet mindful process, to see where the threads will take me, to see and respond to what happens, and to work with eventual mistakes,” she says. “I embrace those mistakes as they often lead to new ideas that I bring into future work.”

Follow Stattin on Instagram for updates and glimpses into her process.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Order and Chaos Entwine in Abstract Embroideries by Kristine Stattin appeared first on Colossal.

Order and Chaos Entwine in Abstract Embroideries by Kristine Stattin

Where someone might see opposition, Kristine Stattin finds fitting companions. Working in her studio in the Occitanie region of southern France, the artist alternates between hand and machine embroidery as she layers long, sweeping lines and tiny, tufted French knots. The contrasts create tension and intrigue and ensure that Stattin doesn’t get too comfortable with any one mode.

“My work is all about the process, being in and surrendering to the moment, embracing the unknown, not being attached to outcomes and expectations, and bringing the threads to life,” she says.

Bursting with color and texture, Stattin’s abstract embroideries evoke movement and energy through several layers of thin, sewing thread stitched atop one another. There’s tension between orderly rows and chaotic smatterings. “Each new piece is an internal journey, a sort of enigma that asks to be solved, and I use the needle and threads to capture a feeling, movement, and life itself,” she shares.

Occasionally, appliqué, screen-printing, and acrylic-painted details appear in her pieces, and decisions to incorporate new materials are part of an instinctive process guided by the work itself. Color is similar, with combinations of pastel hues and bold, saturated palettes derived from nature, the artist’s surroundings, or even the way sewing thread falls on her table.

“I am interested in an intuitive, yet mindful process, to see where the threads will take me, to see and respond to what happens, and to work with eventual mistakes,” she says. “I embrace those mistakes as they often lead to new ideas that I bring into future work.”

Follow Stattin on Instagram for updates and glimpses into her process.

Do stories and artists like this matter to you? Become a Colossal Member today and support independent arts publishing for as little as $7 per month. The article Order and Chaos Entwine in Abstract Embroideries by Kristine Stattin appeared first on Colossal.