The Burden: A Darkly Funny Musical Punctures Existential Dread with Unusually Cheerful Song and Dance

Today we’re returning to a dark comedy classic that, although released in 2017, rings just as true in 2024. Directed by Swedish animator Niki Lindroth von Bahr, “The Burden” is a wildly wry musical that skewers loneliness, greed, beauty myths, and the existential woes of modern life through a lively …...Read More

Two Decades After Its Release, 'The Art Book for Children' Gets a Vibrant Makeover

First published in 1997, Phaidon’s The Art Book has long been a go-to source for introductions to some of the most influential artists. Spanning medieval to modern times, the volume contains more than 600 works and is available in 20 languages. About two decades ago, the iconic title received another …...Read More

Jason Limon Gets to the Heart of Human Emotion in His Soul-Stirring Skeleton Paintings

Reaching toward universal experiences unclouded by specific identities, Jason Limon strips his recurring characters to the bare bones. The San Antonio-based artist (previously) continues his uncanny paintings of skeletons, who find themselves in precarious, startling, and genial situations. Recent works include “Peas In A Pod,” which features two friends adopting …...Read More

Stéphane Thidet Challenges Physics and Social Norms in His Site-Specific Installations

Paris-based artist Stéphane Thidet invites viewers into wondrous worlds that skew perceptions and distort the laws of physics: a small wooden boat appears to arise from hard planks, flat stones nest inside a bookcase where paper tomes once stood, and water cascades from a Nantes theater making it impossible to …...Read More

In His World-Building Series 'New Prophets,' Jorge Mañes Rubio Cloaks Basketballs in Beads

Beginning with an iconic yet common spherical form, Jorge Mañes Rubio reimagines basketballs as powerful entities in his series New Prophets. Ornamented with stylized creatures, botanicals, and figures, each sculpture tells its own enigmatic story, drawing on the inextricable link between past and present. “These works, although familiar in visual …...Read More

Informed by Research Aboard Ships, Elsa Guillaume Translates the Wonder of Marine Adventures

Whether capturing the sights of a dive in the remote Mexican village of Xcalak or the internal mechanisms of a sailing ship, Elsa Guillaume’s stylized sketchbooks record her adventures. Glimpses of masts, a kitchen quaking from shaky seas, and a hand gutting a fish create a rich tapestry of life …...Read More

Ronald Jackson's Masked Portraits of Imaginary Characters Stoke Curiosity About Their Stories

Six years ago, Ronald Jackson had only four months to prepare for a solo exhibition. The short time frame led to a series of large-scale portraits that focused on an imagined central figure, often peering directly back at the viewer, in front of vibrant backgrounds. But he quickly grew uninspired …...Read More

Just Add Water: Grow Your Own Furniture with These Pop-Up Sponge Designs

A team of industrial designers prototyped a furniture collection that dramatically transforms from flat sheets into fully functional objects, no tools required. Taking Gaetano Pesce’s spectacular “Up 5” chair as a starting point, Under Pressure Solutions (UPS) is an experimental research project helmed by industrial designers and ÉCAL teachers Camille …...Read More

Tune into Your Own Brain Waves with Steve Parker's Suspended Constellations of Salvaged Brass

Many therapists advise patients to reconnect with their inner voice, a part of treatment that, as anyone who’s tried it can attest, is easier said than done. But what if you could tune into to your internal ups and downs in the same way you listen to a song? In …...Read More

Imagining Worlds After Climate Disaster, Julie Heffernan Melds Chaos and the Sublime

Julie Heffernan likens her paintings to “advent calendars gone haywire.” Working in oil on canvas, the Brooklyn-based artist renders vast dreamworlds with tiny vignettes scattered across wider landscapes. Appearing from a distant or aerial perspective, the pieces envision the possibilities of life after fires, floods, and other climate disasters and …...Read More