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.
“She Reveals” (2022), hand-tufted velvet, acrylic, and wool yarn on rug warp, 65 x 60.5 x 1 inches
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.
“(Be)Longing IV” (2023), hand-tufted acrylic, cotton, wool, and metallic yarn on cotton rug warp, 20 x 1 x 30 inches“Girl with Hummingbirds” (2024), silk and wool yarn on muslin warp, 50 x 40 inches“Internal Reflections” (2022), hand-tufted velvet, acrylic, and wool yarn on rug warp, 66 x 62.5 x 1 inches“(Be)Longing VIII” (2024), hand-tufted acrylic, cotton, wool, and metallic yarn on cotton rug warp, 20 x 1 x 30 inches“Release in Darkness” (2022), hand-tufted velvet and acrylic yarn on muslin warp, 66 x 55 inches“She Manifests Her Destiny” (2024), silk and wool yarn on textile backing, 50 x 40 inches“Break Away at Dawn” (2023), hand-tufted velvet, acrylic, and wool yarn on muslin warp, 66 x 56 x 1 inches
Many of us are familiar with titans of the Dutch Golden Age like Frans Hals, Johannes Vermeer, Rembrandt, Jan Steen, and more. Yet fewer of us have probably heard of Rachel Ruysch (1664-1750), renowned during her lifetime for her original style but under-acknowledged through the centuries in the canon of Western art history.
Co-organized by the Toledo Museum of Art, the Museum of Fine Arts, Boston, and the Alte Pinakothek, Munich, the first major U.S. exhibition of the artist’s work, Rachel Ruysch: Nature into Art, introduces audiences to the breadth of her remarkable paintings.
“Posy of Flowers, with a Beetle, on a Stone Ledge” (1741), oil on canvas, 7 7/8 × 9 5/8 inches. Image courtesy of Kunstmuseum Basel
During her seven-decade career, Ruysch was the first woman admitted to the Confrerie Pictura, The Hague painters’ society, and she was appointed court painter in Düsseldorf to Johann Wilhelm, Elector Palatine. She rose to become one of the highest-paid artists of her day. In a foreword for the exhibition catalog, the directors explain that “Ruysch achieved fame across Europe in her lifetime, but her oeuvre was little studied by art historians in subsequent centuries. She has never been the subject of a major exhibition—until now.”
Art historians consider Ruysch to be among the most talented still life artists of the era, and by the time she died at 86, she had produced hundreds of paintings. Nature into Art includes more than 90 international loans, including 48 of her most significant works.
The artist was born in The Hague, The Netherlands, to parents with backgrounds in science and design. Her father was a professor of botany and anatomy, and her mother was the daughter of an architect. The artist began painting when she was around 15, copying flower and insect specimens from her father’s collection.
As her artistic faculty grew, Ruysch taught her father and her sister Anna how to paint. She merged modern scientific observation with an incredible aptitude for capturing light, composition, and form, and she typically dated her paintings when she signed them, giving art historians a clear record of stylistic shifts and subject matter over time.
“Flowers and Fruit in a Forest” (1714), oil on canvas, 38 × 48 1/2 inches. Image courtesy of Städtische Kunstsammlungen & Museen Augsburg
Ruysch’s success during her lifetime is attributed to both her unmistakable talent and the 17th-century Dutch fondness for flowers and gardening. Still life paintings of floral arrangements and tables heaping with food highlighted the beauty of nature and the gifts of plenty. The vanitas genre also sprung from the style, interpreting memento mori, Latin for “remember you must die,” into subtle, well-versed visual cues.
Motifs like skulls, insects, rotting fruit, or wilting flowers were symbolic reminders of the futility of pleasure, power, or wealth after death. For example, in Ruysch’s “Posy of Flowers, with a Beetle, on a Stone Ledge,” beetles and flies crawl over a spray of peonies and wildflowers that will soon wilt, and water droplets signify purity and the fleetingness of life.
Nature into Art runs from April 12 to July 17 in Toledo, traveling on to Boston afterward, where it opens on August 23.
Beauty and nature’s resilience are at the core of Vasilisa Romanenko’s work. The Connecticut-based artist paints faithful depictions of common yet dignified birds amid clusters of fruits and flowers, exploring the power of opulence in times of upheaval.
A stately crow poses amid rust-colored roses, a great blue heron poses amid clusters of tangerines and lilies, and a small warbler perches amid pink poppies. Referencing the defiantly decorative works of English textile designer William Morris (1834–1896), Romanenko embraces the entrancing nature of decadent patterns.
“Great Blue Heron” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 22 x 28 inches
“I want my work to feel like an escape from everyday life, like taking a moment to be still and appreciate nature,” she says about her solo exhibition, BIRDS & BLOOMS, at Arch Enemy Arts. Enveloped by flora at full bloom, the winged subjects exude a sense of calm and strength as they perch and prepare for their next flight.
BIRDS & BLOOMS is on view through March 30 in Philadelphia. Find more from Romanenko on her website and Instagram.
“Northern Mockingbird” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 11 x 14 inches“Black-capped Chickadee” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches“Orange-crowned Warbler” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 5 x 7 inches“Dark-eyed Juncos” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches“Palm Warbler” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 8 x 10 inches“Brewer’s Blackbird” (2025), acrylic on canvas, 9 x 12 inches
Nearly half a million images were submitted to this year’s Sony World Photography Awards, organized by the World Photography Organisation, marking another highly competitive, awe-inspiring selection of moments captured across the globe. Now in its 18th year, more than 419,000 contributions rolled in from more than 200 countries.
The photos shown here are all entries in the Open competition, which invites amateur image-makers from around the world to submit their best compositions. Additional contest streams, for which many of these images are also considered, highlight the work of professionals, students, specific regions, women, and youth.
Winner, Travel: Matjaž Šimic, Slovenia, “Ask a Shaman.” Shamans play a major role in Native Bolivian traditional culture, La Paz, Bolivia
From dramatic landscapes to cultural customs to one-of-a-kind travel experiences, the winning and shortlisted photos capture beautiful and diverse ecosystems, locations, and traditions. The contest “celebrates the ability of an individual photograph to capture and distill a singular moment, and to evoke a broader narrative,” says a statement.
The overall winner of the Open Photographer of the Year will be announced on April 16 in London, where the 2025 exhibition opens at Somerset House and runs from April 17 to May 5. Explore all of the top shots on the awards’ website.
Shortlist, Travel: Khai Chuin Sim, Malaysia, “Wings of Tradition.” This pair of Kazakh eagle hunters was photographed in the vast and rugged landscape of western Mongolia. Clad in intricately detailed fur garments, they sit atop sturdy horses, with golden eagles perched majestically on their armsShortlist, Travel: Chim Oanh, Vietnam, “Incense Flowers.” Workers dry colorful incense before taking it to sell at the marketShortlist, Landscape: Yoshiaki Kudo, Japan, “Blossoms in a Dreamscape.” Weeping plum trees in full bloomShortlist, Lifestyle: Syed Mahabubul Kader, Bangladesh, “Paddy Straw.” A group of workers unloads paddy straw from a truck. The rice straw is a by-product of farming that is used for a variety of purposes, including as cattle feed and fuelShortlist, Landscape: XiaoYing Shi, China Mainland, “Ground Vein.” Aerial view of Factory Butte, UtahShortlist, Travel: Kunal Gupta, India. “The Colours of the Andes.” Set against the backdrop of Peru’s Rainbow Mountain, two elegantly adorned alpacas stand as symbols of the rich Andean culture and the timeless bond between humans and natureWinner, Lifestyle: Hajime Hirano, Japan, “Akihabara.” The prototype of today’s Akihabara was a gathering of street vendors selling parts for radios. After the late 1950s, during a period of rapid economic growth, Akihabara grew into “Japan’s largest electronics town.” Today, it is famous worldwide for its anime and cosplay cultureShortlist, Landscape: Francisco Negroni, Chile, “The Lord of Volcanoes.” Villarrica is the most dangerous volcano in Chile and one of the most active in America; its last eruption occurred in 2015. In this photograph a strong electrical storm can be seen over the volcano, while the crater is illuminated by the lava pitShortlist, Street Photography: Angela Magalhães, Portugal, “Feast of St. Martin.” The Magusto festival in the city of Braga is celebrated not only by eating chestnuts and drinking ‘água-pé’ (a traditional Portuguese spirit) but also by dancing, singing, and jumping the bonfire where the chestnuts are roastedShortlist, Travel: Arun Saha, India, “Floating Market of Myanmar.” Early in the morning, hundreds of vendors come to sell everyday necessities to both local consumers and tourists at Myanmar’s Inle LakeShortlist, Travel: Akram Menari, Algeria, “Get Ready!” The intricate details of the horse’s hoof emphasize its strength and poise; the hoof appears taut and ready for action, perfectly in sync with the rider preparing to engage in the equestrian sport. The photograph was taken just before a game began
As the saying goes, if one knows very little about something, their knowledge could fit on the back of a postage stamp. But for tattoo artist Ash Aurich, the minuscule format provides a readymade canvas and frame ripe for experimentation, intrigue, and beauty.
Using a fine line technique with delicate shading, Aurich outlines the unmistakable scalloped edges of the ubiquitous, tiny adhesives, filling rectangular compositions with Renaissance-inspired romantic and religious figures.
A deep appreciation for iconic artworks inspired Aurich to create tiny odes to art history. “I wanted to be able to capture the essence of these masterpieces in a unique and engaging way,” she tells Colossal. “Having the opportunity to tattoo these designs on others who appreciate art is a rewarding experience.”
Aurich’s preferred subject matter is people, especially the dramatic and often symbolic figures in art historical masterworks by the likes of Johannes Vermeer or Caravaggio. “The attention to detail, use of light and shadow, and mastery of human anatomy create stunning, lifelike representations that translate beautifully into tattoos,” the artist says. She shares that it’s important for the emotions and narratives of each portrait to resonate with the wearer, especially at their small scale.
Currently in residency at Atelier Eva, Aurich has opened her books for March and April in New York City. The tattoos seen here are all flash designs, but she creates custom compositions, too. See more on Instagram.
In the Jordanian desert, Syrian families displaced by war huddle atop stacks of boxes like stalwart islands in a dry and unforgiving landscape. Photographer Nick Brandt captures children, siblings, and entire families who stand together and climb skyward like monuments or promontories—what the artist describes as “pedestals for those that in our society are typically unseen and unheard.”
The series marks the fourth chapter in an ongoing series called The Day May Break, which has taken Brandt around the world in search of visual stories illuminating the effects of the climate crisis.
Brandt began the series in 2020, reflecting on myriad experiences of “limbo,” both in the midst of the pandemic and relating to the tenuous ecological balance of our planet. In an essay accompanying Chapter One of The Day May Break, Brandt writes:
Nearly twenty years ago, I started photographing the wild animals of Africa as an elegy to a disappearing world. After some (too many) years seeing the escalating environmental destruction, I felt an urgent need to move away from that kind of work and address the destruction in a much more direct way.
Brandt began the series in Zimbabwe and Kenya, focusing the first chapter on portrayals of both people and animals that have been impacted by environmental degradation and destruction. Every person he documented was deeply affected by the changing climate. “Some were displaced by cyclones that destroyed their homes,” Brandt says. “For some, like Kuda in Zimbabwe, or Robert and Nyaguthii in Kenya, it was more tragic: both of them lost two young children, swept away by the floods.”
For Chapter Two, Brandt traveled to the Senda Verde Animal Sanctuary in Bolivia, where wildlife affected by trafficking and habitat destruction are cared for. And for Chapter Three, subtitled SINK/RISE, he took his camera into the ocean off the coast of Fiji, focusing on individuals whose livelihoods have been impacted by rising sea levels. Plunging decrepit furniture onto the sea floor, individuals and families interact with one another entirely underwater.
For the series’ newest addition, Chapter Four, subtitled The Echo of Our Voices, Brandt traveled to arid Jordan, one of the most water-scarce countries in the world. The dramatic black-and-white photos feature refugee families who fled the war in Syria. Perched on stacks of cubes, they transform into living monoliths, symbolic of resilience, surrounded by the rugged, sandy expanse.
The photographer says, “Living lives of continuous displacement largely due to climate change, they are forced to move their homes up to several times a year, moving to where there is available agricultural work—to wherever there has been sufficient rainfall to enable crops to grow.” Parents stand alongside their children; siblings embrace; and families are shown alternately gazing into the distance, turning to one another for comfort, or taking time to rest.
“This chapter is different from the first three chapters, both visually and emotionally: a show of connection and strength in the face of adversity; that when all else is lost, you still have each other,” Brandt says. Explore much more work on his website.
Within southwest Arkansas’s Garvan Woodland Gardens, a four-story communal treehouse welcomes visitors to the Evans Children’s Adventure Garden. Designed by modus studio and constructed in 2018, the whimsical yet contemporary structure is embraced by pine and oak trees, connecting visitors to the surrounding woods via elevated walkways and lookouts.
“This unique structure is a defining small project for modus,” the team says, sharing that the work draws on their own childhood experiences in the region. They add that “it is easy to take for granted our strong connection to the creeks, forests, insects, and animals of Arkansas. However, many children in the modern world are unfortunately disconnected from this type of play.”
The studio took dendrology, the study of trees and wooded plants, as a starting point for the overall form and the way people interact with the space as they move along its passageways and stairwells.
The curving screen encasing the structure is composed of 113 fins made from locally sourced Southern yellow pine. Airy slats and metal screens redolent of branches let the light and breeze filter through, maintaining visitors’ connection to the surrounding Ouachita Forest from numerous vantage points.
Designers conceived of a space that would refocus people’s attention on the natural wonders of the canopy and allow visitors to climb higher and see farther. “The tree house uses a rich visual and tactile environment to stimulate the mind and body and strengthen connections back to the natural world while accommodating the needs of all users,” the firm says.
modus studio was recently selected to exhibit in the U.S. Pavilion at the 2025 Venice Architecture Biennale. If you’re in Arkansas, you can also see Coler Mountain Bike Preserve, where the team designed a series of pavilions and dynamic bridges. Find more on the studio’s website. (via Plain Magazine)
As AI infiltrates every part of the creative process, those committed to human expression have found innovative ways to make craft and artistry endlessly appealing. Creative director Jason Pattinson is one such person. He’s behind Fleckled, a new online shop of hand-printed letterpress typefaces that have been digitized and are available as high-resolution downloads.
Currently, Fleckled contains more than 150 fonts printed on an 1860s-era Columbian press, with more on the way. All are available in either uppercase, lowercase, or numeral sets with additional ornaments and borders across myriad styles. Retaining the signature graininess and warmth of the wood, each also comes in two versions: one with a thicker, more saturated ink and another with a lighter, more distressed feel.
“The small flaws in the hand-carved wooden blocks are what give letterpress its distinctive character and enduring appeal,” Pattinson says. “Visible defects, woodgrain, planing patterns, and wear effects have been balanced through various levels of inking and pressure to achieve the optimal dense and distressed versions.”
Pattinson and his team have been working on digitizing letterpress for more than two decades. He’s collaborated with printers and dealers across Italy, Sweden, Germany, Argentina, the U.S., and the U.K., where he’s based.
“We’re in discussions with a few retired printers who own some truly remarkable private collections, exploring opportunities to digitise and sublicense their fonts and various assets to expand our online resource,” Pattinson told Design Week.
As Fleckled grows, it makes the medium more widely available and offers an alternative to AI generation for those who might be interested in the letterpress aesthetic without access to a press.
Pattison launched the shop because he wanted “to make these timeless assets available to a new generation of creatives.” He shares with Colossal, “It fills me with a great confidence that in a world being overwhelmed with AI, the design community is resolute in authenticity!”
From the glowing Milky Way above a Montana lake to firework-like flowers in the Brazilian savannah at sunset, the winners of the 2025 World Nature Photography Awards highlight the endless wonders of our planet. In categories running the gamut of animal portraits, landscapes, urban wildlife, and more, photographers around the globe captured incredible views of creature behaviors, terrestrial vistas, and astronomical phenomena.
“The World Nature Photography Awards were founded in the belief that we can all make small efforts to shape the future of our planet in a positive way,” says a statement, “and that photography can influence people to see the world from a different perspective and change their own habits for the good of the planet.”
Bronze in the Bird Behavior category: Mohammad Murad, “A sword in the chest.” White-cheeked terns, Kubbar Island, Kuwait
The 2025 edition of the contest saw thousands of entries submitted from 48 countries. The grand prize went to Maruša Puhek’s bold image of two deer leaping through a vineyard.
Many of the winning photos highlight the vulnerability of the earth’s inhabitants and juxtapositions between nature and the human-built environment. In Daniel Flormann’s “Lenuk Tasi,” for example, a baby sea turtle glides just beneath the surface of the boundless sea, and in Ael Kermarec’s “Reclaim,” a lava flow from an Icelandic volcano completely engulfs a road.
Some of our other favorites include Marcio Esteves Cabral’s vista full of rare Paepalanthus flowers illuminated by the sun in the Veadeiros Tablelands, Brazil, and Mohammad Murad’s capture of two backlit White-cheeked terns battling over territory on Kubbar Island, Kuwait.
See many more winning photos and purchase prints—including top picks from previous years’ competitions—in the WNPA store.
Gold in the Plants and Fungi category: Marcio Esteves Cabral, “Fireworks.” Paepalanthus, Veadeiros Tablelands, BrazilBronze in the Mammal Behavior category: Donna Feledichuk, “Might as well jump.” Baby fox, Lac La Biche, Alberta, CanadaGold in the Landscapes and Environments category: Jake Mosher, “Hyalite Twilight.” The Milky Way over Hyalite Lake, Montana, U.S.Gold in the Nature Photojournalism category: Ael Kermarec, “Reclaim.” Volcanic eruption, Svartsengi, Reykjanes, IcelandSilver in the Urban Wildlife category: Elizabeth Yicheng Shen, “Critical moment.” Great grey owl, California, U.S.Bronze in the Animal Portrait category: Ngar Shun Victor Wong, “The safari beauty.” Guinea fowl, TanzaniaGold in the Amphibians and Reptiles category: Georgina Steytler, “Mudskipping.” Blue-spotted mudskipper (Boleophthalmus caeruleomaculatus), Roebuck Bay, Broome, Western Australia
Given the emphasis on functionality and design for industrial production, the Bauhaus movement is rarely associated with disciplines like dance. But for Oskar Schlemmer (1888-1943), translating its principles into movement and performance was as compelling as a well-conceived chair or building.
In the last century, the Bauhaus has indelibly shaped our modern built environments and the ways we think of the relationship between form and function (it even inspired conceptual cookbooks). German architect Walter Gropius founded the school in 1919 in Weimar, Germany, with the intention of uniting architecture, fine arts, and crafts. The school focused on minimalism and creating for the social good and involved artists and designers like Ludwig Mies van der Rohe, László Moholy-Nagy, Wassily Kandinsky, Paul Klee, and Anni and Josef Albers.
The Master of Form at the Bauhaus theatre workshop, Schlemmer was a painter, sculptor, and choreographer responsible for the under-known Triadic Ballet, a striking, playful dance structured around groups of three. Debuted in 1922, the avant-garde production comprises three colors—yellow, pink or white, and black—and three costume shapes—the square, circle, and triangle.
“Building on multiples of three,” says an explanation from MoMA, “transcended the egotism of the individual and dualism of the couple, emphasizing the collective.”
In true Bauhaus form, the idea was to eliminate the decorative frills associated with ballet, including tutus that allow bodies to bend, twist, and explore a full range of mobility. Instead, Schlemmer’s costumes restrict movement and add a modern quality as dancers appear stifled and almost mechanical, a nod to the movement’s focus on accessibility through mass production and turning “art into industry.”
Several of Schlemmer’s illustrations for the ballet are available online, including his bizarre sculptural costume designs with wide, bubbly skirts and vibrantly striped sleeves. MoMA’s collections contain a print titled “Figures in Space,” which reveals one of the performance’s foremost preoccupations: how bodies move and interact in space.
As seen in a fully colorized film of the dance from the 1970s, the dancers are incredibly deliberate as they navigate sparse sets with clean lines. Open Culture notes that they appear almost like pantomimes or puppets “with figures in awkward costumes tracing various shapes around the stage and each other.”
A few years back, Great Big Story created a video visiting the Bavarian Junior Ballet as it prepared for a performance. The costumes are faithful to Schlemmer’s vision and retain the rigid geometries and bright palettes. As noted by director Ivan Liška, the strange attire combined with the jilted, robotic choreography often leaves the audience laughing. “It’s very successful because the audience can’t believe this is 100 years old,” he says. “There you see the visionary power of Oskar Schlemmer.”
Triadic Ballet is rarely reproduced, but Bavarian Junior Ballet will bring the work back to the stage this June to celebrate its 15th anniversary. And if you’re in New York, you can see one of Schlemmer’s studies in Living in the Age of the Machine at MoMA. It’s also worth exploring The Oskar Schlemmer Theatre Estate and Archives, which boasts a trove of archival imagery and drawings on its website.
