Nima Nabavi and Jason Seife at The Third Line in Dubai, United Arab Emirates through 5 January 2024. “Duality”, featuring new works by artists Nima Nabavi and Jason Seife, is a showing of two artists working together in symbiosis, a product of an enduring “art friendship”. In ways both literal and metaphorical, the exhibition is a way of putting pen to paper on developments that were organically occurring when two artists who share a particular way of seeing collide. Working in tandem like this is hugely revealing. It entails a tangible sense of mutual respect and the deep knowing of someone else which extends, at its most intimate, into the anticipation of their next move. What results is a symbiosis that becomes a pas de deux.

Evelyn Rapin describes the four collages in her "The Secret Life of Plants" series as "ekphrasis in reverse". "Experimentation, chance and accident are huge elements to be embraced in collage assembly." Read her article about this work in Kolaj 38.

Berlin, Germany. Bettina Homann writes, "Out of the eternal flood of words and images, individual ones detach themselves, condense into patterns that appear to be true. Like the high priestess in the entrails of sacrificial animals, the village witch in coffee grounds, I am constantly on the trail of meaning that lies beyond my limited imagination." 

The Art of Collage and Photomontage at Rosegallery in Santa Monica, California, USA, 9 December 2023-13 January 2024. "Fragmented Lucidity" is a presentation of works by Katrien De Blauwer, Ken Graves, and Kensuke Koike. The opening of "Fragmented Lucidity" will also be hosted in collaboration with Luhz Press, which is debuting with The Meaning of Gravity, the first monograph of collage works by Ken Graves.

Houston, Texas, USA. Shelley Smolen’s personal style began with an uncontrollable urge to create artwork out of scraps. For a large part of her life that was with sculpture, in particular woodworking. She would collect wood scraps and form them into colorful “quilted” laminations. Shelley eventually transitioned to creating two-dimensional collage work on wooden panels. She cuts up just about everything, her drawings, paintings, sketches, wood scraps, and even her daughter’s doodles.

by Fabian Giles. Telephony and technology have advanced and chip cards have been replaced by prepaid cards and the use of mobile phones, so the collection value of these pieces will increase when the card issuance is exhausted. This graphic book takes up the use of these cards as a canvas to present a series of collages made with mixed techniques whose main theme is to exalt femininity that was included in several of its designs and the brightness of stars that accompany them.

Next Deadline: 29 December 2023. Kolaj Institute is partnering with A’ the Airts and the Nithsdale Hotel in Sanquhar, Scotland to offer week-long residencies for collage artists in Spring and Fall 2024. Collage Artist Residency: Scotland is a week-long artist residency designed for artists working in collage who seek to make art in community with other artists. The residency will unfold over the course of a week. As part of Kolaj Institute's year long exploration of Castles as Buildings, Metaphors, and Systems of Power, while in Scotland, we will consider the castles of Sanquhar, Drumlanrig, and Morton; their history, folklore, and evolution. Residencies are intended for self-motivated collage artists, regardless of the stage in their career, who want to develop their practice, collaborate with others and who want to develop a practice of working with place, historic sites or history associations to create and present art that speaks to a general community about contemporary issues. Read the full call to artists on the website. 

Next Deadline: Tuesday, 5 December 2023. A four-week, virtual/online workshop with Kolaj Institute in January 2024. A working understanding of one’s practice is critical to one’s professional and artistic development. Intended as a clinic for working artists at any level, participants in the Collage in Practice Workshop will explore how they go about making art and putting it out into the world. How to make a living as an artist? How to get your work seen? How to get an exhibition? How to get reviewed? How to make a life for yourself as an artist? What does that even mean? These are some of the challenges artists face when they want to take their art practice to the next level. Participants will finish the workshop with a deeper understanding of their practice; a strong statement of practice that can be used to communicate with curators, editors, and art professionals; a portfolio of consistent artwork (or a plan to make one); and tools for growing or developing their practice. Early deadline to apply: Tuesday, 5 December 2023. Final deadline to apply: Sunday, 17 December 2023.