Abstraction: The April / May Issue

Abstraction: The April / May Issue

There’s a famous Tennessee Williams quote: “Life is all memory, except for the one present moment that goes by so quickly you hardly catch it going.” We must unplug and savour the things that bring us joy – from the macro to the micro we must embrace it all. Inside this issue we explore these ideas further. 

Towards Abstraction | Light, shadow, form and composition are the central elements of Jessica Backhaus’ practice, stripping photography back to its core tenets. 

Visionary Storyteller | Tyler Mitchell is making waves across art and fashion with portraits of Black life centring on self-determination and the joyous everyday. 

Portrait of Emotion | Djeneba Aduayom’s bright photographs take bubbles as a metaphor, featuring subjects who find themselves caught in translucent spheres. 

Into the Unfamiliar | Michelle Blancke takes us into dark, enigmatic and unusual woodland locations. They are all carpeted with mosses and lurid lichen growth. 

Memory Illuminated | The current Dan Flavin retrospective in Basel demonstrates how a simple fluorescent tube could make a radical impact on the art world. 

Outside Perspective | A small town on the fringes of Pittsburgh is at the centre of a photo series that asks us to consider what happens behind closed doors. 

Building the Image | Colourful lights are projected onto various household objects, transforming cluttered spaces into entirely different compositions. 

Creative Destination | California’s iconic homes are the subject of an architecture book that collates buildings which respond to their natural surroundings. 

Joyful Contrasts | Sarah Doyle plays with visual harmony. Torn paper, wooden sticks and cut-out circles pop against colourful block-painted backgrounds. 

Places Transform | French photographer Olivia Lavergne curates ambitious scenes, investigating how rainforests are conjured up within the public imagination. 


Click here to discover the April / May Issue.

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Image credits:

1. Sarah Doyle, In Red from the series Getting Warmer. Model: Claire Gunn @ Not Another Agency. Hair and Make-up by Leonard Daly @ Not Another Agency. 

2. Jessica Backhaus, Untitled 11, (2023). Detail. Courtesy Robert Morat Gallery, Berlin. 

3. Jessica Backhaus, Untitled 41, (2023). Courtesy Robert Morat Gallery, Berlin. 

4. Tyler Mitchell, Untitled (Blue Laundry), (2019). Image courtesy the artist. ©Tyler Mitchell 

5. Djeneba Aduayom, Nyadhuor Deng, The Cut (2019).

6. Djeneba Aduayom, Yoeil from the series Capsulated (2018). Courtesy of Galerie Gomis formerly known as Galerie Number 8.

7. Michelle Blancke, Secret Garden No. 315, (2023).

8. Dan Flavin, untitled (for John Heartfield) 3c, (1990). © Stephen Flavin / 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich. The Dan Flavin Estate, courtesy of David Zwirner Gallery. 

9. Dan Flavin, untitled (to Barnett Newman) one, (1971). © Stephen Flavin / 2024, ProLitteris, Zurich. Collection Carré d’Art- Musée d’art contemporain de Nîmes. Courtesy David Zwirner Gallery. 

10. Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Image courtesy John M. Barbiaux.

11. Vlad Hrynko, Untitled (2023). From Foundation (2023 – ongoing).

12. Vlad Hrynko, Untitled (2023). From Foundation (2023 – ongoing).

13. © Bruce Damonte Goto House, Napa County, Iwamoto Scott Architecture. 

14. Sarah Doyle, Portrait of Louisa Jane. Image courtesy the artist.

15. Sarah Doyle, Black, White and Yellow. Image courtesy the artist.

16. © Olivia Lavergne, from Jungles, (2013). Fine Art Print Hahnemüle, 100 x 100 cm.