Assemblage
An assemblage is an artistic arrangement of pre-existing elements.
The practice of assemblage in art traces its roots back to Pablo Picasso's cubist constructions, which marked the inception of his three-dimensional works in 1912. One early example is his creation "Still Life" from 1914, composed of various wood scraps and a piece of tablecloth fringe, ingeniously glued together and then painted. Picasso continued to employ assemblage intermittently throughout his artistic journey.
In 1918, the Dada artist Kurt Schwitters pioneered the use of scavenged materials to craft collages and assemblages, coining the term "merz" for this technique. Assemblage also served as the foundation for numerous surrealist artworks. Inspired by the writings of psychologist Sigmund Freud on the realms of the unconscious and dreams, surrealist artists frequently amalgamated improbable combinations of found objects, giving rise to surprising and disconcerting sculptures.
35 results found for "Assemblage"
Thornton Dial
American artist Thornton Dial became an international art world sensation at 60. He started his career many decades earlier, making toys out of junk. Today, he is considered one of the great artists of his generation.
Inner Visions 02
For the second instalment of Inner Visions, Larry Ossei-Mensah introduces a series of unprecedented works by New York-based artists Tau Lewis and Ludovic Nkoth.
Barry McGee
Barry McGee (he/him) was born in 1966 in San Francisco, USA. He continues to live and work in the Bay Area.
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami
Kudzanai-Violet Hwami (she/her) was born in 1993 in Gutu, Zimbabwe, and now lives and works in London, UK.
Arghavan Khosravi
Arghavan Khosravi (she/her) was born in Shahr-e-kord, Iran in 1984. She now lives and works in New York, USA.
Patrick Quarm
Patrick Quarm (he/him) was born in 1988 in Sekondi, Ghana, and now lives and works in Takoradi, Ghana.
Sola Olulode
Sola Olulode was born in 1996 and raised in South London, where she continues to live and work.
Isshaq Ismail
Isshaq Ismail was born in 1989 in Accra, Ghana. He uses his art as a tool to make polemic statements, working in a style he describes as infantile semi-abstraction.
Claudia Comte
Swiss artist Claudia Comte was born in 1983 in Lausanne, and has since relocated to the outskirts of Basel.
Huma Bhabha
Huma Bhabha was born in 1962 in Karachi, Pakistan, and now lives and works in New York, USA.
Angel Otero
Angel Otero (he/him) was born in 1981 in Santurce, Puerto Rico. He now splits his time between the island and his studio in New York City.
Just
Michaela Yearwood-Dan makes swathes of tropical colour dance in a limited edition print.Just translates one of the artist’s large-scale oil paintings into an edition of 14-layer silkscreen prints. Taking inspiration from nature and her Caribbean heritage, the print interlaces flora and fauna with the words: "Just let me hold you and let's bask in the magic”. The artist’s vibrant assemblages signal to both a personal and collective narrative, prompting viewers to sit and spend time engaging with her work.The edition launches in collaboration with London-based charity QUEERCIRCLE, a hub for LGBTQ+ arts and culture in London which the artist has supported since their opening in 2021.
The Earring
Arghavan Khosravi threads cultural commentary through Surrealist beauty in The Earring. The assemblage print edition makes use of recurring motifs seen throughout the artist’s two and three-dimensional practice: ropes, obscured facial features, ball and chains, all framed within an overriding beauty and delicately painted details. Khosravi spins influences from Persian miniatures, textiles, Greco-Roman figures, merging to reflect restrictions experienced by the artist in Iran, where she was born.
The Morning Light
Rich with symbolism, Arghavan Khosravi’s multilayered artworks draw upon personal experience to explore diasporic identity.During Covid-19 lockdown Khosravi began working with found objects, juxtaposing the flat plane of her canvases with intricate three-dimensional assemblage. Our debut collaboration explores this practice in edition form, combining an archival pigment print with a book, leather cord and air-brushed details. A motif found throughout the artist’s practice, in this case the vibrant red cord serves to steer the viewers eye and connect the artworks various layers and details.The work’s title nods to its seamless yellow gradients, and to the sense of quiet optimism emanating from it subject.International Women's Day
The Morning Light is the third in a series of 6 editions drawn together by Avant Arte Chief Curator Gemma Rolls-Bentley to coincide with International Women's Day. Read the journal.
Parallax
New and old collide in absurdist rewrites of still life traditions by Christian Rex van Minnen.Parallax – van Minnen’s first print release in more than 10 years and first ever timed edition – is based on an oil on linen original, in which he employs Venetian painting techniques that predate him by several hundred years. The work’s title references the compositional logic underpinning its assemblage of foliage, gummy sweets and embryo.Available to all, for 24 hours only, the collaboration fulfils van Minnen’s desire to offer a broader audience the opportunity to collect his work.
Fawn
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Fawn.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Nutmeg
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Nutmeg.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Poppy
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Poppy.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Stratus
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Stratus.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Moon
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Moon.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Primrose
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Primrose.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Melon
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Melon.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Opium
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Opium.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Olivine
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Olivine.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Silk
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Silk.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Teardrop
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Teardrop.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Dhalia
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.
The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Dhalia.
Roots
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Roots.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Soleil
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Soleil.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Neroli
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Neroli.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Moss
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Moss.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Dove
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Dove.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Grove
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Grove.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Chestnut
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Chestnut.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
Seal
Healing via making, Tau Lewis stitches together memory, history and the Black imaginary.The Church of Mantic Plants is a series of 20 unique sculptures stitched by hand in Lewis’ Brooklyn studio. Every work has been named individually, in this case — Seal.The works are launching alongside a print edition by Ludovic Nkoth as part of Inner Visions, a series curated by Larry Ossei-Mensah.
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A limited edition is a set number of similar or identical artworks. The size of the edition denotes the total number of artworks that will ever be made, underscoring their value.
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