2025-06-25 05:41:00
In an unassuming lake in Ireland’s northern County Longford, an unprecedented find emerged in 1986. Thanks to the sediments in the body of water, pieces of a unique, highly decorated metal object dating to the 9th century were remarkably preserved. And now, after a 39-year conservation project, the nation’s oldest and largest medieval book shrine is now on view.
Known as the Lough Kinale Book Shrine after its namesake lake, the object features a series of medallions with precious stone inserts, along with embellished metalwork in the form of a cross. Part of the exhibition Words on the Wave: Ireland and St. Gallen in Early Medieval Europe at the National Museum of Ireland, Kildare Street, the stunning artifact is complemented by a number of pieces contemporary to its day.
The shrine’s metal is bronze and encompasses an oak container, which would have held a treasured manuscript associated with a Christian saint. Used to convey the volume to various ceremonial activities, it also would have originally featured a leather strap to make it easier to transport.
Words on the Wave also includes a Viking sword uncovered in the River Shannon in Limerick and a beautiful example of a medieval brooch-pin, the Ardshanbally Brooch, which dates to the 8th or 9th century.
Thanks to scientific analysis, manuscripts on loan from the Abbey Library in St. Gall, Switzerland, have also been confirmed to have originated in Ireland. Researchers determined that the vellum pages were made from the hides of Irish cattle, and monks traveled with the books to Switzerland more than a thousand years ago. This exhibition marks the first time in more than a millennium that the illuminated tomes have resided in Ireland.
Words on the Wave continues in Dublin through October 24. Learn more and plan your visit on the museum’s website.
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2025-06-25 03:36:25
Encompassing the classic recipe phrase, “bake until golden brown,” these cleverly designed sheets of wrapping paper feature impeccably laminated layers of dough, crisp crusts, and satisfying scoring. Created by Japan-based graphic designer and founder of TOAL design firm, Ippei Tsujio, this toasty gift wrap is available for purchase online in an assortment of loaf varieties, complete with butter and jam stickers.
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2025-06-25 01:22:00
Known primarily for mysterious paintings, Aron Wiesenfeld (previously) has been experimenting with a tinier canvas, packing the same enigmatic energy into the confines of a yellow Post-It. His ink drawings rely on intricate line work and the artist’s ability to convey vast narratives within a three-inch square.
Wiesenfeld’s foray into Post-Its began on a whim, although it’s grown into a vast collection he’s now publishing as a book. Available for backing on Kickstarter, Playtime comprises the entire body of work within 120 pages. (The campaign notably surpassed its goal within minutes of launching.)
In addition to drawings, Playtime contains poems and writing about the series. The title nods to much of Wisenfeld’s preferred subject matter, which often centers on children in a listless state. Rather than partake in a rowdy game with friends, his protagonists are frequently alone, plunking away at piano keys or staring off into the distance. “I think of these small drawings like short stories. They are based on inspiration that I found in daily life,” he says.
Wiesenfeld is based in North Carolina, and you can find more of his work on his website.
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2025-06-24 23:49:59
Known for bold, chiaroscuro paintings that reimagine European art historical masterworks in his own likeness, Roméo Mivekannin is interested in the Western, colonial gaze on Africa and the power of archives to reveal underrepresented or untold stories. Born on the Ivory Coast, Mivekannin splits his time between Toulouse, France, and Cotonou, Benin. His practice interrogates visibility, appropriation, and power dynamics through direct and unflinching pieces spanning acrylic painting, installation, and sculpture.
At Art Basel last weekend, in collaboration with Galerie Barbara Thumm and Cécile Fakhoury, Mivekannin presented a large-scale installation titled Atlas, comprising a series of metal buildings suspended from the ceiling. Modeled after institutional buildings—in this case, museums that house enthographic collections—the artist draws attention to the colonialist practices and ethical gray areas that permeate these spaces and their histories.
Often founded upon controversial or dubiously-acquired personal collections of European urban elites, larger museums historically emphasized what was seen as “primitive” or “exotic,” exhibiting a skewed view of world cultures framed by a colonialist mindset. The British Museum, for example, was established in 1753 upon the death of Sir Hans Sloane, whose collection of more than 80,000 “natural and artificial rarities” provided the institution’s foundation. His wealth—and his collection—was amassed in part through enslaved labor on his sugar plantations in Jamaica.
Another well-known example of problematic collections include thousands of Benin Bronzes, housed in European institutions like the British Museum and others. British forces acquired many of these elaborately decorated plaques through pillage and looting in the late 19th century. Today, some museums have agreed to repatriate the bronzes to redress this historical indignity (the British Museum is still in discussions).
As a student of both art and architecture, Mivekannin taps into the way certain structures and built environments are designed to convey prestige and dominance. He is also currently pursuing a Ph.D. at the National Superior School of Architecture of Montpellier (ENSAM).
In Atlas, the structures take on the form of bird cages suspended from chains. Both elements symbolize captivity, likening ethnographic collections that often include human remains to what the Atlas exhibition statement describes as “human zoos.” In this context, the cages “serve as a reminder of the historical practices that sought to control and exploit ‘the Other.'”
Mivekannin bridges past and present in this installation, inviting viewers to walk around the museums within a space that shifts the power dynamic. The work encourages viewers “to confront uncomfortable truths about colonial legacies and their ongoing impact on our contemporary society.”
The artist scales down the museums’ palatial details to a diminutive size, displayed low, taking into consideration a kind of meta experience of the exhibition itself. In Mivekannin’s portrayal, the structures are both the cages and the caged.
A show of the artist’s paintings, Black Mirror, is currently on view at Collezione Maramotti in Reggio Emilia, Italy, through July 27. See more on the artist’s Instagram.
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2025-06-24 00:32:00
One of the remarkable things about a city like London, which has been inhabited for nearly 2,000 years, is that no matter where a developer chooses to build, chances are there’s some relic of the past buried below ground. Archaeologists are routinely called to new development sites to carefully verify the presence—or not—of everything from early structures to centuries-old graveyards. And in a place founded by the Romans shortly after 43 C.E., we can occasionally glimpse astonishing finds from well over 1,000 years ago.
This year, a team of researchers from the Museum of London Archaeology (MOLA) has been hard at work in a development site known as The Liberty, which has already revealed ancient mosaics and a mausoleum. But the discoveries keep coming. Scattered in pieces, the city’s largest-ever collection of painted Roman plaster was found amid the rubble, dating back at least 1,800 years.
The first structures on this site appeared between 43 and 150 C.E., and the frescoed wall would have stood in a high-status Roman building. Sometime before 200 C.E., the building was demolished and the plaster pieces discarded in a pit. Seeing the light of day for the first time since, it was a dream opportunity for MOLA researchers.
Han Li, MOLA’s Senior Building Material Specialist, spent three months reconfiguring the artwork with the help of a team of researchers. He explained that pieces had been jumbled together when the building was demolished, so figuring out how the fresco was originally composed took a lot of tinkering and patience. “It was like assembling the world’s most difficult jigsaw puzzle,” he says.
Even the most avid jigsaw fans will appreciate that this type of puzzle is a real mind-bender—there’s no picture to look at for comparison. But there are clues. This era of Roman painting commonly incorporated color panels with border motifs and elements that imitated stone slabs like porphyry without the expense or labor involved in hauling that much material. And while this work is fairly representative of the style, the use of the color yellow is particularly rare and found in only a few very luxurious buildings around the U.K.
The fresco also tells the story of visitors and passersby who left graffiti, including an image of a crying woman with a hairstyle common in the Flavian period (69 to 96 C.E.) and a carved Greek alphabet. It’s thought that the latter could have served a practical purpose, like a tally sheet or a checklist.
One special detail comes in the form of what’s known as a tabula ansata, a carving of a decorative tablet that Roman artists used to sign their work. It contains the Latin word “FECIT,” which means “has made this.” Sadly, the part where the artist’s name would have appeared is too broken to determine, so their identity will likely remain a mystery.
Explore more of MOLA’s excavations and projects on its website.
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2025-06-23 22:04:51
From a simple material, Kendra Haste brings us face-to-face with striking sculptures of wild animals. Known for her use of galvanized wire to create life-size portraits of everything from calm elephants to alert deer to a family of boars, the British artist is fascinated by what she describes as the “essence and character” of each creature.
The artist’s solo exhibition, Big Bad Wolf at the Iron Art Casting Museum Büdelsdorf, is Haste’s first in Germany and continues her exploration of wildlife through eleven recent works that bridge the animals’ world and ours. Haste says, “I try to capture the living, breathing model in a static 3D form and convey its emotional essence without slipping into sentimentality or anthropomorphism.”
If you’ve visited the Tower of London in the past fifteen years, you also may have seen Haste’s permanent display of sculptures inspired by the Royal Menagerie, technically the city’s first zoo. The building housed a collection of animals between the 1200s and 1835, many of which were gifted to kings and queens.
Haste’s life-size animals are installed near where they were kept and nod to real denizens, like an elephant sent by the King of France in 1255 and what was presumably a polar bear shipped from Norway around the same time. The works were initially slated for a 10-year exhibition but now permanently on view in the much-loved historic attraction.
In Big Bad Wolf, Haste’s first solo museum exhibition, she delves into conservation, sustainability, and the controversial concept of rewilding. That animals that wander through the museum, including wolves, a stag, a hind, a white-tailed eagle, lynx, and wild boars, are all native to Northern Germany. While some are endangered, others are bouncing back, and Haste taps into a regional yet universal comprehension of our delicate relationship with nature and how our actions affect it.
“This is about how we see the natural world—how we’ve tried to shape it, and what it might mean to let it return,” Haste says. “Wire, like cast iron, holds a tension between strength and fragility. That balance runs through every piece in this exhibition.”
Big Bad Wolf continues through November 2 in Büdelsdorf. See more of Haste’s work on Instagram.
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