From dozens of Chiquita banana labels to toothpaste packaging to color-coded quality control stickers, Kelly Kozma finds beauty in everyday ephemera. “Piece by piece, she saves any colorful or textured box that she encounters, even though most are expected to be discarded after their original use,” says Paradigm Gallery + Studio, which opens the artist’s solo exhibition Watch Me Backflip this weekend.
Kozma takes an archival and interdisciplinary approach to working with numerous found materials, combining a variety of media into two-dimensional wall works, expansive textile-inspired assemblages, and voluminous suspended installations. “Watch Me Backflip embraces ideas of reusing material, interconnectedness, and the significance of the smallest interaction on a much larger environment,” says an exhibition statement.
Installation view of ‘Watch Me Backflip’ at Paradigm Gallery + Studio
“Iguana & Myrrh” and “Magma & Reef” mark the largest compositions Kozma has created. The former spans 22 feet in circumference and comprises more than 30,000 hand-stitched circles cut from a wide variety of greeting cards, found packaging, and other colorful materials. Committed to a minimal-waste practice, the artist incorporates scraps and loose threads into a number of accompanying works in Watch Me Backflip.
“As she stitches these lovingly collected pieces, Kozma creates connections between the people in her life and the objects she interacts with, inspiring mindfulness against overconsumption and emotional apathy,” the gallery says.
Watch Me Backflip opens today and continues through June 1 in Philadelphia. See more on the artist’s Instagram.
“I See Your Beauty” (2025), process control patches and acrylic on panelInstallation view of ‘Watch Me Backflip’ at Paradigm Gallery + StudioDetail of “Iguana & Myrrh”Installation view of ‘Watch Me Backflip’ at Paradigm Gallery + Studio“Peels So Good” (2025), banana stickers and acrylic on panelDetail of “Iguana & Myrrh”The artist working on the installation of “Magma & Reef”
A new leader & his order often destroyed the cultural and scientific heritage of any given society. During the repressions of the 1930s in Russia, the new government executed top scientists, artists, and writers. In China, Mao’s Cultural Revolution wiped out the intellect of country. Many centuries ago, the book of songs (which is attributed to Confucius today) was burned along with other ancient texts and people who opposed the new order. What remained was memory and some memorized poems and texts. The medieval ages & religious wars in Europe saw an unprecedented destruction of science & culture, reverting humanity by hundreds of years, leaving it in a thorough stagnation. It’s common to see state confiscation, scientific and cultural reversal, and overall decline instead of the birth of a thriving, new society after such events.
While new replaces the old where creation is impossible without destruction in a natural cycle of life, it seems that psychopathic leaders alter this cycle where they can. They rule with endless propaganda and control. Controlling people’s thoughts, ideas, beliefs, religion, and culture seems paramount to a leader’s success. Only psychopathic rulers can govern and hold on to this position for a long time. Otherwise, the ruler is assassinated, executed, or imprisoned.
We try to pick a president based on our morals, beliefs, and ethics, searching for a leader with a “heart.” Unfortunately, we won’t find one because he or she doesn’t exist. Each person takes a specific job in society based on their personality and inner life. Top politicians have qualities that other people don’t possess, and vice versa. Those people are low on empathy and emotion. Therefore, the decisions they make are easy for them to make. Obama can’t control TikTok. Hillary couldn’t tank Trump with her lies about Russian collusion. Trump suddenly worries about the morality of abortion, overturning the law. Putin uses religion and TV propaganda to justify his choices and outcomes. Democrats have captured the media with their agenda. The Republicans want to die in the Senate when they reach 100 years of age. As a democratic society, we end up with top politicians who serve the privileged few who rule and kill behind the curtain. And we-the people-become entangled in this web of rules, regulations, lies, prosecution, control, disbelief, and hurt. Strong voices get jailed. Others accept bribes. We pay taxes to bomb the world. We hope for a better outcome, only to lose it after another election cycle.
Just like the problem, the solution is never simple or clear. Every new idea or the structure of a society, like communism, democracy, autocracy, and even utopian communes, has beautiful thoughts that get corrupted by the human element. So it seems that a renewed system must consider human weaknesses and the inability to change to function differently and sustainably. Is it possible at all? We can only know this after some social experimentation. But who wants to do just that? Because progress is exponential, we can evolve and advance more rapidly with each decade. Perhaps, new ideas will sparkle and ignite a strong wave in evolution of humanity that’s more encompassing of the past, human element & the seed of life.
As I’ve done every New Year’s Eve since 2005, I’ll wish Lines and Colors readers a Happy New Year with one of J. C. Leyendecer’s New Year’s covers for the Saturday Evening Post, in this case marking the arrival of 1925. For more Leyendecker to while away your New Year’s day, check the list of Lines and Colors J C. Leyendecker posts at the end of this article. I wish you all a new year rich with artistic exploration and inspiration!
Through colorful squiggles embedded with games, trampolines, and sculptural trees, a new public park in Guangzhou, China, re-envisions the possibilities of play.
“Wired Scape,” which design firm 100architects bills as an “an entangling forest of imagination and fun,” takes inspiration from the natural landscape to create a one-of-a-kind playground in a residential area. Trees resembling balls of colorful wire appear to spin out of the ground, and curvaceous green and blue forms reflect the interaction of land and water.
Lively trees made from pipes spiraling around central cores serve a triple purpose as climbable structures, shade-providing canopies, and supports for a series of interconnected bridges throughout the park. The overall aesthetic recalls computer-generated imagery in video games or animation.
100architects aimed to break away from traditional playground design and instead focus on the layout as a multigenerational space. Children’s imaginations are stimulated by myriad ways to jump, climb, slide, and run, while caregivers and parents have ample options for shaded seating with clear sight lines.
Known for their elaborate performances almost as much as their albums, the American band OK Go just released a new music video that is very literally a hall of mirrors. Filmed in a Budapest train station, “Love” incorporates 29 robots and 60 mirrors that move in perfect synchronicity. The result is an endlessly evolving kaleidoscope that distorts reality and illusion, connecting the band and their surroundings through a trippy, impeccably timed production.
To get a closer look at the making of this iconic video, check out the behind-the-scenes video shot from the perspective of each band member.
We’ve just received 3,000 copies of our newest edition of “With All the Precision Possible: Roubo on Furniture” and are offering it for a special introductory price: $100 with free domestic shipping until April 20, 2025.
This new edition is a significant upgrade “trade” edition, which was in black-and-white and on uncoated paper. The new edition is printed in color, so you can fully appreciate the tone of the cotton paper from the 18th-century engravings. We upgraded the paper to a #100 coated matte paper, enlarged the page size, added printed end sheets and include a tear-resistant dust jacket.
Why do this? Well, I never thought our “trade” edition quite matched the gravity of the project. Don Williams, Michele Pietryka-Pagán and Philippe Lafargue spent years translating the writings of André Roubo’s “l’art du Menuisier.” It is the world’s first masterpiece of woodworking writing, and only bits and pieces were ever translated into English.
So last year we began working on a replacement for our “trade” edition. It’s arrived in our warehouse, and it is impressive.
Like all things with the Roubo project, the printing bill was massive. And so to recoup some of that money, we are offering it at a 20 percent discount with free domestic shipping until April 20, 2025. After that, it will be $125 (still a good price, I must say).
You can read more about the book here. Or watch this cheesy ad I made:
