In Blurring Boundaries’ newest project, a woodland area in Wada, Maharashtra, India, and a serene architectural oasis converge in a remarkable farmhouse. The Mumbai-based firm (previously) conceived of a sanctuary called “Maativan,” cradled by trees in a feat of biophilic design, which is constructed from natural materials to create a synergy between interior and exterior experiences.

Undulating beamed ceilings, open-air spaces, an organic layout, and plenty of ventilation allow for ample natural light, airflow, and heat control. With sustainability at the forefront of its mission, Blurring Boundaries incorporated mud, lime, bamboo, stone, wood, recycled bottles, wheels, glass, and other repurposed substances into the home’s framework.

“Maativan’s commitment to sustainability, cultural authenticity, and ecological responsibility is evident in every aspect of its construction and operation, making it a true sanctuary for those seeking a deeper connection with the natural world,” the studio says. Find more on its website.

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Huddled together like birds of a feather or standing resolutely on their own, Masako Miki’s vibrant, playful sculptures come to life at the Institute of Contemporary Art San Francisco. Whether standing on spindly legs, seated on the ground, or suspended from the ceiling, there is a sense of movement and energy in the room, as if each characterful object could walk or roll away at the slightest provocation.

Miki’s solo exhibition Midnight March is now open at ICA SF’s new exhibition space, The Cube, which activates a former bank building as a site for non-traditional exhibition presentations. The Japanese artist sets her mixed-media pieces, which incorporate materials like wool, bronze, wood, ink, and watercolor, into a darkened, starry interior in which each vibrant, cartoonish individual appears to glow.

Largely abstract in their nebulous forms, felted textures, and colorful patterns, Miki’s sculptures often hint at a life force inside. A single eye peers from a blue shape in “Enchanting Pine Tree Reaching Clouds” or human-like legs extend to the floor in “Umbrella’s Whispers.” We begin to realize that we’re being observed as much as we are observing.

“Midnight March helps us understand deeper aspects of Miki’s ‘othered’ figures and recognize difference as a positive force, even as we are unsettled by it,” says an exhibition statement.

The indigo sky throughout the exhibition complements Miki’s two-dimensional works, which she calls Night Parades, welcoming visitors into an experiential context. The artist says, “I hope that my works generate the kind of curiosity and empathy that enables us to come together.”

Midnight March continues through December 7 in San Francisco, and you can explore more on the artist’s website and Instagram.

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Growing up in Switzerland, Constance Jaeggi’s journey from a suburban area of central Europe to the rural grasslands of Texas was guided by what she describes as an “unexplainable fascination” with horses. She moved to the U.S. to pursue a competitive riding career and attend university, eventually becoming a rancher and essentially revolving her entire life around the gentle giants.

“Throughout college, I was spending all my weekends and free time on horseback,” Jaeggi tells Colossal. Over time, she was drawn to exploring horse culture through visual means, picking up a camera and documenting the animals, people, and landscapes around her. “I was curious about the age-old human-horse relationship and how that impacts humans’ relationship with horses today,” she adds. “Photography was a way to lean into that curiosity and express myself differently.”

While attending rodeos and traveling throughout the western community, Jaeggi became acquainted with the custom of escaramuza. It’s the only female event of the Mexican national sport charrería, and the activity combines equestrian and livestock competitions like roping and working with cattle.

Escaramuza, which translates to “skirmish,” was inspired by the women soldiers, or soldaderas, of the Mexican Revolution in the early 20th century and contemporary narratives like “La Adelita.” Teams traditionally consist of 16 women, with eight competing at a time for a maximum of eight minutes. Carrying out elaborately choreographed dances in vibrant, traditional, handmade Mexican dresses, escaramuzas ride sidesaddle and are judged on their synchronicity, precision, garments, and elegance.

“When the Cowgirl Museum in Fort Worth, Texas, approached me about creating a photo exhibition on the escaramuza tradition, I knew very little about it other than the beauty of the dresses and elegant performance aspect of it,” Jaeggi says. “As I started researching, I was captivated by the history of the tradition, the gender dynamics within charrería, how those are evolving, and the stories of the contemporary riders I spoke to.”

The oral histories of the women she met form the foundation for Jaeggi’s ongoing series, Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home, which is on view now at the Poetry Foundation in Chicago. “I wasn’t initially sure how, but I knew I needed to bring their voices back into the work somehow,” the artist says.

Jaeggi chronicled teams in Illinois, Colorado, Texas, Washington, Idaho, Georgia, California, Oregon, Iowa, and Arizona, interviewing riders as she went. During the journey, she met two poets, ire’ne lara silva and Angelina Sáenz, whose poems accompany the images and take inspiration from the women’s stories.

“Poetry felt like a good way to really emphasize some of the strong themes that came out of my conversations with the riders, and Angelina and ire’ne were in a good position to understand and relate to the cultural background of these women,” Jaeggi says.

Escaramuza, the Poetics of Home centers portraits of Mexican-American women in full regalia, highlighting colorful, coordinated dresses and their iconic wide-brimmed sombreros. Jaeggi portrays empowered, strong, and resilient individuals who balance numerous responsibilities. “A lot of the women I met are full time students or have full time jobs—sometimes multiple jobs—and are raising children,” Jaeggi says.

The sport is also dangerous. Competitors perform intense and complicated maneuvers, criss-crossing one another at high speed, which riding side-saddle makes even more challenging because the person only has control of one side of the horse.

“There is a narrative around immigration and the role it plays in the development of the sport in the U.S.,” Jaeggi says, sharing that as she spoke to these women, learning about their work and lives, many shared experiences of “not feeling Mexican enough when traveling to Mexico but not feeling American enough at home either.” And as a gendered event governed by strict charrería rules, many experience frustration at the rigidity of the dress code they’re required to adhere to, which is not the case for male charros.

Exacaramuza, the Poetics of Home continues in Chicago through August 23. Find more on Jaeggi’s website and Instagram.

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Each night, the Milky Way decorates darkened skies around the globe with a streak of glimmering stars and pink-orange dust. Stunning in its own right, our galaxy is ever more dazzling in the images topping the 2025 Milky Way Photographer of the Year contest.

The annual competition, hosted by Capture the Atlas, received more than 6,000 submissions in its eighth year. Winning shots are each from a different location, including amid the moai sculptures of Easter Island, atop Taiwan’s Hehuan Mountain, and Yemen’s remote Socotra Island. For the first time, there’s even a view of the Milky Way from aboard the International Space Station, which astronaut Don Pettit captured while Earth glitters below.

While diverse in geography, approach, and technique, all of the photos are guided by the brilliant band of light in the distance. See all 25 winners on Capture the Atlas.

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Objects often regarded as fixtures of modern life—cardboard boxes, glass cups, and plastic jugs, to name a few—become generative materials in the soundscapes of Swiss artist Zimoun (previously). Connected to small, direct-current motors, wires and strings strung across installations of these unassuming items rattle and twirl to create continuous, ambient noise.

Zimoun frequently references the tension between chaos and order in his works, particularly as it relates to the relationship between the individual elements and the larger composition. For a recent project for Rewire in The Hague, for example, the artist tethered piano strings to 24 polyethylene tanks in one room and to 36 water containers in another.

While the basic construction was the same, the way the vibrating wires interacted with the vessels affected their timbre. “Each of the spaces sounds distinctly different, even though the same principle was applied throughout. Both deep, bass-like sounds and very varied, constantly changing overtones can emerge,” the artist says.

Exploring the possibilities of such simple materials is at the core of many of Zimoun’s works, as he shifts our perspective on their uses and functionality. Appearing animate, each object becomes an instrument in its own right, as the kinetic, often frenetic, movement of the machines transforms a wood-slatted door or metal barrel into a sonic apparatus.

It’s worth poking around Zimoun’s website to explore the breadth of the installations and their subtly varied sounds. The artist has several exhibitions planned for later this year and throughout 2026, so follow the latest on Instagram.

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Stepping into Shirokuro, the new Japanese omakase restaurant in New York City, you’d be forgiven for thinking you wandered into a sketchpad or a black-and-white storyboard. With the exception of an eclectic array of globe lights, some colorful ceramic dishes, and the open kitchen, the entire restaurant is rendered like a 2D drawing.

“Shirokuro” translates to “white-black.” The New York Times shares that proprietor James Lim was inspired by an immersive, 2D restaurant he visited ten years ago in Korea, and he envisioned one of his own, now open in the East Village. To make the interior pop, he invited his friend, real estate agent and artist Mirim Yoo, to transform the space into an all-encompassing environment.

Vibrant dishes are complemented by hand-drawn floors patterned like wooden planks and Japanese icons on the walls like bonsai, tea pots, cherry blossoms, and ukiyo-e compositions. “Our vision was to offer something unique: a place where art and food intersect in a living, breathing sketchbook,” the restaurant says.

You might also enjoy Mr. Doodle’s full house makeover or Anastasia Parmson’s hand-drawn installations.

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Istituto Europeo di Design (IED) Firenze expands its academic offerings with the Master of Arts in Interior and Furniture Design—Hacking Tradition: Reinventing Craftsmanship and Materials. This new program redefines the intersection of heritage and innovation, where traditional craftsmanship meets contemporary design. Aligned with IED’s sustainable textile focus, students learn to critically reinterpret cultural and material heritage through a sustainable lens, with design positioned as a transformative force that shapes environments while addressing social and ecological challenges.

This Master of Arts program equips students with the skills to “hack” tradition—decoding artisanal methods, rethinking materials, and innovating applications. By fostering a dialogue between past and future, craftsmanship becomes a space for reinvention. The curriculum integrates DesignXCommons, an ecological design philosophy focused on sustainability and resource regeneration. Rooted in Tuscany’s world-renowned manufacturing traditions—marble, textiles, furniture, jewelry, and leather—the program offers hands-on experience. Students engage in workshops, industry collaborations, and real-world projects, turning cultural contexts into design innovation.

It complements IED Firenze’s Master of Arts in Textile Design—Eco-Threads: Materials and Circularity, which explores sustainable materials, eco-design, and process innovation across fashion, interiors, and product design. Together, these programs position the school as a leader in sustainable design education. Set in Florence—where history, art, and fashion merge—IED Firenze offers a unique learning environment. From the grandeur of Ponte Vecchio to the heritage of Gucci and Ferragamo, the city itself becomes part of the curriculum. Housed in an architectural landmark, IED Firenze nurtures designers ready to challenge conventions, honor heritage, and shape the future of design.

To learn more, visit ied.edu/courses. 

Founded in 1966, IED (Istituto Europeo di Design) is an international network of higher education institutions specializing in design, fashion, visual arts, and communication. With campuses in Italy, Spain, and Brazil, IED fosters a multidisciplinary approach that blends creativity, craftsmanship, and technological innovation. Through hands-on training and strong industry connections, it prepares students to become forward-thinking professionals in the global design landscape.

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From the birth of the first modern nail parlor in 19th-century Paris to the rise of the Vietnamese nail industry in America after the fall of Saigon, nail beautification has always been connected to the world it adorns.

Author Tembe Denton-Hurst reminds us of this in her new book, Fresh Sets: Contemporary Nail Art from Around the World. Setting the scene with her own experience of falling in love with manicures as a child in Brooklyn and a brief survey of the transformative history of nail embellishment throughout time, the book showcases 35 standout artists thriving today.

While basic sets remain timeless, there’s no doubt that in the 21st century, contemporary aesthetics have flourished in a subversive, powerful way. From birthday candle pedicures and maximalist jeweled acrylics to moss-covered fingertips and sculpted claws channeling cyber sigilism, Fresh Sets features 300 vibrant images highlighting ongoing innovations in the medium.

The democratization of nail art has allowed the creative form to flourish across time and space. Extravagant designs once only seen sauntering down the catwalk, for instance, are now within reach for daily wear. The rise of nail artists has uniquely blurred this line between luxury and everyday accessory, forging paths and connecting worlds.

One such artist featured in Fresh Sets is Lauren Michelle Pires. With a methodical precision, she approaches her practice as a designer, collecting extensive archives of color combinations and references images. Once a fashion student, Pires now works with designer brands such as Loewe, Diesel, Miu Miu, and more.

“I view being a nail artist as a very intricate and pristine job, and I definitely try to capture beauty in my work,” she explains. “But, over time, I’ve really learned how to experiment more and to lean into the awkwardness of beauty.”

As the realm of nail design continues to evolve in tremendous fashion, transforming one’s own fingernails as if they were ten tiny canvases—each a site for creating an extension of self, asserting identity, and even signifying resistance—has and always will be a deeply resonant gesture for many. As Denton-Hurst shares in the introduction, “long nails have become part of me, as identifiable as the brown of my skin or my loud laugh.”

You can find your own copy of Fresh Sets on Bookshop. See more from Tembe Denton-Hurst on Instagram.

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An archipelago in the South Atlantic known as the South Sandwich Islands is home to some of the most remote landmasses in the world. Uninhabited except for occasional scientific research, their volcanic makeup highlights the geological and ecological diversity of this part of the world, and we still have much to learn.

Schmidt Ocean Institute (previously) recently completed a 35-day trek on the Falkor (too) to the remote island chain and discovered new hydrothermal vents, coral gardens, and what researchers suspect to be entirely new species. During this expedition, the team also confirmed the sighting of a juvenile colossal squid, capturing one on film for the first time.

“Colossal squid are estimated to grow up to 23 feet in length and can weigh as much as 1,100 pounds, making them the heaviest invertebrate on the planet,” the institute says, noting the significance of the documentation because the animals have only ever been found dead, after they’ve washed ashore or been eaten by predators.

“Little is known about the colossal squid’s life cycle, but eventually, they lose the see-through appearance of the juveniles,” says a statement. “Dying adults have previously been filmed by fishermen but have never been seen alive at depth.”

This recent expedition forms part of the Nippon Foundation–Nekton Ocean Census program, the largest initiative working to expedite the discovery of ocean life. During the voyage, the team weathered tropical storm-force winds with hurricane-level gusts, 26-foot waves, icebergs, and a subsea earthquake.

Ocean Census scientists focused on discovering new species, documenting corals, sponges, sea urchins, snails, sea stars, and benthic ctenophores—commonly called comb jellies or sea gooseberries. The team will announce the exact number of new species later this year after taxonomic experts verify their findings.

“The 35 days at sea were an exciting rollercoaster of scientific discovery, the implications of which will be felt for many years to come as discoveries filter into management action,” says Dr. Michelle Taylor, head of science and expedition principal investigator for the Ocean Census. She adds, “This is exactly why the Ocean Census exists—to accelerate our understanding of ocean life before it’s too late.”

See more on the Schmidt Ocean Institute’s website.

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In February 2020, curator and gallery director Kathy Huang met artist Dominique Fung—a month before the COVID-19 pandemic shut everything down. Their conversations, which continued throughout quarantine, served as an impetus for what would become Huang’s Wonder Women exhibitions at Jeffrey Deitch.

During their chats, Huang and Fung lamented “the uptick in violence against Asian American communities, particularly against women and the elderly,” Huang says in the introduction to her forthcoming book, Wonder Women: Art of the Asian Diaspora.

The two also found it difficult to pinpoint when the last major exhibition had been staged that thoughtfully presented Asian artists, and neither could think of an instance where women and nonbinary artists had been the focus. Both of Huang’s exhibitions and her new book are the fruit of that desire to highlight the remarkable spectrum of figurative work being produced within the Asian diasporic community today.

A response to racism against Asians exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic, Huang conceived of the shows that went on view in 2022 in New York and Los Angeles as a means to highlight the incredible, groundbreaking work made especially by women and nonbinary artists.

Forthcoming from Rizzoli, Wonder Women shares a similar title to a poem by Genny Lim, which follows experiences of Asian women through the lens of a narrator who observes their everyday routines and considers how their lives relate to hers.

Huang expands on this view in her approach to showcasing the work of forty artists, each represented through at least four pieces and a personal statement. These artists “subvert stereotypes and assert their identities in places where they have historically been marginalized,” Rizzoli says.

Artists like Sasha Gordon or Nadia Waheed explore identity through sometimes fantastical self-portraiture, while others highlight family, community, and colonial or patriarchal systems in the West. Some address Asian myths, legends, and visual culture, like Fung’s exploration of antique objects or Shyama Golden’s otherworldly scenes in which hybrid human-animals interact with nature or urban spaces.

Wonder Women will be released on May 20. Order your copy from the Colossal Shop.

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