In the winning video of Nikon’s Small World in Motion competition, Dr. Ning Xu captures the abnormal beating of airway cilia from a child with Primary Ciliary Dyskinesia (PCD)—a genetic disorder affecting respiratory function. “When people watch cilia beating, they immediately understand that something beautiful and important is happening inside us,” says the Beijing-based researcher. “I think this competition turns microscopy into a shared language.”

The marvelous sight is just one of the notable videos from the annual competition, which just celebrated its 16th cycle. This year’s panel welcomed esteemed scientists, researchers, and science communicators who evaluated more than 340 video entries from 40 different countries. Watch more winning videos on the contest’s website and stay posted for winners of the Nikon Small World photo competition, which will be announced on October 21.

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Vibrant, amorphous shapes intersect with squiggles and occasional geometric lettering in the murals of Chicago-based artist Emmy Star Brown. She describes her studio practice as a space where her inner child emerges, paring down her expressions to formal qualities of line, shape, and contrast. In her large-scale installations on urban buildings, which draw on her background in visual communications and advertising, both interior and exterior surfaces transform into energetic, edge-to-edge romps of color.

Brown’s work is currently on view alongside that of Danym Kwon in The Peace of Wild Things at Joy Machine. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

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It’s all things avian at Bird Photographer of the Year, the world’s largest contest dedicated to images of feathered creatures planet-wide. This year, the program welcomed more than 24,000 entries from photographers around the globe, capturing diving penguins, urban denizens, mating rituals, dramatic flights, and more.

Highlighting birds of all kinds, the competition emphasizes the diverse appearances and behaviors of the animals and also raises awareness of the challenges they face due human-triggered habitat loss, poaching, pollution, and other factors. Categories include Best Portrait, Bird Behavior, Conservation, Urban Birds, and others, plus three youth categories for budding photographers aged 17 years and younger.

Top prize in this year’s edition went to Henley Spiers’ underwater image of a diving northern gannet captured off the Shetland Islands, about 110 miles north of mainland Scotland. These large seabirds, which nest on steep cliffs and rocks, are a common sight around the northern nation, which is home to around 40 percent of the world’s population. Unfortunately, some of the massive colonies suffered severe losses due to bird flu, an outbreak that may take 15 years to recover from.

Spiers captures the gannet from beneath the water’s surface as it aims for a meal. He says, “When fish are spotted, the gannets fly into the wind and stretch out their wings as brakes, precisely adjusting their position in relation to their quarry. Moments later, with wings tucked in tightly, the gannet shape-shifts into a pointed torpedo, diving into the water at speeds of up to 86km/h.” That’s more than 50 miles per hour.

See all of the winners on the Bird Photographer of the Year website, and follow updates on Instagram.

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In our era of digital screens and virtually endless images and videos, it’s a challenge to imagine the time before photography existed. Two centuries ago this year, French inventor Nicéphore Niépce successfully captured the first known permanent image. He called his new process héliographie, or “sun writing,” employing light-sensitive bitumen dissolved in lavender oil, which he used to coat a polished pewter plate.

After exposing the plate on his windowsill for several hours, an image of several outbuildings on Niépce’s property emerged, and photography as we know it was born. But it wasn’t until 1839, when Louis Jacques Mandé Daguerre announced his eponymous Daguerrotype, that photography entered the public realm. From there, variations in the chemistry and materials proliferated around the world, spurring advanced technologies and the phenomenon we continue to enjoy today, even in a digital form that feels worlds away from the first iterations.

Celebrating 200 years of photography in France, GrandPalaisRmn has organized a series of 11 themed, traveling exhibitions as part of the ambitious initiative titled Grand Angle. From 19th-century studio portraits and dance to rural life and the front lines of war, the shows highlight a wide range of subject matter and individuals behind the lens. The selections are drawn primarily from the vast archives of the GrandPalaisRmn and Médiathèque du patrimoine et de la photographie (MPP), which steward some 1.8 million digitized images altogether.

The shows are also coordinated in partnership with Centre national des arts plastiques (Cnap), the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and Fisheye, and they’re staged both around France and internationally. Ruralités, for example, just opened at the tourism office of Roubion, a small commune in southeastern France. And a solo exhibition of work by the late Willy Ronis is on view this month at the Châtel-Saint-Germain library. The program is slated to continue through September 2027.

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Through vivid collages layering fragments of paper and fiber, Clotilde Jiménez echoes his own mélange of experiences and histories. The Mexico City-based artist was born in Honolulu to a Puerto Rican mother and African-American father, and he grew up in Philadelphia, before attending university in Cleveland and London. Both his heritage and ties to different cities around the globe nest together in his work, which draws references from the cultural and political contexts of each locale.

Using magazine clippings, Mexican craft paper, fabrics, and other pliable materials, Jiménez fashions dense portraits of his family alongside archetypal depictions of Blackness and masculinity. Fragments of burlap and thin woven strips add texture to “China de Mayagüez,” a vibrant autobiographical piece portraying a young Jiménez and his family member Juan. Rendered as a jíbaro, Juan evokes the subsistence farming traditions of Puerto Rico. Together, the pair pick oranges, while monarchs flutter among the fruits.

The woven hat also appears in “The Nightcall,” worn by a woman enveloped in the blue light of darkness. Black birds with shiny plumage and blooming cacti flank the figure as a bouquet hangs from her hand. Fresh blooms also appear in the Flower Portal series, circular works that draw on Dutch still life paintings. Fish, faces, and beams of light augment lush bouquets, referencing both the fleeting nature of life and humble joys.

For this body of work, Jiménez dives into silences and what’s left unsaid in a family, particularly the secrets children aren’t privy to. In a recent conversation, he describes these pieces as visualizing a “revelation,” one that gave insight into a history of abuse. He explains:

My grandmother, when I was an adult, randomly was like I need to tell you something, and she told me that my grandfather was not my real grandfather. It is actually his brother, the one who kind of looked out for you and raised you. Everything made sense. I’m not making excuses for abuse, but I’m seeing it a little bit more objectively now, why certain things were said, why certain things were done, why certain things were ignored. So the show is really about silence and how that forms us from a young age.

The collages shown here are included in the exhibition Éramos silencios, which translates to “we were silent,” on view through October 31 at Mariane Ibrahim’s Chicago gallery. Explore more of the artist’s work on Instagram.

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On the International Space Station (ISS), a module known as the Cupola allows astronauts to float into a small, window-filled viewing area. It’s used for observing high-tech exercises, spacewalks, and incoming vehicles, but it’s also a spectacular place to view what’s right outside: Earth.

Astronauts often take thousands of photos and videos of what they see from their lofty vantage point, and the Association of Space Explorers (ASE)—the professional association of astronauts who have flown on a mission, representing 43 countries—archives the footage for educational use. So far, the collection consists of more than seven million photos and movies. What to do with all of them? Enter Earth Music Theater.

Facilitated by ASE, Earth Music Theater is a multimedia project marrying sonic experiences with incredible imagery captured from above the earth. Musicians perform a combination of self-composed melodies and classical pieces, such as works by J.S. Bach. The video above, for example, features British Baroque ensemble Solomon’s Knot, while in several others, guitarist Steve Thomas interprets the footage through his own songs.

Imagery ranges from Jessica Meir’s capture of aurora australis moving across the earth’s atmosphere as the ISS orbits above Antarctica to remarkable shots of terrain and weather patterns. Earth Music Theater’s catalogue consists of dozens of movies, some of which are only a few minutes long and others that run the length of a feature film.

The initiative also occasionally coordinates live performances around the world, and you can also see recordings of these live performances on its website.

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One of the most intimate windows into an artist’s practice is their studio. While some creatives thrive on methodical organization and tidiness, others reach their flow state amid a cluttered chaos where dozens of ideas unfold at once. Whether at one end of this spectrum or somewhere in the middle, these spaces offer unique perspectives on both the artist and the masterpieces that emerge from their confines.

Forthcoming from Phaidon, Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists invites readers into 20 distinctive studios. Curated and edited by Isolde Brielmaier, the vast tome highlights a range of behind-the-scenes material and celebrates some of the most prominent artists working today, such as Nick Cave, Nina Chanel Abney, Hank Willis Thomas, Carrie Mae Weems, Kerry James Marshall, and many more.

The introduction to Another View was written by lauded literary critic, filmmaker, and professor Henry Louis Gates, Jr. who “explores the historical precedents and critical context that led to the exciting current moment of Black contemporary art in America,” writes Phaidon. Across nearly 200 pages, the book includes 150 never-before-seen photographs captured by Awol Erizku, exclusive interviews, and profiles.

Another View: The Vibrant World of Contemporary Black Artists is slated for release on October 28. Pre-order your copy in the Colossal Shop.

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Measuring 28 feet wide and seven feet tall, two monumental wooden relief sculptures anchor Beyond Silence, a new exhibition at GRAY Chicago featuring works by Catalan artist and sculptor Jaume Plensa.

The broad works—titled “Julia” and “Maria”—were created as part of the artist’s recent series, Beyond Silence, which shares a name with the show. The two paneled pieces transform the gallery’s open exhibition space with their rigid angles, creating a structured rhythm to complement the subdued contours of the faces they depict. As a result, a conversation arises between Plensa’s signature overarching motifs, such as the human figure, use of architectural materials, and the perception of space.

Surrounding these wooden reliefs, viewers encounter dramatically elongated faces stretching seven feet high. The impressive portraits are part of Plensa’s Clouds series, in which the artist pairs cast iron—a material often associated with commercialism and industry—with the suavity of granite stone, “producing an unexpected sense of suspension and weightlessness,” the gallery says.

Like many of Plensa’s works, the large faces stand with their eyes closed, allowing viewers to experience each monumental figure intimately. These impressive pieces evoke a quiet stillness and offer a unique space for introspection, meditation, and a sense of intimacy through shared humanity.

Beyond Silence marks the artist’s tenth solo exhibition with GRAY, and coincides with Remote, Serene, Ethereal opening next week at the gallery’s New York location. Both exhibitions are on view through December 19. And if you’re in Chicago, you can always find Plensa’s iconic work, Crown Fountain, at Millennium Park. Find more from the artist on Instagram.

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Walk into the first gallery of the group exhibition Thresholds at the Haggerty Museum of Art, and you’ll encounter dozens of hand brooms installed in long rows. Scraps of ribbons, cords, and braids in a vast array of colors and textures bind the small tools together, with raw branches from a fallen tree jutting from the top. Made during a participatory workshop this past July at Lynden Sculpture Garden, the sweepers are what artist Daniel Minter calls a “talisman, tool, and object of remembrance.”

Minter has long considered the spiritual dimension of the items we use in daily life. The broom, for example, has been an ongoing topic of inquiry as he questions what it means to cleanse and care for one’s space and self and how those acts of devotion are also ones that bring empowerment. It’s fitting that Minter sees his work as a service, a sort of public offering he can provide through sculpture, drawing, community projects, and more.

Based in Portland, Maine, for more than two decades, Minter was raised in Georgia during Jim Crow. He and his family lived across the street from a white-only swimming pool, and schools were segregated until the artist reached fourth grade. “When you start seeing the systems that create these inequalities, you also can begin to notice systems that empower you,” he says one morning over a video call. “You notice the systems that give you a stronger sense of yourself.”

One of the latter was his mother’s near constant singing and the artist’s own desire to create. As an adolescent, Minter would carve small sticks and paint signs for neighbors who needed them. He went on to study in illustration in college and today, still collaborates on the occasional children’s book. His work for Going Down Home with Daddy even won the prestigious Caldecott Medal.

At the Haggerty Museum, we witness Minter’s multi-faceted practice. In addition to the community-created display of brooms, the artist presents vibrant carved sculptures painted with stylized portraits and superimposed motifs. The figurative assemblages combine found objects with carefully selected materials that, as the artist sees it, become vessels for spiritual and ancestral knowledge.

“I came from a people with a long and complex tradition of creating exactly these kinds of tools—objects of communication and transformation,” Minter writes in a catalog essay for Thresholds, which pairs the museum’s holdings with the artist’s sculptures. “The objects and masks from the Haggerty Museum collection bring my work into direct contact with that timeless technology. They allow me to see my carving as a way of reconnecting with and continuing
a living system of communication with the spirits, the ancestors, the unseen.”

Minter is also intentional about setting the scene for such communion to occur. Nature is the foundation, and each wall within his part of the exhibition represents a different facet: blue for the ocean, red for fire and thunder, and green for the forest. Verdant settings also appear in the central, freestanding sculpture, which positions an abstract, totemic figure atop astroturf.

Typically presented outdoors or in a forest, the two-sided form is Minter’s way of instilling hope. “How do you find the things you need to see a future when the objects before you say different?” he asks. This sculpture is the artist’s answer to that question and way of offering peace to anyone who encounters the piece and is willing to listen to its message.

“Do objects transmit spirituality? No, they remind us of our spirituality. They allow us to translate. A particular object can remind you that you can think deeply and pass this obstacle that is in front of you,” he adds. “That’s a service.”

Thresholds is on view through December 19 at the Haggerty, which is part of Milwaukee’s Marquette University. Explore Minter’s practice on his website and Instagram.

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Italy’s South Tyrol province, which borders Switzerland and Austria in the Alps and is home to some of Central Europe’s most dramatic mountains, lives up to its geographic position as a borderland. Italy annexed the region in 1919 following World War I, prior to which it was part of the Austro-Hungarian Empire. Many people are German-speaking, and in many ways, their cultural traditions and ancestry lean traditionally toward Austria more than Italy.

At the outbreak of World War II, the Fascist Italian regime built a series of fortifications along the country’s northernmost border. Construction was halted at the onset of the war, and the military controlled what had been completed until 1993. For Vincenzo Pagliuca, these purpose-built structures spurred an intrepid yet pensive body of work called Bunker, published in hardcover by Hartmann Books.

Many of the bunkers are freestanding concrete masses with distinctive domed shapes and thick walls. Others take advantage of the ancient pre-existing stone, sometimes carving directly into mountainsides and augmenting with extra barriers. Over the years, grasses have colonized the roofs, shrubs have grown close, and some of the exteriors, which were designed to camouflage against the slopes like exposed rock, have a surreal, almost Gaudí-esque character.

Pagliuca has long been fascinated by Italian architecture, such as in his project Mónos, which highlights the often quirky vernacular of diminutive homes. For Bunker, he was interested in the relationship of these specific structures to their rarefied and remote locations, their solidity and often hulking presence at odds with the surrounding Alpine meadows and soaring, snow-capped peaks.

These human interventions, depicted without the presence of people, are a permanent reminder of the drastic measures that political and military forces will go in the name of nationalism. “The bunkers represent a difficult legacy, recalling a dramatic historical period in Central Europe marked by nationalist ideology and the inability to resolve conflicts through peaceful means—an era we thought had long since passed,” says a statement from the publisher.

Grab a copy of your own from the publisher’s shop. See more on the artist’s Instagram.

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