There’s something quietly radical about choosing to slow down. In an age of endless updates and perpetual motion, pausing feels almost defiant. What it means to truly pay attention – to notice, absorb, and sit with complexity rather than rushing past it – is increasingly rare and deeply necessary. Art invites this kind of deep looking. It asks us to hold space for ambiguity, to question what we know and to lean into curiosity. Moments of reflection aren’t passive: they’re where bold thinking begins, quiet confidence grows, and new ideas emerge. Inside this issue, we embrace that space of introspection and innovation.
Radiant Botanicals | Debora Lombardi employs ultraviolet-induced visible fluorescence to reveal pigments hidden within flowers, which emit a mesmerising glow.
Creative Possibility | The latest Aesthetica Art Prize exhibition opens as a call to action, celebrating those who are at the vanguard of contemporary practice today.
Layered Perspective | American landscape traditions are reframed by Terri Loewenthal’s multi-layered compositions, which are psychedelic and flooded with colour.
Climatic Responses | A new publication looks back on fifty years of environmentally attuned buildings that blend inside and outside, responding to landscapes.
Painterly Depictions | Light, line, texture and form are key elements of Ashley Chappell’s portraiture, which occupies a space somewhere between fine art and fashion.
Stories in Colour | Sanja Marušić uses collage, costume, painting and the camera to craft otherworldly settings in which playful, surreal narratives can unfold.
Building Atmosphere | Neil Kryszak captures dreamlike scenes which embrace a sense of darknesss and uncertainty, rendered in a cinematic, neon-noir visual style.
Forests Illuminate | Glowing firefiles illuminate Japan’s woodlands after dark in Kazuaki Koseki’s dazzling body of work, weaving together ecology and folklore.
Into the Landscape | Rock formations, sand and water are constant sources of inspiration for Agnieszka Ostrowska, whose images are shaped by travel and place.
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Image credits:
1. Sanja Marušić, Singles, (2020). Image courtesy of the artist.
2. Debora Lombardi, Phytolacca Bogotensis. Image courtesy of the artist.
3. Debora Lombardi, Hedera. Image courtesy of the artist.
4. Michelle Blancke, Detail of Secret Garden No. 329, (2023)
5. Terri Loewenthal, Psychscape 845 (Maroon Bells, CO), (2022). Image courtesy of the artist.
6. Terri Loewenthal, Psychscape 602 (White Rock Canyon, AZ), (2018). Image courtesy of the artist.
7. Wallflower Architecture + Design, Touching Eden House, Singapore. (2023) © Patrick Bingham-Hall.
8. & 9. Image courtesy of Ashley Chappell.
10. Sanja Marušić, Friends or Enemies, (2018). Image courtesy of the artist.
11. & 12. Image courtesy of Neil Kryszak.
13. Kazuaki Koseki, Golden Forest , (2020). From Hotarubi – Summer Fairies.
Archival pigment print, Handmade Japanese traditional Ise-washi paper. Image courtesy the artist.
14. & 15. Image courtesy of Agnieszka Ostrowska (2023-2025).
