Jennifer Maestre

Jennifer Maestre was originally inspired by the form of sea urchins. She thought that their spines were so beautiful yet so dangerous and that it created allure to touch them despite possibly painful consequences. She chooses to work with pencils and nails because of the two different sides and textures they provide, one sharp and the other smooth. It mirrors the tension of the desire to touch sea urchins – longing and repulsion.  She considers paradox and surprise to be essential in her choice of medium. To make the pencil sculptures Maestre takes hundreds of pencils, cuts them into one inch sections, then drills holes in them and sews them together like beads. She’s inspired by nature, mythology, and several other artists, but her inspiration comes from many other things too. Sometimes a mistake will even shape the direction of a piece.

Aurora, Colored Pencils, 7X17X17in, date not listed

My favorite of her pieces is Aurora, because it reminds me of the sea anemones that I find in the tide pools where my parents live. I completely understand this desire to touch but with the pang of fear that it might hurt. The way it unfurls is inviting and makes you want to look deeper into the work and examine the blue center. The complimentary colors are gorgeous together. The movement she creates with the spines makes it appear as though they are flowing and because there are so many of them they even look fuzzy from a distance. Her pieces are dynamic, creative, free flowing, and surprising.  

Seethe, Colored Pencils, 9X13X14in, date not listed

Persephone, Nails and Zippers, 5.5X16X11, date not listed

Nathan Sawaya

New York based artist Nathan Sawaya creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most common household toys, Legos. His recent works feature life size and large scale sculptures that are absolutely incredible.  Sawaya finds inspiration everywhere, often his own personal feelings. He’s inspired by his experiences, emotions, and the journeys he’s taking. Also, he says, he likes to surf the internet for ideas. Today he has more than 1.5 million Legos in his New York art studio, all of which he buys just like anyone else would, his local Target store. His work is meticulously crafted, playful, and creative. Sawaya’s ability to turn ordinary Legos into something new and thought provoking through his attention to scale and color is what enables him to elevate it to the status of fine art. Because he has to ship his sculptures to galleries all over the world, he has started gluing all of the bricks together so they are permanent pieces.

Yellow, Legos, 35" x 13" x 28"

Sawaya’s piece titled Yellow is a great example of how his work is able to take on a thought provoking and conceptual meaning even though it’s made with child’s toys. This sculpture, the upper torso of a man who is holding his chest open, manages to achieve an astounding amount of detail in the features and hands. He is letting his insides, more yellow Legos, spill out of him. The monochromatic blocks provide consistency and unity throughout the work.

Skulls, Legos, Each skull: 34" x 24" x 3"

Circle Triangle Square; Legos, 72" x 70" x 16"

Limee Young

South Korean artist Limee Young makes incredibly complex kinetic sculptures out of mechanical components such as steel, central processing units, conductors, and microprocessors. The result is unbelievably beautiful and interesting machinelike sculptures that also serve no real function.  He always names his pieces in a way that helps the viewer understand what the piece might actually be intended to do. For example, he has made a secret keeping machine. You can tell it all of your secrets and it won’t tell a soul. Also, there’s a machine that is supposed to magnify love and help it to mature. How they do it is entirely up to the imagination, which to me is half the fun of his pieces.

The Dark Eating Machine
steel, micro processor, dc motor, servo motor, plywood 150(cm) x 350(cm) x 150(cm) / 2011

After looking at many of Young’s sculptures I’d have to say that one of his most visually compelling pieces is The Dark Eating Machine. With its long curving limbs it’s hard to not wonder “what IS that?” when you first see it. It is also a lot larger than most of his other kinetic works, so that alone makes it more compelling. I watched the video and it really looks like a science fiction creature methodically devouring its power source. By using a lot of organic shapes in the tendrils Young gave the machine a naturalistic edge that is more than a little eerie.

Silence of the wolf - Secret keeping machine

stainless steel, micro processor, dc motor, micro dc motor, mdf, cement, acryl / 65(cm) x 65(cm) x 220(cm) / 2012

"Love Tower" shown below starts at about 1min. 10sec.

love tower - love magnifying & maturing machine
stainless steel, cpu board, dc motor, servo motor, pyrex tube, oil, white birch 40 x 55 x 40 (cm) 2008

Franc Grom

For the last 18 years, 72 year old Slovenian artist Franc Grom has created elaborate, delicate, and incredible works of art from eggshells. Drilling one tiny little hole at a time, this meticulous process usually requires between 3,000-24,000 holes to create a single piece. Grom is inspired by traditional Slovenian designs and his work ranges from asymmetrical botanical motifs to cutouts that glow beautifully when lit up from the inside. In some of his pieces, the span of eggshell that connects one part of the design to another is only around a millimeter wide. His attention to detail emphasizes how delicate the egg really is.

Untitled, Egshell, Date Not Found (sometime within the last 18 years)

Of all the photos I’ve seen of his absolutely gorgeous work, one of my favorites (I couldn’t pick just one!) is the piece with grapes on a vine. The natural form flowing around the egg keeps my eye moving and reflects the natural aspect of the egg itself more so than the geometric designs he also creates. I think all of his pieces are incredible. I love the way that his designs are delicate like lace on an already delicate eggshell canvas. I can’t help but appreciate how sharp his eyes and steady his hands must be even with old age.

Untitled, Egshell, Date Not Found (sometime within the last 18 years)

Untitled, Egshell, Date Not Found (sometime within the last 18 years)

David Mach

A common theme in David Mach’s work is that there is always something very different between each body of work he produces, largely due to the mediums that he chooses to work with. He even calls himself a “medium junkie”, going through everything he can get his hands on to create art.  Mach’s artistic style is based on all of these different objects and varies depending on what he’s working with.  He largely works with objects that have been mass produced such as magazines, newspapers, stuffed animals, tires, match sticks, and coat hangers. Many of his pieces are temporary installations and constructed in public places. One time Mach accidentally set fire to one of his match stick pieces and has since started igniting them on display as a form of performance art.

'Picasso', match sticks, 2007, approx two times scale

My favorite of his pieces is in the “Matcheads” series and is titled “Picasso”.  The artist layers hundreds to thousands of match sticks to produce incredible renditions of famous portraits that fall in line perfectly with Mach’s preference for sculptural realism constructed with unusual mediums. They capture the person’s likeness while maintaining an artistic aesthetic.

'tiger', coat hangers, 2012, approximately to scale

'layed back', playing cards, 2012, 

Voss-Andreae

Julian Voss-Andreae is a Portland, Oregon based sculptor who originally started out as a painter but changed course to study physics which now heavily influences his work to this day. Voss-Andreae’s work has quickly gained attention, based in both science and art it captures the attention of multiple institutions and collectors in both the U.S. and abroad.  His work has been featured in several publications, including Nature and Science, the two world’s leading science journals.

Quantum Man 2, 2007, Stainless steel, 98” x 44” x 20”

Julian Voss-Andreae created Quantum Man and Quantum Man 2 in the image of a walking human as a quantum object. It is made up of thin, vertically oriented steel sheets make up the over eight foot tall sculptures and is meant to be a metaphor for the world of quantum physics. It symbolizes matter not being exactly what it seems. From the front, it looks like a solid object of steel, but from the side it almost entirely disappears. This is an extremely creative and innovative method of sculpture that is powerful in capturing illusion.  

Symmetry Break’, 2009, Steel chain and mixed media, 17” x 20” x 8”

Quantum Field (Profiles), 200p, Wood and nails, framed 25” x 25” x 3”

Xia Xiaowan

Xia Xiaowan is a Chinese artist who uses an interesting and unique technique of layering multiple 2d drawings and paintings to create a three dimensional image. Using this technique Xia Xiaowan is able to create a deep image that appears almost holographic. The artist creates work centered on the human form. Each layer of the glass holds a part of the overall composition. This structured system creates a hologram-like affect showcasing the bold three dimensional subjects.

“My experimental series of glass paintings is an attempt to deconstruct realistic painting and then reconstruct it from its key principles.” – Xia Xiaowan

Human Body # 7, 2011, glass pencil on glass panels, h: 87.5 x w: 60 x d: 38 cm / h: 34.4 x w: 23.6 x d: 15 in 

Human Body #7 is an excellent example of the holographic affect of Xiaowan’s work.

Two Person in Water, 2012, glass and glass color, 

The Body, glass and glass color

Angela Conner

Angela Conner is a British sculptor who has exhibited work in many countries. She has large scale sculptures in both public and private collections around the world. Her kinetic sculptures focus on employing “natural elements like water, sun, gravity, or wind to create mobiles that entice viewers to stop and watch their gentle movement.”  She also creates bronze busts.

Cosmic Cycle, 28ft high, 45ft wide, multi-medium

Of her work the most climactic that I’ve seen is Cosmic Cycle. While as her other pieces are usually continuously slow moving and gentle, this piece builds up to a moment of excitement when 71/2 tons of water coming roaring out the base. It sits in a plaza with four smaller satellite water mobiles and the large center sphere rises and falls with the weight of the water in a cycle gathered from the artwork’s base.

Poise, Wind mobile 9ft in diameter, White marble dust, resin and stainless steel

Chiasma, Marble dust, resin & stainless steel. 6ft Diam.

Lance Broderick

Laurence Broderick sculpts primarily with bronze, stone, and silver. He his most famous for his twice life size sculpture of a bull cast out of bronze. In the beginning, Broderick started sculpting in just his free time.  He had just carved an otter, which he was only able to do after a lot of research because until only a few months earlier he had never seen one. He had no idea that the sale of that otter would be the start of a series that would take his work all around the world. 

The Bull, Bronze, 2.2m high, 2003

 The Bull, a six ton bronze sculpture, is one of the largest bronze animal sculptures in the UK and has become a symbol of Birmingham. I really like this piece because it has a presence that is impossible to ignore. Broderick managed to convey the bull’s motion beautifully so that it appears to be turning and lunging at the viewers. I love bronze as the medium for this rather than stone or silver because its tone and sheen emulate the animals rippling muscles, bringing the sculpture to life.

DIVING OTTER MAQUETTE, Bronze, height 34cm,

RECLINING MERMAID, Bronze, length 26cm

David Cerny

David Cerny is a Czech sculptor who is best known for his controversial public art work. His sculptures challenge what is considered acceptable or offensive and recognizes the in-your-face quality of the ridiculous.  Cerny’s pieces are well crafted and thought provoking. For some people they’re an outrage, and for others they’re hilarious. He likes to touch on whatever subjects strike a nerve and allows people to interact with a lot of his pieces. One work, Brownnosers, allows the viewer to climb up a ladder and into the massive asshole of the sculpture and watch a video of someone feeding another greedy and hungry man grotesquely; all to the song “we are the champions”.

Piss, figures hight 210 cm, Bronze, mechanic, electronic, gsm gate

My personal favorite is the sculpture of two men standing in a puddle of their own urine (actually water) and peeing. The puddle just happens to be in the shape of the country and their pee streams move to write quotes from famous Prague residents. Like Brownnosers, visitors can interact with them by sending a text message from their cell phone to a number displayed next to the sculptures. The statue will then pause what its doing and “write” the text of the message before carrying on as before.

Nation to Itself, 2002, 10 meters high (32.81 ft)

Brownnosers ,2003, mixed media, height 520 cm

Miriam Lenk

I discovered this artist, Miriam Lenk, online and have been able to find out that she is a German artist based in Berlin who creates realistic, exaggerated, and hybrid forms of the overweight female body. I don’t even know for sure that the artist is a woman, but am assuming so based on the name Miriam. I’ve looked everywhere to find more information about her but even her official website has little to offer other than a gallery of her work. So, looking at her work it appears that she works largely with epoxy resin and bronze. Based on the way her statues are positioned the obese female form seems to be glorified. It looks like she meant it to be enjoyed and appreciated rather than ridiculed and criticized by society. Several of her pieces are believable in proportion but others are obviously exaggerated.

Cumulus, 2007, Epoxy Resin, 155x200x200cm

Cumulus is a great example of exaggeration in Lenk’s work. Her hips are much wider and her vulva much larger than even the most obese woman that I have ever seen. Her head is still small and un-engorged though, suggesting that emphasis be placed on the skewed proportions of the body alone. Again the sculpture seems to be sexualized; blatantly showing the genitals.  In that actual sitting position and with a stomach of that size it would most likely be hidden and quite a bit smaller. Making the vulva so large and visible reads as being meant as something sexual and desirable, unhidden and unashamed. This work is unusual in today’s society where emphasis is placed on the female form being thin in order to be considered sexy.

Le Mepris, 2007, Epoxy Resin, 160x 130x 80cm

Yolanda, Bronze, 2003/2006, 320x 140x 140cm

Mauriza Cattelan

Maurizia Cattelan’s work represents symbols that offer complex and intertwined meanings. It refuses to take a precise moral or ideological position which forces to viewer to come to their own conclusions. A lot of his pieces use irony and humor in a very “stick it to the man” way. He’s known simultaneously as both as a prankster and a great artistic poet of our time. His subjects range widely from pop culture to organized religion and often reveal contradictions at the core of today’s society; particularly a critique of authority and the abuse of power.

L.O.V.E., 2010 Carrara marble, figure: 470 x 220 x 72 cm; base: 630 x 470 x 470 cm

An excellent example of “sticking it to the man” is Cattelan’s work L.O.V.E. which is sculpted out of Carrara marble like that of Michaelangelo’s David. This sculpture is a gigantic hand with middle finger raised high and mighty over the surrounding land. It is controversial as some people find it obscene and others hilarious. No matter how you look at it, the message is always clear, “Fuck you”. I think the ambiguity he aims for in his work is important in this piece because it allows the viewer to tailor that middle finger to whatever they’re frustrated at; making the piece very personal, but also in a way encouraging and uplifting to think that you can always” stick it to the man” too.  

Frank and Jamie, 2002, life size

Novecento, 1997, Taxidermied horse

Tom Frantzen

Artist Tom Frantzen creates whimsical bronze sculptures and humorous scenes. Because of his wild imagination originality and humor are the center of his style. His main objective is to search for a special dynamic where he places emphasis on pre existing locations. One of his main objectives as an artist is to have his work call out to passerby’s and start a dialogue. Sharing a dialogue with people is a very important part of his work and the reason he turned to public work was because he wanted to open discussion with as many people as he could.

Li Belle Hippo, 2009, bronze, approx life size

One of Frantzen’s particularly humorous sculptures is Li Belle Hippo. It is the ridiculous image of a massive hippo with much too small dragonfly wings taking off into flight. We see her in mid air and can only imagine if by some miracle she is able to fly away or if we are about to see her come crashing to the ground. It’s relatable because at some point in almost everyone’s life we’ve wished we could fly. This charming hippo has taken her dream very seriously and just leaped into the air. Amazingly, Frantzen managed to make the massive body look light as air as she is outstretched to climb higher. This whimsical piece is funny, clever, and plays on all of our most wildest, seemingly impossible dreams.

De Vaartkapoen, 1985, bronze, life size

Madame Chapeau, 2000, bronze, life size

Nathan Sawaya

New York based artist Nathan Sawaya creates awe-inspiring works of art out of some of the most common household toys, Legos. His recent works feature life size and large scale sculptures that are absolutely incredible.  Sawaya finds inspiration everywhere, often his own personal feelings. He’s inspired by his experiences, emotions, and the journeys he’s taking. Also, he says, he likes to surf the internet for ideas. Today he has more than 1.5 million Legos in his New York art studio, all of which he buys just like anyone else would, his local Target store. His work is meticulously crafted, playful, and creative. Sawaya’s ability to turn ordinary Legos into something new and thought provoking through his attention to scale and color is what enables him to elevate it to the status of fine art. Because he has to ship his sculptures to galleries all over the world, he has started gluing all of the bricks together so they are permanent pieces.

Yellow, Legos, 35" x 13" x 28"

Sawaya’s piece titled Yellow is a great example of how his work is able to take on a thought provoking and conceptual meaning even though it’s made with child’s toys. This sculpture, the upper torso of a man who is holding his chest open, manages to achieve an astounding amount of detail in the features and hands. He is letting his insides, more yellow Legos, spill out of him. The monochromatic blocks provide consistency and unity throughout the work.

Skulls, Legos, Each skull: 34" x 24" x 3"

Circle Triangle Square; Legos, 72" x 70" x 16"

Patricia Piccinini

Patricia Piccinini is a hyper realistic sculpture artist who imagines and creates creatures and beings like we’ve never seen before. Some look similar to us, but several very different features, and others completely a figment of her imagination. Piccinini imagines what could be or might be, but isn’t. She comes up with some cute and unsettling forms that look just real enough to be believable. She has pursued an interest in the human form and its potential for manipulation through scientific intervention. She explores the possibilities from mapping of the human genome to the growth of human tissue and organs from stem cells. Her art investigates both questions of scientific progress and ethics.

Newborn, 2010, Silicone, fiberglass, human hair, feral New Zealand possum pelt 19 x 24 x 17cm

I really like Piccinini’s piece Newborn because it seems so approachable. I just want to pick the baby up and snuggle it despite its shocking features. In a lot of her pieces, the differences and similarities to the human form are unsettling, but in this piece it’s not uncomfortable at all, but rather charming. The little one’s red hair and soft dusting of freckles look so warm and inviting and the little trunk nose looks like it might be softly snoring in sleep. Its uncanny naturalism combined with features entirely unlike anything we experience today is striking. Her work makes me think about what we consider to be ‘normal’ and ‘attractive’. With genetic engineering becoming more advanced every year, I can’t help but wonder… how far off is she really? Our societal ideas of beauty change over time and someday what we consider to be largely unpleasant looking beings may very well be our new standard of beauty. It’s interesting to think about.

The Young Family, 2003, silicone, acrylic, human hair, leather, timber, 80X150X110 cm

Doubting Thomas (2008) Silicone, fiberglass, human hair, clothing, chair 90 x 100 x 53cm

Kylo Chua

Kylo Chua is a modern sculpture artist whose work creates contemporary beauty through smooth, fluid curves of the abstracted human form. Recently, he has also included a swan in his body of work, but so far this is the only other form besides human. He enjoys how elusive and ambiguous abstract art can be and the way he feels that it conveys the human condition. All of his pieces have a similar flowing style that is extremely elegant and the crisp clean white finish gives them an eternal elegance.

Aurora Australis, Double Lacquer Composition, 6" by 5" by 16", Narra Wood Base

Of his pieces my favorite is Aurora Australis because it reminds me of a sculpture that my parents have always had. I don’t know who the artist is that made theirs, it’s a lot more simple than Chua’s work, but has the same twisting and flowing style accompanied by a smooth white finish. Also, both sculptures are of a couple in an embrace. It brings warmth to my heart to see a piece that reminds me so much of home and the love that my parents share. Aurora Australis is beautiful from all angles; on Kylo Chua’s website you are able to see a 360 degree view. The way he creates the curves of the bodies and abstracts them into graceful outstretched waves leads the eye endlessly around the sculpture. Each of his pieces are balanced and poised.

The River Swan, Single Lacquer Finished Composition, 8.5" by 21" by 14"

Imperial Minora, Single Lacquer Composition, 6.5" by 5" by 15", Narra Wood Base

Marc Quinn

Marc Quinn is a multimedia artist whose sculptures, paintings, and drawings often deal with the relationship we have with our bodies. Particularly, Quinn works in the context of the conflict between ‘natural’ and ‘cultural’ in the modern psyche. He gets a lot of his inspiration from ideas of sexuality. Quinn’s work ranges drastically in medium using anything from his own blood and feces to steel and bronze. One of his more costly mediums has been 18 carat gold. The artist carved a solid life size statue out of it to create Siren, a statue of Kate Moss. Referencing her iconic image and our praise of celebrities, Quinn relates her representation to that of the ancient Greeks and her praise like that of ancient Egyptian gods. This is what he said about the piece:

"The mask of Tutankhamen is one of the first artworks ever I remember seeing – it was in the early 1970s in the British Museum show, and that was one of the inspirations of this work as well. Like that mask, Siren is an image that glows and gives out love and light but remains completely implacable and silent. I think of both of them as sculptures of a cultural superego."

Siren, 2008, solid Gold, approx. life size

X-ray Eye (MQ290R), 2011, Oil on canvas, 290H x 290W cms

Planet, 2008, painted bronze and steel, 398H x 926W x 353D cms