New work by Willy Verginer

Adesso e piu normale, adesso e meglio, adesso e guisto, lindenwood and acryl, 180 x 153cm, 2013

 I first saw Willy Verginer's work in 2012 and loved it. I recently came across some new work of his and wanted to share it here...

The dark side of the bull, lindenwood and acryl, 60 x 74 x 21, 2013

His odd combinations of figures and animals is something I really respond to. The color blocking also adds to the bizarre nature of each piece. In the past he has used bright colors, but I really love the neutral colors that this series has. The matte deep grey against the raw lindenwood is striking. 

La pel dl vent, lindenwood and acryl, 172cm, 2013

The Dreamer Blue by Choi Xoo Ang

 

I saw this on Pinterest and loved it...and after googling the artist, Choi Xoo Ang, I realized I'd seen his work before. His style is hyper-realistic and very creepy.

The following info is from Artnet.com:

Completed in 2008, ‘The Blue Dreamer’ is an oil on resin work by Choi Xooang which presents his hyper-realistic approach to sculpture. Kneeling in an ungraceful pose, a woman stares out with a look of despondency etched across her face. From her head spews an animated plume of thoughts and dreams, made to look like a volcanic cloud of ash exploding from her mind. The push-pull of the figure’s distant and unanimated expression, coupled with the dynamic display of her ‘dreams,’ makes for an incredibly engaging work that alludes to the individual’s struggle against themselves and the constraints of contemporary society.

Contemporary Korean sculptor Choi Xooang (b. 1975) excels in
capturing nightmarish scenes and a sense of the macabre in his powerfully realistic polymer clay and resin figures. Speaking to both human rights issues in Korea as well as a concern for society’s pathological state of impairment, Choi Xooang creates fascinating portrayals of bodies that have been maimed, blinded, muted, sewn together, and otherwise tortured to allude to the censorship, violence, abuses, and injustices endured by individuals. His sculptures are executed with an incredible sense of grotesque realism, visually arresting in their careful detail and tactile quality. Choi Xooang received his MFA in Sculpture from Seoul National University and currently lives and works in Seoul. The artist has exhibited at numerous venues including the National Museum of Art (Seoul, Korea), Saatchi Gallery (London, UK), and Art Seasons Gallery (Beijing, China), among others. 

Fernando Mastrangelo on Hi-Fructose

I've always been interested in sculpture that is cast in an odd material, like salt or sugar. I think it's because growing up we always had a series of Roman salt sculptures that my dad had brought back from Italy while he was in the Navy. I remember wondering how they were made and whether or not they were really salt (Yes, they were. I remember licking one as a "test" of this fact.)
Seeing the post by the fabulous JL Schnabel on Hi-Fructose about Fernando Mastrangelo brought back all these memories (without the desire to lick them) as he is casting his work in things like sugar, salt, corn meal and gun powder. Check out his website for more info.

Images from here.

Wood Sculpture by Willy Verginer

I saw the above image on Pinterest and loved both the image (anyone who knows me, knows I'm a big fan of rabbits...) and the color combination. Actually at first I thought it was new work by Bruno Walpoth, another talented wood carver, but following the link I was led to a blog post about Willy Verginer, an Italian woodcarver. Check out his website for more amazing work...

Images from here

Cx5 Video...starring Matt Damon

So, I posted about Cx5 back in September when I had first heard about it...and signed up for their mailing list because I was interested in trying the stuff out (though I think it will be way more up Justin's alley than mine...I am a die hard water clay fan.) I recently got an email from them with this demo video and thought I would share. Sounds like the product will be available soon, and we'll definitely try some out and let you guys know how we like it.

Bruno Walpoth

Wow...my friend Evan sent me a link to Bruno Walpoth's website and I love his carved wood figures. They are beautiful and the subtlety that Walpoth gets with the forms in wood is impressive. I was also interested in how he photographs some of them in settings, rather than on a plain backdrop. It adds another layer of narrative to each piece, which really brings them to life...