Maximo Reira has a background in painting, photography, and sculpture, the latter of which he applies to his innovative, functional furniture designs. For his new "Animal Chairs" series, he sculpted large, realistic animals such as octopi, rhinos, and whales, using part of their bodies to create a throne-like seat. Mostly monochromatic with a natural color palette, the chairs have an elegant and otherworldly quality to them.
Maximo Reira has a background in painting, photography, and sculpture, the latter of which he applies to his innovative, functional furniture designs. For his new “Animal Chairs” series, he sculpted large, realistic animals such as octopi, rhinos, and whales, using part of their bodies to create a throne-like seat. Mostly monochromatic with a natural color palette, the chairs have an elegant and otherworldly quality to them.
Chun Sung-Myung creates surreal, figurative installations full of sculpted characters often having the artist’s own face. These dreamlike situations move between distress, somberness, and a broader vulnerability. The characters, representing part of the artist’s own psyche, often exist in modes of solitude or surrounded by otherworldly creations.
Japanese sculptor and photographer Yuichi Ikehata creates chilling scenes that bridge the gap between reality and fiction. In his surreal ongoing series “Fragment of Long Term Memory," his intention is to comment on the fragmentary nature of memory and render it physical. "Many parts of our memories… are often forgotten, or difficult to recall. I retrieve those fragmented moments and reconstruct them as surreal images. I gather these misplaced memories from certain parts of our reality, and together they create a non-linear story, resonating with each other in my photographs," he says.
Never one to shy away from the macabre, artist and graphic designer Hedi Xandt is known in art circles for his beautifully ghoulish sculptural pieces, which often incorporate elements of the human skeleton. His fascination with skulls and the human profile has led to a series of busts reminiscent of classical Hellenic Greek art. Taking inspiration from ancient Gods and beauties carved in marble, Xandt transforms these figures of perfection to align with his own dark vision.
A careful collector of found objects and (ethically sourced) animal bones, Jessica Joslin creates delicate sculptures that gracefully encase skeletal remains in baroque ornamentation. Using antique metals from chandeliers, samovars and other Victorian-era relics, Joslin gives the creatures whose bones she utilizes a dignified appearance even in death. Her work is both decorative and visceral, as her intricate craftsmanship belies her haunting subject matter. The artist recently created a new body of work for her solo show, "The Immortal Zoo,"opening October 24 at the non-profit gallery Firecat Projects in Chicago. Watch a teaser video and check out our preview of her latest work below.
