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Toshihiko Mitsuya’s Aluminum Foil Habitats Continue to Evolve

Toshihiko Mitsuya’s aluminum foil and metal creations range from the mythical to the natural. More recent work reflects nature’s flora and fauna, creating entire gardens and forest habitats in staggering, delicate detail. When paired alongside actual plantlife, the effect is both maintained and amplified.

One gallery has commented on the roots of the artist’s efforts: “The motifs of each work is based on the mixture of various countries’ cultures in this highly-networked information society.” Galerie Tore Suessbier says, about the artist. “Mitsuya’s practice is an investigation into material potentials of aluminium foil. Having collaborated with architects testing its durability in various forms of construction, Mitsuya created a life-size equestrian statue made of aluminium foil.”

The artist also creates flat works, which are “composed of reflections from boards of scratched stainless steel, which can be said to stand between a sculpture and a painting.” Mitsuya is a graduate of Seian University of Art and Design and is a recipient of the Okamoto Taro Award.

Topics

aluminum foil, sculpture, Toshihiko Mitsuya

doll, Hyper Realism, Michael Zajkov, sculpture

June 9, 2016

Though hyper-realistic dolls aren’t a new invention, Michael Zajkov finds a stirring balance of engrossing detail and beauty that isn’t idealized perfection. The Russian artist’s sculpts don’t just look realistic—they look like real people, even if they’re not from this century. When the creations don early-1900s attire and are posed with 13 movable joints, their humble expressions bring viewers closer, if not a little cautious, in case they begin to move.

Wookjae Maeng’s Surreal Animal Sculptures

ceramics, sculpture, Wookjae Maeng

May 14, 2015

Wookjae Maeng creates ceramic sculptures filled with animal characters. Often gathered together in stylized arrangements, Maeng's works utilize the shapes of these creatures in surreal ways that bare little resemblance to nature. This disorienting effect is intentional: One of Maeng's goals is to make his viewers consider humans' impact on the environment and the way we often thoughtlessly manipulate nature to suit our own ends. "In my work I hope to provide an opportunity — however brief — for modern man to consider the realities of the environment in which he exists, even as he continues his daily existence indifferent to it," he says.

Sarah A. Smith Pushes the Possibilities of Gold Leaf with Drawings and Installations

drawing, gold leaf, installation, Sarah A. Smith, sculpture

September 2, 2014

Sarah A. Smith has a particular set of drawings that merit notice for their expressive qualities. Her subject is the natural world. The compositions are dynamic and fluid, coiled in mid-strike. If you didn’t know they were drawings, you might think they were dioramas. Subject matter includes eagles and wolves, trees and shrubs. Sometimes there’s a drawing of an eagle, sometimes there’s one of a wolf. Sometimes the two are locked in combat though, as in Eagle Vs. Wolf, you can only see the wolf responding to the eagle overhead. The work is dynamic. The shapes are sharp and angular. They look like lightning bolts. If you could rub the head of the eagle or the wolf, you’d feel its coarse texture. Likewise with the bark of the trees: rub it and you’d get splinters. The scenes offer voyeuristic views of the natural world in its rawest element. It’s a perilous, zero sum world. Its narrow color palette suggests bleakness.

Alex Sanson’s Wildly Imaginative Kinetic, Moving Sculptures

Alex Sanson, kinetic, sculpture

April 29, 2016

Melbourne, Australia based artist Alex Sanson began sculpting in the early 90s with a series of small, toy-like sculptures greatly inspired by Alexander Calder's circus, a pioneer of moving sculpture. Since then, Sanson's repertoire has developed to include both small scale and gigantic kinetic works, some interactive and activated by touch, others hand-operated. His wildly imaginative works have taken Calder's original output and brought to it a new sense of play and movement.

Toshihiko Mitsuya’s Aluminum Foil Habitats Continue to Evolve

Michael Zajkov’s Stirring, Lifelike Russian Dolls

Wookjae Maeng’s Surreal Animal Sculptures

Sarah A. Smith Pushes the Possibilities of Gold Leaf with Drawings and Installations

Alex Sanson’s Wildly Imaginative Kinetic, Moving Sculptures

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