Bruno Walpoth Brings Wood To Life In His Contemporary Human Sculptures.

Pinocchio would probably have gladly swapped his creator, Geppetto, for Italian sculptor Bruno Walpoth. Walpoth's ability to turn a hunk of wood into a lifelike looking figure is impressive, to say the least. His sculpted and painted busts and human forms are anything but "wooden." They seem to be imbued with emotion, capable of possessing a soul and striking the viewer as pensive, thoughtful - even melancholy.

The Mano Bedside Lamp From Fontana Arte Might Just Give You Nightmares.

Talk about a creepy bedside lamp. This Mano lamp from Fontana Arte was originally designed in 1932 by the late Italian art deco designer Pietro Chiesa and has been reissued from the Italian company. It's a bit like having Thing from the Addams family share your bedroom with you.




The soft black matte lamp with a fabric shade has a white human hand cast in marble powder and resin reaching up the stem.

The Mano Table lamp is equipped with a dimmer with a base of marble powder and resin and square section stem in metal, both painted "soft" black matte. The hand is cast in white marble powder and resin and it has a diffused shade in black fabric lined with white PVC.







Price available on request from the manufacturer

Lightbodies by Kilu. Limited Edition Lamps With Male and Female Human Forms.

The Lightbodies are life-sized human shapes made by artist Kilu. Male and female human forms become functional sculptures when their heads conceal vibrantly colored lightbulbs surrounded by a shade.

The Human Form As Seen By Contemporary Sculptor Emil Alzamora.

By deftly crafting and casting bronze, porcelain, ceramic, and gypsum into metaphorical, fantastical and literal interpretations of the human form, Peruvian born Emil Alzamora's work conjures up that of numerous and varied renowned sculptors such as Brancusi, Botero and Giacometti. The surreal imagery of Magritte and Dali also come to mind when admiring these hauntingly beautiful renderings of the male and female form.






























The Artist's Statement:
The human form is a constant within my work. I am interested in exploring what it means to inhabit one, often exaggerating or distorting different aspects of the form to reveal an emotional or physical situation, or to tell a story about a predicament or an occurrence. The space between limitation and potential is as human as the flesh, yet hardly as tangible. In my works I strive to make visible this interaction.


Emil Alzamora was born in Lima, Peru in 1975 and raised in Boca Grande, Florida. There he attended Florida State University where he earned a Bachelor of Fine Arts degree and graduated Magna Cum Laude.

Alzamora started his sculpting career in the Hudson Valley working with Polich Art Works as an enlarger in the Fall of 1998. Since leaving P.A.W. in early 2001, he has produced and shown his work throughout New York Boston main and Florida. He currently resides and works in beacon, NY.

Emil's work can be found at the following galleries:
Divergence Fine Art
Artbreak Gallery
Lanoue Fine Art
David B. Smith Gallery
Turner Carroll Gallery
Images courtesy of the artist , Divergence Gallery, and Artnet

Peter Rolfe's Sculpted Wood Human Form Dressers

Woodworker Peter Rolfe has created some of the most lovely hand crafted wood pieces of traditional forms, like console tables, chairs and jewelry boxes.

But his latest sculptural pieces, in the form of female and male human bodies are so interesting, I had to share them with you. Crafted of birch ply, the male and female sculpted torsos include functional drawers. Take a look.

Era I:




Gen II:




Era III:





Peter also collaborates with woodworker Carl Handy, together they opened a workshop in the latter half of 2005 called, not surprisingly, Rolfe and Handy.


above: Peter in his studio

About Peter

(in his own words):
"I grew up in the East Midlands and from a young age felt most at home in the Peter Rolfe school workshops. After gaining two A-levels in Art and Design I moved to High Wycombe to attend Buckinghamshire University. High Wycombe has a long history of furniture production and it's university has a well established fine furniture course.

After completing my HND in Design and Technology I began work at Stewart Lindford Furniture as an apprentice. I spent five years learning all i could from the experienced makers I worked alongside, using only solid hardwood and specializing in burrs, I learned many traditional construction methods and improved my hand skills. During my time with Steward Linford I received a Guild Mark for craftsmanship, awarded specifically for the Catherine of Aragon Desk, a limited edition piece sold through Harrods.

For the past seven years I have been working for Stuart Groves Furniture learning more up to date techniques, how to manipulate timber and discovering how modern manmade materials play an increasingly large part in today's furniture production.

The varied range of experience I have gained over the past fourteen years has enabled me to design and make an array of furniture, from simple elegant jewellery boxes to more advanced sculptural pieces. My current work is heavily influenced by nature, using shapes that we all recognize but would not be traditionally thought of as furniture forms."

Peter's Contact information:
peter@p-rolfe.co.uk
16 Old Coach Drive
High Wycombe
Buckinghamshire
HP11 1AS

You will also be able to some of his pieces at this upcoming show in London:

Making the Future
Timonty Mark - Portman Village
9th Sept - 4th October 2009
Mon - Sat 11am - 7pm, Sun 11am - 5pm
20 New Quebec Street
London
W1H 7RZ