Italian artist Bruno Walpoth creates unbelievably lifelike sculptures of people with wood. The rings and knots in each piece of wood that the sculptor works with adds an artistic element to the completed figure. All at once, they mimic the textured imperfections of humans and give a figurative spirit to the trees from which it came.
Having grown up with a lineage of grandfathers and an uncle who were distinguished woodcarvers, Walpoth has eagerly chosen to follows in their practice, incorporating his own contemporary ideas to the craft. Inspired by all forms of art that lie beyond wood carving and sculptures, the sculptor approaches solid slabs of wood with a creative outlook, transforming them into intricately detailed figures in the likeness of men and women.
Walpoth’s figurative sculptures simultaneously celebrate the human body and retain the natural visual information of the medium. The sculptor uses semi-translucent paint to coat his sculptures to ensure that the wood grains are visible. Despite the noticeable wood grains, there is a sense of life and humanity in the figures which often seem quite pensive and deep in thought.
Bruno Walpoth website
via [Lost at E Minor, Galerie Frank Schlag & Cie]