Photo: Lance Brewer
A butterfly wing looks silky smooth to the naked eye, but it’s a different story under a microscope. Up close, the wing is actually made up of thousands of tiny overlapping scales. New York-based artist Rebecca Manson takes inspiration from these minuscule natural details, creating ceramic sculptures that capture the incredible beauty of butterfly and moth wings.
Each striking insect wing is built from countless hand-sculpted porcelain fragments—which Manson calls “smushes”— glazed in rich, varied colors to recreate the organic, shimmering patterns of real butterfly and moth wings. Displayed in a gallery and viewed from across the room, Manson’s wings look as though they once belonged to enormous insects. Up close, viewers can admire every individual hand-sculpted piece that’s integral to its forms.
Thirteen of Manson’s larger-than-life insect wings and flowers were recently exhibited at Jessica Silverman Gallery in San Francisco in an exhibition titled Time, You Must Be Laughing. The show draws on Joni Mitchell’s 1975 song “Sweet Bird,” which reflects on the fleeting essence of youth, beauty, and the inevitability of aging. Similarly, Manson explores impermanence by capturing the inherent fragility of the natural world in large-scale.
One standout piece titled Exploding Butterfly depicts four wall-mounted wings that appear to be frozen mid-disintegration. Each fragmented wing looks as though it could crumble at a touch and expresses Manson’s fascination with finding beauty in decay. In this work and many others, Manson explores the fragility and resilience of both the natural world and human experience, and celebrates moments of transformation.
Check out Manson’s beautiful sculptures below.
New York-based artist Rebecca Manson creates ceramic sculptures that capture the incredible beauty of butterfly and moth wings.
Photo: Lance Brewer
Each striking piece is built from countless hand-sculpted porcelain fragments—which Manson calls “smushes.”
Photo: Lance Brewer
Each tiny piece is glazed in rich, varied colors to recreate the organic, shimmering patterns of real butterfly and moth wings.
Photo: Lance Brewer
The artist’s work explores the fragility and resilience of both the natural world and human experience, and celebrates moments of transformation.
Photo: Phillip Maisel
Photo: Lance Brewer
Photo: Phillip Maisel
Photo: Lance Brewer
Photo: Lance Brewer
Photo: Lance Brewer
Photo: Phillip Maisel
Photo: Phillip Maisel