“Happy KAL-IX,” sculpted in clay and plaster, cast in resin and details added with epoxy and recycled objects, painted with shellac, acrylics, and metallic paint
Spotted with corroded patches, Tomàs Barceló’s sculptures fuse classical antiquity and retro-futurism. The Cala Millor, Mallorca-based artist casts steampunk-style figures from resin and recycled objects that resemble ancient art while evoking otherworldly relics of an alternate reality.
[L]“Happy KAL-IX,” sculpted in clay and plaster, cast in resin and details added with epoxy and recycled objects, painted with shellac, acrylics, and metallic paint[R]“Hippy Betsoebe,” resin, recycled objects, and paint. All images © Tomàs Barceló
Barceló sculpts the polychromatic artworks with a narrative and identity in mind, considering the way each will interact with others. He expands on the idea in a recent interview:
I believe that sculpture is the art of presence… Sculpture shares space and time with the viewer, and that is what makes it so powerful. That’s why I don’t try so much to tell stories as I try to create powerful presences, each in its own way. The fact that a small robot girl looks at you more intensely than you look at her, is fascinating to me.
“Kek Betsoebe,” wall sculpture in resin, painted with shellac, acrylics, and metallic paint
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