Matthew simmonds is a Copenhagen-based artist who carves miniature basilicas, rotunda, pillars, in marble and stone. He began to become famous with his impressive crafts back in 2014, and his masterful technique is a combination of the skills he acquired as professional carver and his continued interest in sacred stone buildings dating back to his childhood. With care and precision, he uses the conventional precepts of architecture to explore the thematic implications of different sculptural forms.
Simmonds pieces range from modern caverns, different magical religious sites (cathedrals, churches), fantastic Greek, Roman columns, etc. He experiments with his materials, carving with various shades and textures of custom mineral materials. Every building or structure is strongly exposed to changing points of view, and the different light angles that can be exposed to show different details to define the small spaces.
There is something calming about his sculptures, which suggests that we can see situations more clearly when we look at them down from a different perspective. Or maybe it's that empty architectures they seem like safe, soft havens nestled in steep rocks, which resembles sacred hidden vaults, in which you could retreat inside for quiet comfort. Matthew Simmonds reimagines the types of spaces depending on the staggering he wants to give it, which normally invoke a feeling of deadly smallness, causing feel more secure, but no less majestic, which questions the relationship between nature and human initiative. Then we leave you a video after the completion of the marble sculpture by artist Matthew Simmonds in Pietrasanta in Italy, Michelangelo's hometown.
Matthew simmonds graduated with honors in a BA in Art History from the University of East Anglia in 1984, his career is specialized in the art and architecture of medieval times. After working for several years as illustratorUntil 1991, he studied stone carving architecture technique at Weymouth University. He has worked in the restoration of several of the main national monuments in England, within these works one of the most important has been in Westminster Abbey, And the Salisbury and Ely Cathedrals. In 1997 he moved to Pietrasanta, Italy, where he specialized in classical ornament using marble. He obtained his first recognition as a sculptor in 1999 after winning the first award at the second international sculpture symposium in Verona. Since then he has participated in various sculpture conventions around the world and has exhibited in the UK, Italy, Germany, Denmark, China, Australia and the USA. In 2014 he moved with his family to Copenhagen, where he lives and currently he is working.
Making a play of architectural spaces on a small scale, the solid stone in which the sculptures are engraved opens to reveal inner worlds, changing depending on the point of view as you change, and the light plays an important role in the definition of the sculptures. Inspired by a long life by the fascination of stone buildings, and based on the skills learned as an architectural stone carver, the work is brought to Simmonds. Based on the formal language and philosophy of the architecture of the work, it explores issues positively and negatively, importance of light and dark, and the relationship between nature and human activity.
The work is impressive, every detail and with a fascinating result. I think that few stone sculptors currently exist. I hope you liked the article.
Source [Matthew simmonds]