Dissonance in Stone
Sculptural Trompe L'oeil
José Manuel Castro López
DEDO DE DIOS (Finger of God), 2023
Spanish sculptor José Manuel Castro López hand-carves granite and quartz into fascinating fluid sculptures. Aiming to formulate new relationships with sculptural work, his illusory objects are a captivating study into the malleable nature of minerals.
See
Always mindful of the natural shape and texture of the stone, the artist transforms ordinary pieces of quartz and granite into pliable and soft forms with fabric-like textures through unique carving techniques. As you look at the pieces below, consider the perceived characteristics of these stones.
RECORTE DE PIEL (Skin Trimming), 2021
PIEDRA BLANDA (Soft Stone)
SIN TÍTULO (No Title), 2008
Unusual and unconventional in form, the stone objects look like they have wrinkles and creases; some include additional ornamental elements that stitch, fasten, and elongate the stones in many ways. (Ignant)
SIN TÍTULO (No Title)
Say
‘My relationship with the stone is not only physical but also magical. They manifest, they obey me, we understand each other. My stones are not lifeless. They manifest themselves.’ José Manuel Castro López
How might you compare his relationship with Stone to Michaelangelo's relationship with Marble? Michaelangelo said: “Every block of stone has a statue inside it, and it is the task of the sculptor to discover it. I saw the angel in the marble and carved until I set him free.”
I had a kind of visceral experience looking at some of López’s sculptures. How does your brain react to the dissonance Lopez’s work creates?
What might you name the untitled works above?
Do
“The transition from your imagination through your eyes and your hands into stone is the most incredible feeling” -Stone carver Anna Rubincam
Watch Rubicam’s process!
Try creating trompe l'oeil or carving a sculpture from a bar of soap.
Imagine a time when you faced an unbelievable reality, like seeing your first walking stick or watching someone cut into an object, only to realize it was made of cake!
Have a little fun checking out these amazing cakes!
About the Artist: José Manuel Castro López
Spanish sculptor José Manuel Castro López carves granite and quartz rocks into fluid sculptural works. His illusory sculptures appear as if molded from clay with soft, fabric-like folds and creases, challenging the materiality of the mineral rocks used. The artist always seeks to incorporate the natural shape of each stone before carving, combining the rough, natural surface of his materials with gentle allusions to different textures. Removing evidence of human intervention at the end of his practice makes the sculptures appear almost as if they have been eroded naturally into these unnatural shapes. His sculptures are unique explorations of texture, form and process.
(Cadogan Gallery)
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My response to several of the works by Castro Lopez was an immediate inward cringe- a kind of “ick!” while others just drew a “Huh. Wonder how he did that?” Perhaps I would be more intrigued by the pieces in person, rather than in photos but it feels as if his work violates my unconscious paradigm for “stone” by a non-representational fluidity that I’ve never seen in nature- and that does indeed feel as if it came somehow from the stone without much human craft/art. This hits some almost instinctive cognitive alarm signaling “Wrong!” Which is interesting, but rather uncomfortably so.
Whereas Rubincam’s art is viscerally “acceptable” to me on that level- I know from a lifetime of museum visits that stone can be used to express a recognizable “something” and her explanations of her thinking about the process and product are at once illuminating and relatable for me. I especially was fascinated to see some of the technical steps in her creative work flow.
Very engaging post Shannon!