10 unforgettable sculptures that you can’t take your eyes off (18 photos)

22 June 2024

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Today, sculpture is much more than just stone or concrete transformed into a certain harmonious form. Modern sculptures are made from completely different and sometimes seemingly incompatible materials, and their meaning has become much deeper than the glorification of character or lines.

1. "Karma", USA

A 7-meter-tall creation by Korean sculptor Do-Ho Su greets visitors to the New York Albright-Knox art gallery and immediately amazes the imagination; from a height of human height, it looks like a rocket launched into the sky. The art object consists of 98 male figures made of steel, squatting and covering each other's eyes.

The installation, reminiscent of a symbolic silver-plated spine, is an allusion to evolution, during which each next generation should be spiritually higher than the previous one. Descendants, turning a blind eye to the sins and crimes of their ancestors, will rise to the occasion, but will be forced to rely on the experience of previous generations. The sculpture was installed in the Sydney and Walda Besthoff Sculpture Garden in February 2012.

2. “Last Supper”, by Albert Szukalski. USA

Last Supper, sculpture by Albert Szukalski at the Goldwell Open Air Museum

Belgian sculptor of Polish origin Albert Szukalski died back in 2000, but managed to leave behind a creative legacy, thanks to which his name is still remembered to this day by those who managed to visit the American ghost town of Rhyolite. Originating during the Gold Rush and abandoned in 1920, this city has not even 15 years of living history. But with the help of modern sculptors, it turned into a landmark called the Goldwell Open Air Museum, a real open-air museum. The author of the most famous work is Albert Szukalski

Ghost sculptures by Albert Szukalski at the Goldwell Open Air Museum

A picturesque group of plaster ghosts against the backdrop of Death Valley (and the city and museum are located not far from this famous American park) is the same sculpture by the Belgian author, called Last Supper. Albert Szukalski created it based on the famous fresco by Leonardo da Vinci “The Last Supper”, which he spent more than two years on. For greater realism, he used living people as models, whom he covered with cloth soaked in a quick-drying gypsum-based solution.

Mysterious sculptural group *Last Supper* in the dark

This sculptural group looks especially picturesque at night, when the disembodied figures of ghosts are illuminated from within by multi-colored lighting. Many tourists specifically come to the Goldwell Open Air Museum in the late afternoon to enjoy just such a mysterious and enigmatic view of Albert Szukalski’s “Last Supper.”

3. “The inevitability of time.” Adam Martinakis. Greece

Greek artist and sculptor Adam Martinakis creates digital sculptures in the genre of futuristic virtual art. You can only see them on the Internet or in prints. But that’s what modern art is for, to discover new ways of expression.

In the works of Adam Martinakis we can hardly find anything other than human bodies: they intertwine, connect, flow from one to another, cut each other, fall apart or dissolve in space. Frozen movement is a means of expression here, as in dance, and the faceless body is a symbol of life itself.

By focusing objects on each other, the artist does not invite us to come into contact with them. Art becomes for him a bridge connecting spirit and matter, living and absent, personal and universal. Limiting himself to a minimum of characters, Adam Martinakis allows the viewer to focus on the main thing - on the vibrations of life diffused in his works. Thanks to this, the viewer receives a metaphysical experience of experiencing emptiness, which the author perceives as true space.

4. "Rationality" by Joan Capote.

This is "Regionality"

The sculptures of Yoan Capote are images that relate to ordinary concepts. Each object has some meaning, content that is generally known. It is there, but it is hidden somewhere “in the context”. And the sculptor brings this very content out a little, and it turns out... at least interesting.

5. Love Land (Jeju Loveland) in South Korea

Erotic sculpture park. The park is located in the open air in South Korea, on Jeju Island. The main theme of the park is sexuality and eroticism in its various manifestations. This theme of the park is not only unusual, but also unusual for the modest and reserved residents of South Korea.

In this park there are naked people and stone genitals everywhere - this is to describe the famous Korean park on Jeju Island very briefly. So it is also highly recommended not to come here with children: benches in the shape of male phalluses, nude sculptures, images of people having sex and even dogs.

6. Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari

Photo: Philipp Zechner/Alamy Stock Photo

Autodromo Internazionale Enzo e Dino Ferrari is a racing circuit near the Italian city of Imola, located approximately 40 km east of Bologna. While the race track is famous for its many exciting races and the eye-catching statue outside (pictured), it is sadly also known as the place where world-favorite Formula One driver Ayrton Senna died after crashing during a race.

7. Digital Orca. Douglas Coupland.

Photo: Getty Images/Michael Wheatley

Beautiful and whimsical, this 2009 digital artwork was commissioned by the City of Vancouver overlooking the harbor and mountains of Cypress Provincial Park. The sculpture, consisting of aluminum-clad steel armature and black and white cubes, has become an attraction for tourists and locals alike.

8. "The Head of Franz Kafka"

Photo: Getty Images/Michael Cizek

This striking 2014 sculpture, located in Prague, is made of layers of stainless steel that rotate 360 degrees, sometimes aligning to form a massive head.

9. India. Jatayu Earth Center - also known as Jatayu Nature Park

The world's largest bird sculpture: 61 meters long, 46 meters wide, and 21 meters high. The author of this masterpiece, Indian Rajiv Anchal, devoted 10 years of his life to creating the sculpture.

The sculpture is dedicated to women's safety and honor, symbolizing the protection of women. Jatayu Park itself symbolizes an era where people and other living beings take care of each other.

10. "Alberta's Dream" by Jaume Plensa. Canada

Photo: Getty Images/Michael Wheatley

Alberta's Dream, a statue by Spanish-born artist Jaume Plensa, is located in Alberta, Canada. The work of art is highly political, and many seem to have different opinions about its true meaning. Yet this is what makes Plensa's work special, because it sparks a conversation that might not have happened otherwise.