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    • 188 Shares159 Views

      in Art

      Nimble Pugs and Other Cheery Canines Are Chiseled into Stocky Wooden Sculptures by Misato Sano

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      Art

      #dogs
      #sculpture
      #self-portrait
      #wood

      May 17, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      All images © Misato Sano, shared with permission
      Studies show that people are inclined to adopt canine companions that resemble themselves or family members, a psychological impulse that Misato Sano (previously) flips on its head. Rather than carve a pack of doggy doubles, the artist creates textured wooden sculptures of curly-haired poodles and acrobatic pugs imbued with different aspects of her own personality. Encompassing multiple breeds, expressions, and physical traits, each work is a self-portrait. She explains to Colossal:
      For me, using the form of dogs is the most appropriate, highest-resolution method to materialize what I think of my inner self. Materializing myself in various states is about having an honest, direct dialogue with myself. In facing myself, I would like to be passionate, free, and loving, like a dog. My works are also about myself looking at myself. In that sense, I might have been making an existence that is sometimes beside myself, a little distance in other times, watching over myself.
      Sano is based in the Tohoku region of the Miyagi prefecture and spends her summers creating the lively creatures with fur chiseled in visible gouges. As the weather turns cold, she shifts her practice to embroidery and conveys the adorable faces in plush tufts of thread.
      If you’re in Portland, you can see Sano’s carved characters as part of a group exhibition running August 14 to 29 at Gallery Nucleus. Otherwise, check out her Instagram for glimpses into her process and to see some of the real-life pups that inspire her works.

      #dogs
      #sculpture
      #self-portrait
      #wood

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    • 175 Shares199 Views

      in Art

      Pockets of Landscapes and Still Lifes Adorn Subjects in Lavish Portraits by Aniela Sobieski

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      Art

      #dogs
      #fashion
      #makeup
      #painting
      #portraits
      #surreal

      February 11, 2021
      Grace Ebert

      Oil on panel, 8 x 10 inches. All images © Aniela Sobieski, shared with permission
      Aniela Sobieski is intrigued by “the human impulse to self-decorate,” a fascination that permeates every aspect of her portraiture. Evoking both baroque paintings and contemporary fashions, Sobieski adorns women and the occasional dog with elaborate makeup and sculptural accessories placed conspicuously to mask the subject’s features. She seamlessly maps classic still lifes and sparse landscapes directly onto the sitter’s face, often highlighting the natural shape of the eye and coating the figure’s lips in bold red.
      Apparent within Sobieski’s oil paintings is a symbiotic relationship between the subject and their lavish accessories: while a pair of daisies or bucolic scene serve as expressions of identity and emotion, the subject “provides them with an environment,” the artist writes. “It is my hope that these relationships speak to the tendency for nature and the human psyche to mirror each other.”
      Sobieski, who is based in St. Paul, has a solo show at Tory Folliard Gallery in Milwaukee that’s slated for this October. Until then, follow her poetic artworks on Instagram, and pick up a print from Etsy. (via This Isn’t Happiness)

      “Bird Eyes,” oil on panel, 6 x 6 inches

      “Daisy Eyes,” oil on linen, 8 x 10 inches

      #dogs
      #fashion
      #makeup
      #painting
      #portraits
      #surreal

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