WorkArt & Culture

Wooden Wonders: The surreal sculptures of Willy Verginer

Yes, you're right: these surreal sculptures do look like they've been carved from stone or moulded from some kind of plaster. But incredibly, they've all been sculpted from wood alone.

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Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer of a child's head and torso wearing a blue shirt, holding large metal pipes and containers across outstretched arms

They're the creation of Willy Verginer, a 60-year-old Italian artist who lives and works in Ortisei BZ, South Tyrol, and whose works are located in numerous private and public collections, both Italian and international.

Once his naturalistic, near-life size wooden sculptures are carved, the artist adds eye-catching blocks of geometric colour using acrylic paint. It's an unusual but inspired approach that sets up a sharp contrast of styles within each piece, and makes these figures all the more mysterious and alluring.

Verginer's stunning sculptures are on display until April 2017 at the gallery Wasserman Projects Detroit Michigan, as part of the After Industry show, also featuring Norwegian painter Christer Karlstad, and Michigan-based photographer Jason DeMarte.

Two wooden sculptures by Willy Verginer on a wooden platform: a kneeling woman with a terracotta-coloured cap and white torso, and a young boy with geometric colour blocking on his head and torso, both with naturalistic carved features
Wooden figure emerging from a metal drum with one arm outstretched, carved in naturalistic detail with lower body painted silver, by Willy Verginer
Willy Verginer wooden sculpture of a figure with lime green painted head and arm, wearing beige clothing, standing on scattered black cylindrical objects against a concrete wall
Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer of a girl in profile with bright lime-green upper body and pale wooden lower half, holding a small green fish extended on her outstretched arm
Wooden sculpture of a young figure with pale skin and closed eyes, wearing a cream-coloured shirt, with a bright green apple-shaped head topped by miniature evergreen trees
Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer of a figure in neutral clothing with a bright green geometric block replacing the head and green feet against a grey wall
Wooden sculpture of a tyre with a bright green painted ridge across the top and small white carved sheep figures standing on it, by Willy Verginer
Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer of a young boy leaning over an orange rectangular form, carved in light wood with naturalistic detail
Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer depicting a figure with a pale head wearing a dark blue torso, arms outstretched holding scrolled papers
Wooden sculpture by Willy Verginer of a pale stag bending down, with a black head and antlers, standing atop a black oil drum with a green forest scene on its top edge
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