5 weird and wonderful sculptures

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Sculture luminose, Bruno Petronzi Bruno Petronzi Other spaces
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All homes need art. Filling the home with art is often a way to reinforce the tastes that manifest themselves throughout the interior design, but art can also be used to provide a counterpoint to the expectations that might be generated by décor alone. As a general rule, the more art a house contains the more complex and interesting it seems. It’s hard to imagine what a home with too much art in it would be like, but of course it’s very simple for a space to appear cluttered if the art pieces it contains don’t adequately complement one another or the space itself. 

Choose your pieces wisely, then, and there’s no such thing as too much. Of course, different forms of art elicit different responses, and sculpture is one of the most impactful forms to use in the home. This is because there is a certain novelty with sculpture; most people own far fewer sculptures than they do framed pictures, partly because pictures are more widely available and partly because it’s fairly easy to buy a neutral, inoffensive picture simply to fill a space which most visitors won’t even notice, whereas a dull or incongruous sculpture will draw a lot more attention. 

Possibly because of the awareness that sculptures can be subject to an unfair amount of scrutiny, there are many pieces out there that don’t take themselves seriously at all, putting fun first and defying serious criticism.  Here are five lively examples.

​Fish faces

These coloured fish heads emerge from the wall as if it were the water mouths gaping like they’re struggling to breath. No two are quite the same; some have their mouths open wide, some almost closed, and the shade of paint used varies from fish to fish. It would be possible to create some very different looks using these sculpture, either buying just one or two and placing them somewhere subtle, or getting your hand on a whole shoal and making a feature wall of them, as seen here.

Stay cool

Bringing that summery feeling with them all year round, these sweet (figuratively, of course) wooden popsicles make for an unexpected addition to the home. These are cute and silly pieces that straddle the line between sculpture and toy. And with that make-believe element in mind, they come in a wide range of colours so you can make sure you get your favourite flavour.

Each one comes in its own neat little wooden box, which doubles as a handy display case to help the popsicle stay vertical.

​The misfits

Bright, bizarre and in equal parts endearing and disturbing, these odd little pieces form part of a sculpture series called Pots of Desire. Seen individually, the effect of one of these sculptures would be striking enough, but lined up here as if in an identity parade the uniquely strange nature of each one becomes all the more apparent.

​Precarious

From the same artist, this towering teacup sculpture shares the surreal sense of fun that characterises the fish. Caught eternally in this risky position, these brightly coloured cups are impossible to ignore; and, as with the fish, no two are quite the same.

​The spider and the fly

It’s impossible to miss this spider approaching its prey – both are illuminated with an orange glow to ensure that they get all the attention they deserve. The shadows cast by this piece would add an additional layer of interest.

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