Sculptors
A sculptor is someone who creates sculptures. The broad term 'sculptor' does not only apply to artists, it can also be used in non-artistic contexts. For example, it may refer to someone working on a restoration site or creating replicas of existing sculptures. For a sculptor to also be defined as an artist, there needs to be a sense of artistic intention behind the objects they create. This person can be a professional or an amateur.
Sculpture is considered a major artistic discipline in the same way as painting. Some sculptors only work in the medium of sculpture while other artists have a multidisciplinary approach.
A sculptor seeks to create three-dimensional shapes out of one or several media. Sculptors can choose from a variety of materials for their sculptures. Some of the most frequently used media include stone (marble, granite etc), concrete, cement, wood and clay (which is used to create terracotta sculptures). Artists can also use metal to create sculptures, bronze has historically been the most commonly used but nowadays, sculptors can also choose aluminum or even steel.
Contemporary practices and technical developments have led to a growing diversity of materials being available for sculptors to use. Contemporary sculpture therefore uses a wider range of materials than modern sculpture did. Nowadays, it is not uncommon to see artworks made of resin, glass or a combination of several different materials. Artists may also use new technologies such as 3D printers to help them create works.
Over the course of the history of sculpture, there have been a many different types of sculptures and artists have developed numerous techniques for creating three dimensional works.
In relief sculpture, the sculpted form stays attached to the background made of the same material. If the carving is shallow then the work is referred to as a bas-relief. If there is some undercutting and more of 50% of the depth is shown, the work is sculptured in high relief.
If a sculpture is described as in the round or free-standing, it means that the work is detached from the background, in the majority of cases this means that the viewer to walk around it and admire it from all angles.
A key basic distinction is sculpture is the contrast between modeling and carving. Modeling is an additive technique which creates forms by adding more material. This is more flexible for sculptors as they can generally add or subtract the material as they please, for example as they would when using clay. Carving is a subtractive method; the sculptor removes material from a solid block of material, for example wood or marble, to reveal the desired shape.
Some of the greatest artists in the history of sculpture include: Michelangelo, Antoine-Louis Barye, Rembrandt Bugatti, Camille Claudel, Auguste Rodin, Alberto Giacometti, Louise Bourgeois, Cesar, Arman, Anish Kapoor, Anselm Kiefer, Jeff Koons, Yayoi Kusama, Richard Orlinski and Christophe Charbonnel.
Discover the styles & movements
Sara Chelou
Priscilla Vettese
Fleurs Rêveuses #1
Priscilla Vettese
Painting - 55 x 46 x 3 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 1.2 inch
€400
My PoPlay Pirate - XXL
Priscilla Vettese
Sculpture - 66 x 33 x 25 cm Sculpture - 26 x 13 x 9.8 inch
€499
Fleurs Rêveuses #2
Priscilla Vettese
Painting - 55 x 46 x 3 cm Painting - 21.7 x 18.1 x 1.2 inch
€400
Darth Vader "Obey"
Priscilla Vettese
Painting - 29 x 29 x 3 cm Painting - 11.4 x 11.4 x 1.2 inch
€249
Urban Haring Tribute
Priscilla Vettese
Painting - 46 x 38 x 3 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 1.2 inch
€300
Urban Basquiat Tribute
Priscilla Vettese
Painting - 46 x 38 x 3 cm Painting - 18.1 x 15 x 1.2 inch
€300
Chloé Sontrop
Vasya Dmytryk
Teslamobile IIIIII
Vasya Dmytryk
Sculpture - 42 x 29 x 16 cm Sculpture - 16.5 x 11.4 x 6.3 inch
€1,176
Alex Hodge
And You Blink, The Rush of Love, and Here I Learn Triptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 10.2 x 22.9 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 4 x 9 x 3 inch
€583
Getting at the Heart of the Matter
Alex Hodge
Design - 22.9 x 21.6 x 0.6 cm Design - 9 x 8.5 x 0.25 inch
€389
Growing Out of My Ribcage, Darling Your Words, and As You Pray. Triptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 14 x 22.9 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 5.5 x 9 x 3 inch
€583
Your Lipstick Left a Bruise, Your Pulsing Giant Heart, Carry the Song. Triptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 12.7 x 22.9 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 5 x 9 x 3 inch
€583
Your Name Plays, We had been Mountains, and No One Ever Fed You. Triptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 14 x 22.9 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 5.5 x 9 x 3 inch
€583
I Could Start Fires, So I Lay Here and Why Do You Insist on Shattering. Triptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 12.7 x 22.9 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 5 x 9 x 3 inch
€583
Is Beating Me From the Inside, and You Wanted Something.
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 14 x 15.2 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 5.5 x 6 x 3 inch
€389
I Whisper Just to You, and Some Days We are Both at Sea Diptych
Alex Hodge
Sculpture - 10.2 x 15.2 x 7.6 cm Sculpture - 4 x 6 x 3 inch
€389
Natasha Zupan
Sphere of Life, #2238, Mixed-Media Collage
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 54 x 44 x 2.5 cm Photography - 21.25 x 17.32 x 1 inch
€1,555
Tactile Memory #34
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 24.1 x 19.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inch
€2,090
Eternal Recurrence #16, deiNERI
Natasha Zupan
Sculpture - 185.4 x 50.8 x 20.3 cm Sculpture - 73 x 20 x 8 inch
€5,346
Tactile memory #120
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 45.7 x 38.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 18 x 15 x 3 inch
€4,083
Tactile memory #145
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 45.7 x 38.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 18 x 15 x 3 inch
€4,083
Tactile memory #138
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 69.9 x 59.9 x 7.6 cm Painting - 27.5 x 23.6 x 3 inch
€6,610
Tactile memory #134
Natasha Zupan
Painting - 24.1 x 19.1 x 7.6 cm Painting - 9.5 x 7.5 x 3 inch
€2,090
Eternal Recurrence #54
Natasha Zupan
Photography - 45.7 x 34.3 x 0.3 cm Photography - 18 x 13.5 x 0.1 inch
€1,166
Art'Mony
Jesús-Rafael Soto
Miroir d'Artistes
Jesús-Rafael Soto
Print - 50.2 x 50.2 x 5.1 cm Print - 19.75 x 19.75 x 2 inch
€23,329
Rafael Barrios
Verticale Disloquée
Rafael Barrios
Sculpture - 229 x 169 x 40 cm Sculpture - 90.2 x 66.5 x 15.7 inch
Sold
Móvil Espiral Fractal - M596
Rafael Barrios
Sculpture - 178 x 80 x 8 cm Sculpture - 70.1 x 31.5 x 3.1 inch
Sold
Lonzi
Beatrice Bizot
Fragment sur bois
Beatrice Bizot
Sculpture - 43 x 10 x 6 cm Sculpture - 16.9 x 3.9 x 2.4 inch
€2,199
La poètique des ruines
Beatrice Bizot
Sculpture - 45 x 14 x 20 cm Sculpture - 17.7 x 5.5 x 7.9 inch
€3,800
Irina Shark
Le masque de Camille
Irina Shark
Sculpture - 26 x 13 x 16 cm Sculpture - 10.2 x 5.1 x 6.3 inch
€4,700