In a similar way to other art forms, sculpture is made up of a wide variety of subgenres which have emerged throughout history and across the world. Among them, there is wood sculpture, nude, bronze, animal and even resin sculpture. A sculpture's genre is defined either by the subject or by the material used to create it.
The use of resin in sculpture is a relatively recent technique in art history. It wasn't until the 20th century that sculptors slowly started to move away from plaster or bronze casts as well as stone carving in favour of this new synthetic medium.
Compared to other materials used in sculpture, resin has several key advantages. Its chemical composition make it much lighter than other traditional types of sculpture, making it easier to transport. It can also be easily adapted to fit work for a variety of creative needs and is highly weather resistant, making it a good choice for both indoor and outdoor sculptures.
Its creative and innovative possibilities quickly made resin an essential material for sculptures. Duane Hanson was a key Pop Art and Hyperrealist artist whose use of polyester resin to create his sculptures helped to popularise the medium in modern and contemporary art. Hanson works creates lifecasts from live models and he chose resin because its chemical properties allowed him to capture the smallest of details in his models' clothing, body shape or facial features. Never before had such a likeness been achieved and the success lies partly with the revolutionary discovery of polyester resin.
Although the use of resin has helped artists to achieve wonders when it comes to faithfully representing their subjects, it has been also been used by Nouveau Réalisme artists whose sculptures are not intended to be realistic or representational.
The famous French artist Niki de Saint Phalle, whose real name was Catherine Marie-Agnès Fal de Saint Phalle, regularly worked with polyester resin to create her works, including her monumental sculptures of women, the Nana statues.
A recent scientific invention, resin has seduced a wide range of sculptors, including many French artists who use the material to either portray their model as realistically as possible or, on the other end of the spectrum, to create unrealistic dreamlike figures.
Artsper has a large collection of modern and contemporary resin sculptures from internationally renowned artists such as Xavier Veilhan, as well as up and coming sculptors including Bernard Rives, Anne Juliette Deschamps and Maria De Campos. The variety of the works on offer is an excellent testimony to resin sculpture's diverse possibilities.