mario dilitz: lifesize wooden sculptures bear human emotion

mario dilitz: lifesize wooden sculptures bear human emotion
images courtesy of mario dilitz

austrian artist mario dilitz is the creator of a series of highly detailed wooden sculptures whose lifelike facial expressions and body language expose the human condition. in the creation of his figures, he juxtaposes the practice of traditional sculptural knowledge and technical skills with contemporary issues, creating statues that demonstrate intensity and energy. his work is most often done in large-scale transforming out from the confines of the wooden material into life-sized human portrayals. the subject matter varies — one sculpture is the image of a small boy wearing oversized boxing gloves, in another the boy holds a shark behind his back.

the figures are created out of high quality laminated wood and held together by joints of visible red glue, a signature of diliz’ creations, which flood down the silhouette. the process is very important to the production of his series — the destruction of the material, and then its reconstruction into a free-standing piece, allows the medium to reach a new potential, which would have been impossible in its natural condition.

two views of ‘cool cap’, 2012, lindenholz
155 x 34 x 35 cm

‘gestern, in 2 tagen’, 2010, lindenholz
200 x 46 x 43 cm

‘er, sie, es’, 2010 (left), ‘gestern, in 2 tagen’, 2010 (right)
 

two views of ‘rene’, 2008, ahornholz
280 x 90 x 60 cm

‘best friend’, 2013, lindenholz
200 x 60 x 55 cm

 
‘big fish’, 2011, lindenholz
152 x 125 x 60 cm

 
in the workshop, the impression of a wooden boy is carved

1/10