Aron and Gehard Demetz have not only their surname in common (they are cousins) but an incredible ability to sculpt wood. Their hands work a material as old as the Earth and through their incredible skills they bring it to a new surprising life…

“The work of Aron Demetz has been shown in prestigious galleries in both Italy and abroad. He has been focused on the human figure, on contemporary characters, which appear to be frozen in poses of the antique portraiture or paralyzed in bizzarre postures. This realistic gallery, which very often displays children or adolescents, is highly distinguished because of its formal composure while, at the same time, an atmosphere of melancholic meditation enshrouds the sculptures and makes them somehow classic and somehow stringently modern […]” (artist bio).

 

“In just a few years, Gehard Demetz has risen to international prominence by applying his incredible craftsmanship as a traditional woodcarver to subjects that are new and appealing to contemporary viewers.

His sculptures of children are at the same time attractive and disquieting and rendered with an amazing  perfection that is by no means rhetorical or classical. One of the most startling technical features is the construction using small woodblocks and juxtaposing finely polished parts to very rough and sketchy surfaces. This particular construction and treatment render his sculptures absolutely unique in the domain of contemporary wood sculpture and is partly responsible for the great curiosity aroused by the appearance of his work in the art world.  Since his debut in 2005,  Gehard Demetz has been invited by prominent galleries to exhibit in the United States, Spain, Germany, Korea. He has also produced monumental sculptures on commission for collectors around the world.

Born 1972, Bolzano. Lives and works in Selva di Val Gardena.” (artist bio)

(via thisissocontemporary.com)