Jon Beinart
Jon Beinart, founder of the Beinart International Surreal Art Collective,
is best known for his ‘toddlerpedes’, recycled plastic doll parts made
into monstrous sculptures resembling insects and mythological creatures.
Maxim Magazine said of his work, “Michelangelo’s famous sculpture of
Italian exhibitionist David this ain’t. But it is mind-bogglingly
weird, verging on brilliant. And it’s guaranteed to give your high
school art teacher anxiety hives…”
reblog from web urbanist: Amazingly Strange Handmade Dolls, Puppets & Sculpture
a few other dolls that I like from this selection. some are quite creepy but engaging and edgy.
Marina Bychova
Russian-born doll artist Marina Bychova
creates breathtakingly intricate, ‘enchanted’ ball-jointed dolls made
of porcelain, with amazingly detailed costumes and even hand-painted
tattoos. These lithe, ethereal dolls are beautiful and delicate, yet
dark – among the options available when ordering a doll is ‘body
mutilation’.
Bychova says, “Creating a visual narrative is the most intriguing
way of articulating my ideas and a doll is a perfect medium because of
its potential for such visual story. My strong tendency for escapism
has made the make belief narrative of fairy tales very appealing as a
context for my dolls. What interests me most about fairy tales is the
implicit and often explicit violence that lies just beneath the surface
of the magic.”
Julien Martinez
French artist Julien Martinez has a knack for creating characters
imbued with a strong sense of melancholia, with red sagging eyes,
wildly unkempt hair and funereal garb. Martinez says his inspiration
comes from visual and literary sources, movies and fairy tales, and the
history of costumes.
Lesley-Anne Green
Toronto artist Lesley-Anne Green’s creations
are more sweet and charming than dark, but are still a far cry from the
homogenized plastic dolls found on store shelves. Green’s dolls are
quirky ugly ducklings infused with the essence of childhood, warts and
all.
Ben Strawn and Jessica Robin
The Whalefish Studios
website, which features the artwork of Ben Strawn and Jessica Robin, is
like a treasure chest of strange and intriguing characters. Their dolls
are made from the simplest of materials – polymer clay, fabric, leaves
and twigs – and are often featureless, but still manage to convey so
much personality and vitality.
Pat Lillich
Bulldogs with baby heads. A puppy-inspired creation that is “part
dachshund, part chihuahua, and all snake-necked assyrian sphynx”. A
sphinx bred with a deer. A woman with the bottom half of a preying
mantis. Pat Lillich’s work is surreal yet elegant, ghostly pale but sculpted with such fine detail that they seem almost alive, albeit alien.
Scott Radke
From Weburbanist:
“One by one, each of the strange little faces with their red button
noses and furrowed brows peek out from the strangest of bodies – black
and white fish,
striped swan, furless hounds and rabbits on bicycles. This bizarre but
enchanting cadre of creatures comes from the mind of Cleveland-based
artist Scott Radke, who lovingly renders them from clay, fabric and human hair.”
“Some may call Radke’s sculptures macabre, but however disturbing
one may find a gnarled, wart-covered face on a twisted animal body,
these creatures also have a playful quirkiness akin to the work of Tim
Burton.”
