Alexander Sokolov (1955–2022) was a direct-carving or ''taille directe''

marble Marble is a metamorphic rock consisting of carbonate minerals (most commonly calcite (CaCO3) or Dolomite (mineral), dolomite (CaMg(CO3)2) that have recrystallized under the influence of heat and pressure. It has a crystalline texture, and is ty ...

sculptor Sculpture is the branch of the visual arts that operates in three dimensions. Sculpture is the three-dimensional art work which is physically presented in the dimensions of height, width and depth. It is one of the plastic arts. Durable sc ...

. He spent time working and exhibiting in Ireland, France and Spain, which has led to the distribution of his more central continental style within

Iberia The Iberian Peninsula ( ), also known as Iberia, is a peninsula in south-western Europe. Mostly separated from the rest of the European landmass by the Pyrenees, it includes the territories of peninsular Spain and Continental Portugal, compri ...

. The book ''Sokolov'' by the renowned

Basque Basque may refer to: * Basques, an ethnic group of Spain and France * Basque language, their language Places * Basque Country (greater region), the homeland of the Basque people with parts in both Spain and France * Basque Country (autonomous co ...

poet and critic Marrodán is to be found at the libraries of the many Spanish universities and Royal Academies of Fine Art. The sculptor studied and lived in the studios of Miklos Dallos at his outset in Paris in the mid-1970s. Sokolov was seen by Marrodán as emanating from the French school of sculpture and there is a chain of teaching influence through Miklos Dallos and Marcel Gimond back to

Antoine Bourdelle Antoine Bourdelle (; 30 October 1861 – 1 October 1929), born Émile Antoine Bordelles, was an influential and prolific French sculptor and teacher. He was a student of Auguste Rodin, a teacher of Giacometti and Henri Matisse, and an important ...

and

Aristide Maillol Aristide Joseph Bonaventure Maillol (; December 8, 1861 – September 27, 1944) was a French sculptor, painter, and printmaking, printmaker.Le Normand-Romain, Antoinette . "Maillol, Aristide". ''Grove Art Online. Oxford Art Online''. Oxford ...

. Sokolov, who in French manner elicits response within the bare subject of the

torso The torso or trunk is an anatomical terminology, anatomical term for the central part, or the core (anatomy), core, of the body (biology), body of many animals (including human beings), from which the head, neck, limb (anatomy), limbs, tail an ...

and the

nude Nudity is the state of being in which a human is without clothing. While estimates vary, for the first 90,000 years of pre-history, anatomically modern humans were naked, having lost their body hair, living in hospitable climates, and no ...

, as does Dallos, also has, like Gimond, a strength for

portrait A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better r ...

ure. That specification of sculpture as tension of force between the under-lying helicoidal axis and superposed rhythm of planes in Sokolov is tempered by the artist's choice to work, free from preparatory modelling, in direct-carving. The modernism of the French school of sculpture developed in modelling but Sokolov's direct-carving is informed by the revolutionary carving influences of Brâncuși and the later

Henry Moore Henry Spencer Moore (30 July 1898 – 31 August 1986) was an English artist. He is best known for his semi-abstract art, abstract monumental Bronze sculpture, bronze sculptures which are located around the world as public works of art. Moore ...

. As a

portraitist A portrait is a painting, photograph, sculpture, or other artistic representation of a person, in which the face is always predominant. In arts, a portrait may be represented as half body and even full body. If the subject in full body better re ...

, Sokolov is unusual as working by ''taille directe'', but the helicoidal axis teaching shapes the majority of his large body of work in the human figure and nude. Such movement about the axis would be a continuation of the Italian art termed

Mannerist Mannerism is a style in European art that emerged in the later years of the Italian High Renaissance around 1520, spreading by about 1530 and lasting until about the end of the 16th century in Italy, when the Baroque style largely replaced it ...

. Sokolov, who has worked between studios in Ireland and Olula del Rio in Spain, has exhibited seventeen one man shows in European cities.

References

Mario Ángel Marrodán, ''Sokolov: esculturas'', La Gran Enciclopedia Vasca, 1993

External links

Archive

Biography

1955 births 2022 deaths Spanish sculptors Spanish male sculptors {{Spain-sculptor-stub