COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY 

Mystique Masque / 1314 Winter Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

12 x 9 x 23.5″ / 49.4 lbs / SN 140102 / Sold

Long before I envisioned Mystique Masque I had conceived the idea of carving a mask of some sort upon the underside of a bowl.  For what we are seeing here is perhaps my most accomplished hand carved marble bowl to date: inverted, and stood upon one end of what would have certainly have qualified as one of my larger bowls.  But it was only at the precise point when I had carved out the center of the block that I knew I had found the perfect marble with which to carve my first marble masque.

Prior to the carving stage I was already familiar with the block that would become Mystique as I had previously split it with plug and feather, taking heart at the promising look and feel of the marble.  And when closer inspection upon the banker showed no fractures or structural impediments to carving a large full-sized bowl, ambitious hopes arose that this beaten and battered-looking block of well-seasoned Colorado Yule marble may just, in actual fact, be the flawless ‘beauty’ that I was hoping for. Low-and-behold, it was, just that: pure as pure can be, with not a blemish in sight.

As with all my Marble Masks, Mystique is carved so as to capture and channel light light emanating from behind the sculpture, not only through the ultra-thin marble itself, especially around the temple, forehead, nose and eyes, but directly through the eyes themselves. Sunlight being the preferred means of illumination, this results is an ever-changing and evolving mood, as the interplay of light upon back-lit marble must be witnessed in person to be fully understood.  All-in-all, upon reflection, I would have to contend that, of all my Marble Collections Series sculptures, Mystique Masque surely stands out as a prime example of just what can and will be possible in the coming years, as my signature ‘Curvilinear Marble’ concepts and theories are developed, expanded and explored.

.

PLEASE CLICK ON A PHOTO TO ENLARGE

.

.

This slideshow requires JavaScript.

~ ~ ~

COLLECTION SERIES MARBLE SCULPTURE

Carved by MARTIN COONEY 

Mystique Masque / 1314 Winter Collection / Colorado Yule Marble

12 x 9 x 23.5″ / 49.4 lbs / SN 140102 / Sold

~ ~ ~

thanks for visiting martincooney.com

~ ~ ~

M∂Γℑ¡∏

~ ⌊  •

 √