Marton Varo marble sculpture

Friends took us to Cannery Row in Monterey yesterday. We visited the aquarium and stepped into a couple galleries. In a nice little spot called Gallery i Fine Art. I was smitten with Marton Varo‘s marble sculptures. The following is called Robed Figure on a Pedestal.

His contrasting use of rough and smooth surfaces is very nice and reminded me of one of my favorite marble works, Rodin’s Danaide. It’s difficult to see though in this cameraphone image. Of course, it’s always difficult to get a sense of three-dimensional work in a two-dimensional way.

Adding: The gallery staff suggested Varo was one of the only (or the only, if I heard her right) sculptors using marble in the states. Not long after coming home from California though I had an email in my inbox from Sarah Hempel, who also works in marble. It seems, from what I can tell, Hempel doesn’t always do the stonework herself. Perhaps the girl at the gallery in Monterey was suggesting that Varo is one of the few artists to tool the marble himself, something that few people are willing and able to do because it is so time consuming.