joseph grazi sculpts nightwatch with taxidermic bats and blue butterflies

joseph grazi sculpts nightwatch with taxidermic bats and blue butterflies
image © designboom

adopting a range of materials and artistic techniques to express themes of natural beauty and subjective fear, joseph grazi continues this exploration with the recent work ‘nightwatch’. presented by joseph gross gallery at scope miami beach, the sculpture depicts a classical female bust rendered in plaster surrounded by a wreath of animal elements. more than one dozen taxidermic bats and eleven dried blue butterflies form a horseshoe shaped configuration around the sculptural subject. 

the sculpture depicts a classical female bust rendered in plaster surrounded by a wreath of animal elements
image © designboom

the brooklyn artist has carefully arranged the specimens in size order – ascending from large to small within the frame. through the mixture of mediums, grazi creates a poignant and arresting image of the dichotomy between man and nature, and the often inconsistent relationship that exists between the two. the juxtaposition between the bat and the butterfly embodies this point, highlighting the humanity’s place in the natural world. 

grazi creates a poignant and arresting image of the dichotomy between man and nature
image © designboom

dried blue butterflies are interspersed throughout the arrangement of bats 
image © designboom

taxidermic bats and eleven dried blue butterflies form a horseshoe shaped configuration
image © designboom

the brooklyn artist has carefully arranged the specimens in size order
image © designboom

‘nightwatch’ has been presented by joseph gross gallery at scope miami beach 2015