salman khoshroo, the artist whose woven wool portraits based on his experience of quarantine were wildly popular with our readers, has shared an expansion of the series on instagram — this time sculpting wool faces into 3-dimensional forms. khoshroo’s first series saw tufts of wool woven into portraits placed on square foam forms, with sweeping, expressive gestures similar to that of brushstrokes. when we spoke with the artist last, he told us that aim was to make full volume sculptures in wool, which he’s poetically achieved in these latest iterations.
khoshroo’s latest sculptural works have thus far resulted in two intricate yet abstract portraits. using wool as if it were paint, tufts of fiber are thoughtfully intertwined, knotted, and wrapped to form 3-dimensional sculptural busts that each express a deep sense of emotion. their realistic appearance is rooted in faithfully recreated facial features and hair, yet colorful interventions lend the sculptures a surrealist note. ‘these portraits and configurations are sometimes made of lowly and unassuming materials such as wires and foam,’ khoshroo says. ‘there is an essence that I am chasing that can manifest itself in many forms and materials.’
project info:
artist: salman khoshroo
mediums: wool, foam, steel, brass, wood