Sculpture & Compositions by Brazilian Artist Ascanio Maria Martins Monteiro
Architecture seems to be a starting point for many creatives, and I often see it referenced in the about pages of artists that we showcase here. Ascanio MMM (Ascanio Maria Martins Monteiro) is another one of those. Born in 1941 in Portugal, later moving to Rio de Janeiro in 1959 where he studied Fine Art and graduated as an architect. Ascanio worked as an architect up until 1976 when he decided to focus solely on artistic experimentation, particularly sculpture where he could channel his architectural thoughts.
As a student Ascanio came in to contact with the term “module” proposed by Le Corbusier, this led to his first white wood carving in 1966 which was a construction of waveform blocks. Other sculptures are composed of rectangular slats that are the result of mathematical calculations, much like how an architect would approach a build or construction.
His materials of choice are often metal and wood, where he plays with different angles and volumes to create unique geometric formations. He also uses the notion of movement and manipulation in his pieces, take for example some of his woodblock sculptures seen in the video below, with the use of one finger he’s able to push, pull and build with the wooden blocks. These can be pushed in to a number of different patterns, it’s quite mesmerising. I hope you like these and will go on over to his website to view more.
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