Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof, the American Faberge and world’s foremost gylyptics aka gemstone artist, continues in his mission to create dramatic monumental size artworks and installations around the forms imagined by his artistic hero, the art genius M.C. Escher. The new works are planned to expand and enhance upon the original 10 creations from his first series which he began to sculpt some six years ago.
Escher is famous for his mind-bending mathematical drawings and wood cuts from the 1930s that show people climbing up staircases on ceilings and other optical illusions.
After years of developing a relationship with the Escher institute in the Netherlands, Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof and his team spent years turning 10 of Escher’s, arguably, most impressive woodcuts into large-scale sculptures wrought of principally stainless steel, aluminum and titanium.
Inthe artist’s words, “Surprisingly, M.C. Escher has a very deep and important connection with the Middle East region as most of the designs created during his later years of his career were indeed inspired by the Islamic arts. therefore, I’m extremely honored to be bringing his incredible works into life here in Dubai, as a conduit to artists and patrons alike who I am convinced will appreciate the beauty of his work once exposed to the wonderful diverse “artistic language“.
vonZadora-Gerlof has admired Escher’s works since the age of six years old. He commented, “Because they’re so utterly mesmerizing,deep and beautiful. His works are unforgettable, it can easily move,challenge and tickle emotions of people of all ages in a unique way.
“There is so much to love and delight in this great master’s legacy of design. The impossibility of angles and mathematics that go into the forms and concepts of Escher’s work are simply magical.” saidAndreas von Zadora-Gerlof.
“Even if you’re merely a child, you’re probably going to be impressed by the idea that (referring to his work “Waterfall”) the aqua can fall and at the same time also be at the same level and return and fall again. Indeed that was the astounding woodcut that caught my eye and puzzled attention at the age of 6. It has never let me go from that point onward”.
von Zadora-Gerlofmentioned about the most challenging piece he has created so far is the 4.5-metre tall sculpture of Mobius Strip ii, which is based on the woodcut from 1963 of the mathematical symbol for infinity with nine red ants marching around it.
Commenting about his exclusive rights to work with world famous M.C. Escher, Zadora said, “I am honored to be working withcreative team of Escher. MC Escher is a genius and was way ahead of his time. His legacy of art design still continues today to be ahead of the curve. I am bringing a 3D element to his works and I believe, this exact place, the UAE and the Middle Eastern marketplace that surrounds it, is a perfect destination to display and honor these wonderful and thought provoking artworks.”
Last month, Zadora announced his residency in Dubai and his plans for a Zadora atelier opening during Winter 2019.
Speaking about his expansion in the Dubai market, Andreas von Zadora-Gerlof said, “I am really quite pleased to be in the center of now, Dubai. This city is truly an incredible place to be an artist and go about the exercise of expressing yourself. I have found the city has a surprisingly robust community of talented people and an ever growing art collector/clientele base with real interest to luxury and aesthetic creations, which of course supports and allows for the aforementioned artistic community. With that in mind, it’s an exciting time for ZADORA to venture in this fast-growing market. As an addition to my partnership with M.C. Escher, the Zadora brand also creates bespoke jewelry from earrings, bracelets, necklaces, and brooches to custom-made housewares, figurines as well as timepieces ranging from extravagant and bejeweled watches to monumental scale clock installations.”
