José Manuel Castro López is a Spanish sculptor who creates impressive artworks carved out of stone. The sculptures appear like they’re made of a soft material like sponge, but López actually uses various types of stone, including quartz and granite. The unique pieces feature smooth textures and wrinkles.
The Spanish artist draws inspiration from Galician mythology: “My relationship with the stone is not physical, but magical,” he told The Creators Project. “It recognizes me, it obeys me…we understand each other. My stones are not lifeless. They manifest themselves”. To create these smooth textures López uses mostly quartz and granite.
Check out López’s incredible stone sculptures below and find more of his work on Facebook.
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Starting with ordinary pieces of quartz or granite, the talented sculptor always takes into consideration the natural shape and texture of the stone before he starts carving. “I adapt to its essence,” López explains. “I take advantage of its qualities and I try to get the best out of it.” Not only does he create incredibly fluid forms from stone, but he always makes sure to restore the rock’s original texture. “I remove where it needs to be removed and I leave where it needs to be left,” he says. “And I remove the trace of the tool with textures and oxides.” The resulting stone sculptures look as though they’ve been slowly eroded and formed by nature’s elements rather than created by man.
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