Serene oval faces with soft smiles resemble the faces of the saints in ancient iconography. Yet these sculptures have a strange quality, setting them apart from anything recognizable. Oriano Galloni found the inspiration for his Silent Souls series in nature. The artist was walking in an ancient forest when he felt overcome by other-worldly presences. The forest, full of towering, old trees, became a sacred place for Galloni. The Silent Soul sculptures are works created to provoke conversation about the meeting of our world and another realm. They embody the majestic height of the trees and the softness of natural colors. The marble is the connection to another world unlike our own.
Each of these sculptures, these souls, are unique. While many are a combination of marble and wood, one is entirely marble. While the face is white, the rest of the form is a cascading mixture of white and grey. It is like the immensely tall figure is clothed in clouds. Another is sculpted like an athlete. The metallic silver body is like form of a warrior with a peaceful expression. These works provoke thought about what each form represents and what kind of presence it had in that forest.
See more of Oriano Galloni’s work here: http://www.orianogalloni.com
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