Pass through sacred architectural spaces in miniature from Copenhagen-based artist Matthew Simmonds.
Cast your eye over the marble-esque stone sculptures and travel back in time to humble beginnings and forgotten architecture. Simmonds’ intricately carved stone sculptures reveal internal worlds left from some by-gone age, to be explored and experienced by modern day eyes.
Working with raw limestone and marble, Simmonds is able to produce these hollowed out spaces that take on historical and religious connotations. Although most are seemingly from the Medieval era, his work doesn’t represent actual buildings, and are influenced by real architectural spaces. Inspired by these spaces and the cultural overlap, Simmonds’ carvings can often be abstract in form, which makes them even more intriguing.
Drawing on the formal language and philosophy of architecture the work explores themes of positive and negative form, the significance of light and darkness and the relationship between nature and human endeavour.
This ‘relationship between nature and human endeavour’ is a fascinating concept. That all architectural feats are designed, molded and erected by us and can potentially start from something as simple as a piece of stone. Simmonds’ vision and how he manipulates the material is admirable. We’ve all had that moment of staring at a blank piece of paper or canvas, but a slab of stone?
Light and darkness are a significant theme that bounces off the stone walls of these miniature interiors. The Moroccan motif casting it’s shadow in ‘Cube’ (above) is a beautiful example of this. A shaft of light pools into the sculpture and filters through to this perfectly carved cubic room. Like all his works, he gives us a glimpse into hidden corridors and sacred spaces, and shares a fragment lost in time.
You can find more examples of his work on his website
Banner image: ‘Corona’, 2016, Faxe limestone
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