Willy Verginer is Italian sculptor who works in wood and create sculptures that seem so familiar and yet so unearthly. His figurative sculptures are carved from solid pieces of lindenwood and often painted with acrylic or accompanied by additional materials.
The sculptures and installations of are estranged and introduce the viewer to a whole new dimension of magic suspension. Verginer develops an original and unique visual language that combines painting with the art of sculpting.
Beginning with traditional wood work as it is practiced in his hometown, Bressanone, he slowly detached himself from conventional schemes and began following his own style. His sculptures radiate majesty and yet seem to be fragile.
While moving between strong and delicate nuances, Verginer manages to create and gives the sculptures a high emotional quality and at the same time wrests their anonymity. By doing this he communicates through the sculpture and unfolds a new dimension of communication between the artwork and the viewer.
Each sculpture is life-sized, entirely sculpted from wood. Their subtle but strange gestures coupled with unexpected objects give the sculptures a quietly surreal atmosphere. Verginer’s peculiar style of painting his work adds to each piece’s enigmatic quality.
Rather than realistically paint each individual detail, Verginer applies large swaths of color to his sculptures. The pieces nearly seem to be dipped in pools of pigment. These large fields of color work in contrasting against the realism of each sculpture.
