He uses rubber tires as his medium because he thinks of the material as a mutation, something that comes from nature but ends up looking entirely different from the original form. He also likes the material because it’s malleable and a close approximation to skin and muscles.
This 29-year-old has made a career out of sculpting larger-than-life animals. His Chelsea, New York studio is filled with hyenas, horses, felines, and the menacing ram’s head. His work is slowly beginning to achieve the recognition it thoroughly deserves. A shark he sculpted recently went for $145,000 at auction, and in December 2009, the Gana Art Gallery, where his fantastic artworks have earned him a prestigious live-in arts residency and studio, held his biggest opening in Seoul yet.
