Tryakshara Ganapati in Delightful Disposition. Brass Sculpture

Ganesha in Indian art. Ganesha is a popular religious figure in Indian art. He is portrayed standing, dancing, taking action against demons, though having a playful behavior. Ganesha has the head of an elephant and a human body with a big belly. He has four arms, sometimes more. Ganesha carries various weapons, but is not known to have ever used them. The earliest known stone statue of Ganesha with an inscription dated to 531, found in northern China. In Japan the Ganesha cult was first mentioned in 806. Statues of Ganesha are found in Hindu art of Java, Bali, Borneo, Burma, Cambodia, Thailand. 5th century image of Ganesha was found at Gardez, Afghanistan. In Buddhist Thailand, Ganesha is regarded as a remover of obstacles, the god of success.
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‘American Jacket’ Carved wood & mixed media, 2010. Hyperrealistic wood carving by Fraser Smith

The art technique creating the optical illusion is known as Trompe-l’oeil. American wood carver from Florida Fraser Smith has mastered this technique to perfection. Hyperrealistic wood carving by Fraser Smith is so deceiving that viewers when looking at these sculptures, can not believe it’s not a real cloth. The artist himself says – “I might be the only person in the world that does what I do, but there’s probably a really good reason for that”. At each exhibition he is dealing with the same cry: “Wow, is it really made ​​of wood?”. Yes, it is – Fraser carves all his works from the soft wood stains and oil paints. Fraser himself believes, that it is not even accurate simulation of textile, but simply human psychology. Coming to the exhibition the viewer sees the jacket and automatically thinks about it as a jacket made of textile, nothing else. But when they find out that it is a wood painted clothing, the brains reconfigures, and here comes the surprise.
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Russian ballet dancers in Art Deco sculpture of Demetre Chiparus

Romanian Art Deco era sculptor Demetre Chiparus (16 September 1886 – 22 January 1947) created realistic bronze ivory sculptures inspired by Russian dancers – Serge Diaghilev’s Ballets Russes. The faces of ‘Persian Dance’ figures reveal the likenesses of Vaslav Nijinsky and Ida Rubinstein, and the dress in ‘Starfish Girl’ exactly reproduces the sketch for Goldfish’s dress from the ballet ‘Underwater kingdom’ by Lev Annensky. For his work Chiparus used the photos of Russian and French dancers, stars and models from fashion magazines of his time. His revived bronze is a manifestation of Art Deco style highlighting the timeless beauty of the dancers and fashion of the period.
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Most expensive loss of world art. Vincent Van Gogh ‘Poppies’. Cost – about $ 50 million

Most expensive loss of world art. It is not a secret that on the black market sale of art objects is on demand, it’s inferior to trade in drugs, weapons and sexual services. Not surprisingly, the art world looses annually tens of thousands of paintings, sculptures, prints, collages, the value of which increases every year. Here is a list of the ten most expensive works of art stolen, whose fate remains a mystery. Dutch postmodernist painting by Vincent Van Gogh ‘Poppies’ was stolen in 2010 from the Cairo Mohamed Mahmoud Khalil Museum, which was about to be closed for repairs. Hoping to seize the painting intelligence agencies blocked airports, train stations, ports, but all efforts were in vain. A few years later the British experts made ​​a sensational statement that the real “Poppies” were stolen from the museum in 1977 and thieves risked freedom for forgery
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Mother cat with her kittens. Felted composition by Russian artist of applied art Irina Andreeva

They are not toys, not souvenirs and not even interior decoration items, this is felted sculpture by Irina Andreeva, Russian artist of applied art. All that is shown below, made ​​of simple material suitable for creativity – felt. Irina has created the whole gallery of cows, butterflies, pieces of furniture, dolls, and finally, the whole composition of felt. Talented craftswoman Irina Andreeva graduated from graphic arts department of the Pedagogical University in the city of Izhevsk, Russia. Recently, along with her husband and young son she has moved to Moscow and became at once a participant of art festivals. Her art works made her the winner of the International Festival of the author textile dolls “Eve’s Rib”.
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Cowboy on a Horse. Life-sized scrap metal sculpture by South Dakotan sculptor John Lopez

Scrap metal sculptures by John Lopez, South Dakotan sculptor are life-sized bison, a horse plowing a field, or a Texas Longhorn, a bear, all made with a uniquely Western American twist. In his hands, old discarded farm equipment is recycled into sculptures of iconic creatures from the American West. “My favorite part about these pieces is the texture,” explains Lopez. This unusual detour started about three years ago, when his beloved aunt died in a car accident. Lopez moved to his widowed Uncle Geno Hunt’s ranch to build a family cemetery. Uncle Geno opened his welding shop to Lopez, who completed a fence around the cemetery, then ran out of material. After some experimentation, he finished a gate into the cemetery, and then made a small angel peering over the top of the gate. The project gave him much personal satisfaction, and everyone who saw it was amazed at the result. A new career path was born in that cemetery.
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Paper birds by Diana Beltran Herrera

Realistic Paper birds by Diana Beltran Herrera is a truly piece of art. Inspired by the filigree beauty of bird wings, their exquisite grace, Colombian paper artist Diana Beltran Herrera has created a collection of paper birds. The collection consists of more than 100 species of birds made from intricate hand-cut layers of painted paper. The bird sculptures, among them – pink flamingo, white crane, woodpecker, red heron, and many more, are startlingly realistic, and could be a good teaching material at schools. Her works are based on the photographs of real birds, which she first draws to get dimensions and details. The sketch and photograph help her in all the working process. She has been working over the past years with paper as the primary medium.
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