José Manuel Castro López
Artists: José Manuel Castro López
Esculturas
A sculptor based in Coruña, Galicia, Spain seems to be defying the laws of nature with his amazing malleable stone sculptures. His works are made out of natural materials like granite and iron oxide, from which he crafts his rock-like formations with folds, wrinkles and flaps as if they were made of clay or skin. Providing some of the stones’ fleshy appearance, one could say they almost appear to be alive. López achieves a magical effort. He doesn’t see rocks in the same way that other people do. Inspired by the mythology of his native Galician culture, he believes that stones are spirits of the land and, as an artist, it is his role to to conjure them. This is carved out of the solid material. He never uses glue. It is a miracle how José Manuel Castro López brings so much life to a stone.
“Mi relación con la piedra no es física, sino mágica. Toda mi capacidad creativa va dirigida a establecer con el material una relación vital. Nos respetamos, nos entendemos, me obedece... somos amigos; no es un material inerte, vive, se manifiesta. (My relationship with the stone is not physical, but magical. My entire creative capability is directed to establish a living relation with the material. We respect each other, we understand each other, it obeys me… we are friends; it is not a lifeless material, it lives, it becomes manifest in itself)”.
José Manuel Castro López