Alex querals choice of material is not so much the result of deep. Alex queral was born in havana, cuba, but currently is philadelphiabased artist. Currently browsing incredible phone book sculpture by alex queral for your design inspiration. A lex queral transforms the ordinary phone book into a creative piece of art, carving into its pages funny caricatures of famous people. To find out more about alex queral and see lots more of these phone book portraits, see his profile page at project gallery. Each face is often painted with a monochromatic wash to distinguish the portrait. Hence, i decided to not write any more about these book carving until i came across this project by alex queral. Baltimore sculptorpainter and erstwhile rumba club musician alex queral takes an ordinary phone book and, using a sharp xacto knife and a pot of acrylic medium for detailing, carves something extraordinary out of it portraits of famous faces.
Recycled crafts kids recycle crafts diy crafts phone books masks book art art projects arts and crafts statue. Through his 3d phonebook carvings, the artist aims to celebrate the individual who is lost in the anonymous list of the thousands of names printed in the directory. Philadelphiabased artist alex queral has found a brilliant way to use all of the old, discarded phone books he found lying around. Texas based photographer cara barer puts a new meaning in book art through her colorful sculptures out of discarded phone books, computer manuals, maps and the like that she transforms and then photographs. Queral brings celebrities to life through phone book pages. See more ideas about book sculpture, book art and carving. I was out looking for wood to make a sculpture one. Mar 3, 2012 philadelphiabased artist alex queral has found a brilliant way to use all of the old, discarded phone books he found lying around. The emerging cubanborn artist alex queral has perfected the art of sculpting the likenesses of the dalai lama, ringo starr and endless other. Amazing phone book carvings by alex queral bored panda.
Join facebook to connect with alex queral and others you may know. He came upon a bunch of old discarded phone books and thats when. It all started many years back when he was looking for wood to make a sculpture and he noticed a huge pile of phone. Alex querals carved phone book art alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. See more ideas about phone books, book crafts and book art. Art, pics 51yearold alex queral carves phonebooks to create amazing portraits of. The phonebook carvings of alex queral by spooky onjune 17th, 2010 category. Peeling away the pages like the skin of an onion to reveal the. Born in havana, in 1958, alex querals family migrated to mexico. Taking an ordinary phone book, alex queral carves a face into this object of so many.
Over a decade ago, queral was out one day searching for wood to use in a sculpture he was making. Alex queral occasionally, you come across an artist whose skill and dexterity in the practice of their art can leave you breathless with admiration. Alex queral took discarded phone books and carved out 3d heads of famous people through thousands of pages with razor blades or an artists scalpel. Taking an ordinary phone book, alex queral carves a face into this object of so many faceless names. What he enjoyed the most was creating self portraits using a heavy impasto technique, which required a lot of paint and sometimes even wax to make the faces a bit more sculptural. Awesome phone book carvings by alex queral beauty will save. Faces in the phone book by alex queral featured articles.
For his sculptures, queral uses a very sharp knife and acrylic medium to set the detail areas, peeling away the pages to reveal the portrait. Alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. In carving and painting a head from a phone book directory, im. Based in philadelphia, he developed the idea of using telephone books in his artworks 14 years ago when he was looking for wood to sculpt and came upon a pile of discarded phone books. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the.
Alex querals phone book art is on display at philadelphia international airport, in terminal f, concourse 2. Home art fascinating phone book portraits by alice yoo on june 2, 2011 back in 1995, alex queral was just an undergraduate at the university of. Alex queral transforms the ordinary phone book into a creative piece of art, carving into its pages funny caricatures of famous people. He is known for portraits he carves from the bound pages of telephone books. Well, we employ them purely to usher in cuban virtuoso alex queral, whose incredible phonebook artwork has recently caught our eye. Carved phonebook sculptures by alex queral strictlypaper.
His choice of medium is quite unique, yet ordinary which results in threedimensional quality that enhances the portraits as an object as opposed to a picture. Back in 1995, alex queral was just an undergraduate at the university of washington in seattle who loved to paint. Alex querals phone book art philadelphiabased artist alex queral has found a brilliant way to use all of the old, discarded phone books he found lying around. Cubinian artist from philadelphia alex queral uses old and unwanted phone books for carvings. Please wash your hands and practise social distancing.
With the book, a very sharp xacto knife, a little pot of acrylic medium to set detail areas and a great deal of talent, queral literally peels away the pages like the skin of an onion to reveal the portrait within. They are heavy, take up a lot of space, and you get a new one every year, even though you can meanwhile find almost all the information in there online anyway. Alex queral has had several gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the projects gallery. Alex queral is an artist that isnt afraid to put a face to all of those names found in a phone book. Take a look at these great images of celebrities and unknowns alike in phone book form. It all started many years back when he was looking for wood to make a sculpture and he noticed a huge pile of phone books.
Cuban american artist alex querals sculptural heads, carved from. Implications many individuals are looking to companies to reinvent older products to appeal to the needs of contemporary consumers. Alex queral is a philadelphiabased artist who has found an incredible way to use old, discarded phone books he carves their pages into celebrities faces. Alex queral is a cubanamerican artist who has carved himself out a very unique place among his peers.
Alex queral s phone book art philadelphiabased artist alex queral has found a brilliant way to use all of the old, discarded phone books he found lying around. In this comprehensive collection of art made from books, we explore the myriad of ways that bibliophilic artists inventively transform works of literature into works of art. It may be wrong to judge a book by its cover, but many artists believe that books actually are more than mere reading material. The emerging cubanborn artist alex queral has perfected the art of sculpting the likenesses of the dalai lama, ringo starr and endless other familiar faces into a common, but unexpected medium. Phone book art at philadelphia airport stuck at the airport. Recycling phone books to make stunning sculptures is the way in which environmentally friendly artist alex queral likes to make his contribution to green art. Amazing phone book carving of einstein by alex queral. There have been many articles about alex queral, including phone book sculptures of pop culture icons written by caroline stanley for flavorwire in 2010. When alex queral saw a pile of unwanted phone books 14 years ago, he was hit with a flash of inspiration. Rather than just leaving them to rot he would recycle them, using them as the basis for works of art by carving portraits out of them. Cubanamerican artist alex queral carves phone books to shape three dimensional portraits of popculture icons. Decor crafts christmas crafts christmas decorations christmas patterns diy crafts holiday decor christmas holidays christmas bulbs book page crafts.
Categories headlines, topstory tags alex queral, alex queral art, artist carved phone books, artist carves phone books, barack obama, celebrity faces out of phone books, dalai lama, jack nicholson, phone book art, phone book heads 2 comments post navigation. I carve the faces out of phone books because i like the threedimensional quality that results and because of the unexpected results that occur working in this medium. Alex queral lets his fingers do the carving baltimore. Art made out of books puts new spin on concept of book art. In carving and painting a head from a phone directory, im celebrating the individual lost in the anonymous list of thousands of names that describe the size of the community. In carving and painting a head from a phonebook directory, im. The creative alliance is currently hosting an exhibit of his mixed media work entitled facebook in. Post the most beautiful examples of book sculptures. July 14, 2009 january 18, 2010 philadelphia artist alex queral uses a unique yet ordinary medium to create his art a phone book. Using nothing but a discarded multipage directory, a pot of acrylic medium and a very sharp knife, queral carves out portraits of some of the planets biggest names in music, art and cinema, before peeling the. Its a perfect example how unusual use of materials can lead to worldwide fame and success. This phone book art by alex queral is a great way to utilize those phone books no one uses anymore. From there she began her practice and dove into the. Portraits from telephone directories curious, funny.