With the use of something as simple as a phonebook, alex queral carves faces into them giving an astounding realism and making each face. Phone books, book sculpture, source of inspiration, creative inspiration, italian artist, map art, altered books, contemporary artists, book art. 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. Cuban american artist alex queral carves phonebooks to create these amazing portraits. With the use of something as simple as a phonebook, alex queral carves faces into them giving an astounding realism and making each face pop off the page and come to life. Mar 01, 2011 carved phonebook sculptures by alex queral posted on march 1, 2011 by jasmine with the use of something as simple as a phonebook, alex queral carves faces into them giving an astounding realism and making each face pop off the page and come to life. 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. Perhaps thats why seeing a large number of querals phonebook portraits in one place is a tad unsettling. Google alex queral and his sculptures will pop right up. Awesome phone book carvings by alex queral beauty will save. Philadelphia artist alex queral has got a creative use of the old phone books.
Alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. Jun 29, 2010 alex querals carved phone book art alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. Mar 26, 2016 with truecaller becoming the worlds leading place to search for numbers, paper phone books are not much use anymore. Portraits carved from phone books by artist alex queral. Phone book pages are also great for drying out your running shoes after you go running in the rain. Born in havana, in 1958, alex querals family migrated to mexico. 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. 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. Jun 02, 2011 fascinating phone book portraits by alice yoo on june 2, 2011 back in 1995, alex queral was just an undergraduate at the university of washington in seattle who loved to paint. 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. Philadelphia artist alex queral uses a unique yet ordinary medium to create his art a phone book. 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.
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. Its a perfect example how unusual use of materials can lead to worldwide fame and success. Alex queral was born in havana, cuba, but currently is philadelphiabased artist. Read the artist bio and gain a deeper understanding with mutualarts artist profile. With the book, a very sharp xacto knife, a little pot of. Its almost impossible to fathom the amount of work that is placed into carving something so detailed. Apr 07, 2009 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. For me, the human head was a natural choice of subject matter because of its inherent expressiveness. Featuring his sculptural faces carved from phonebooks, his art elicits amazed reactions wherever it is shown.
Jul 14, 2009 philadelphia artist alex queral uses a unique yet ordinary medium to create his art a phone book. Each face is often painted with a monochromatic wash to distinguish the portrait from the pages. 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. This phone book art by alex queral is a great way to utilize those phone books no one uses anymore. Using a very sharp xacto knife also see the carvings of salavat fidai who works with the same knife, the artist creates an identity of so many faceless names that describe the size of an entire community. Aug 09, 2009 alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. Phone book heads is the first solo show at projects gallery for artist alex queral. This is the essential material in alex queral s carved telephone book portraits. Her inspiration stems from a random encounter where she discovered a rainsoaked yellow pages. Cubanborn artist alex queral carves the faces of celebrities into old telephone books. Up close they resemble a basrelief excavated from a ruin. Jul 11, 2014 alex queral is a cubanamerican artist who has carved himself out a very unique place among his peers.
The emerging cubanborn artist alex queral has perfected the art of sculpting the likenesses of the dalai lama, ringo starr and endless other. Currently browsing incredible phone book sculpture by alex queral for your design inspiration. In carving and painting a head from a phonebook directory, im. Cant stop wondering though if putting a face inside a phone book, makes it a face book. Artist alex queral doesnt throw away his white pages.
Alex queral takes your old phonebooks and makes art. So, maybe we should all send our phone books to alex queral, an artist who creates faces from carved phone book pages. Amazing phone book carvings by alex queral bored panda. Portraits from telephone directories curious, funny photos. I use exacto knives, razor blades, tweezers and a lot of acrylic medium, with a bit of black paint to bring out the detail. Alex querals choice of material is not so much the result of deep. Its a perfect example how unusual use of materials can lead to worldwide fame. Cubinian artist from philadelphia alex queral uses old and unwanted phone books for carvings. Artist carves phone books into portraits to honor the. Take a look at these great images of celebrities and unknowns alike in phone book form.
Nov, 2010 the phone companies are in the process of eliminating the production and distribution of the residential white pages. This is just about the only good use of a phone book i can think of. I carve the faces out of phone books because i like the threedimensional quality that results and because of the unexpected results that. Philadelphiabased artist alex queral carves the faces of celebrities into phone books, then coats the results with acrylic. He is known for portraits he carves from the bound pages of telephone books. When its time to recycle your phone book, there are many things it can be upcycled into a wreath, earrings, and coasters, to name a few but weve yet to find anything more exquisite or mindboggling than the handcarved phone book portraits from philadelphiabased artist alex queral. Its a relief sculpture carved out of the white pages. 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. I was out looking for wood to make a sculpture one. Phone book pages netherlands 84, love the type used back then, gluestick, hand carved stamp, acrylic paint. Philadelphia, pa an american artist has spent the last 14 years carving celebrity faces out of phone books.
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. Alex queral transforms the ordinary phone book into a creative piece of art, carving into its pages funny caricatures of famous people. When alex queral saw a pile of unwanted phone books 14 years ago, he was hit with a flash of inspiration. Alex queral lets his fingers do the carving baltimore or less.
Phone book art at philadelphia airport stuck at the airport. Alex queral phone book portraits worlds national museums. Alex queral is a cubanamerican artist who has carved himself out a very unique place among his peers. Phone book carvings by alex queral book sculpture paper sculptures books art handmade books recycled art altered books book crafts installation art art lessons phone book pages netherlands 84, love the type used back then, gluestick, hand carved stamp, acrylic paint. Alex queral puts the antiquated phone book to good use. Alex queral lets his fingers do the carving baltimore. Carved phonebook sculptures by alex queral strictlypaper. Jan 27, 2010 philadelphiabased artist alex queral carves the faces of celebrities into phone books, then coats the results with acrylic. The phone companies are in the process of eliminating the production and distribution of the residential white pages. If you were to take a step back, upon first glance you would think these sculptures to be made of stone, but upon closer inspection the vary detailing, sometime a series of. Queral brings celebrities to life through phone book pages. Faces in the phone book by alex queral featured articles. Over a decade ago, queral was out one day searching for wood to use in a sculpture he was making.
I carve the faces out of phone books because i like the threedimensional quality that results. By freehand sketching, he copies a selected famous face and then places the drawing over the phone book. The creative alliance is currently hosting an exhibit of his mixed media work entitled facebook in. The phone book sculptures of alex queral neatorama. Please give us your phone books if youre in the philadelphia area, please bring them to the gallery. Fourteen years ago, alex queral was out looking for wood for a new sculpture, when he suddenly noticed all of the outofdate phone books being thrown out. Alex querals superman retired the medium emphasizes the reuse of abandoned materials as well as the extraordinary human individuality emerging. Taking an ordinary phone book, alex queral carves a face into this object of so many faceless names.
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. 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. Alex queral is an artist that isnt afraid to put a face to all of those names found in a phone book. 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. Alex queral has had several gallery and museum exhibitions, including at the projects gallery. 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.
Taking an ordinary phone book, alex queral carves a. 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. Dec 26, 2010 amazing phone book carvings by alex queral posted. Recycled crafts kids recycle crafts diy crafts phone books masks book art art projects arts and crafts statue. Aug 24, 2009 philadelphia, pa an american artist has spent the last 14 years carving celebrity faces out of phone books. Book sculpture paper sculptures books art handmade books recycled art altered books book crafts installation art art lessons.
This is the essential material in alex querals carved telephone book portraits. Alex querals phone book art is on display at philadelphia international airport, in terminal f, concourse 2. Peeling away the pages like the skin of an onion to reveal the portrait. Alex querals carved out phone book faces lost at e minor. Artist carves phone books into portraits to honor the faceless artist alex queral doesnt throw away his white pages. To find out more about alex queral and see lots more of these phone book portraits, see his profile page at project gallery. Utilizing various recycled phone books, newspapers, books, and magazines as his medium, new yorkbased artist longbin chen is able to transform them into remarkable sculptures.
There have been many articles about alex queral, including phone book sculptures of pop culture icons written by caroline stanley for flavorwire in 2010. Incredible phone book carvings of celebrity faces recyclenation. Facebook gives people the power to share and makes the world more open and connected. Alex querals carved phone book art alex queral does these wonderful heads, carved out of phone books then painted with acrylics. Jul 16, 2009 alex querals phone book art is on display at philadelphia international airport, in terminal f, concourse 2. Alex querals superman retired the medium emphasizes the reuse of abandoned materials as well as the extraordinary human individuality emerging from the vast numbers of names listed in the phone book. Cubanamerican artist alex queral carves phone books to shape three dimensional portraits of popculture icons. Incredible phone book carvings of celebrity faces rather than just leaving phone books to rot in the gutter alex queral decided to recycle them by turning them into works of art. Alex queral carves famous faces into phone books if you happen to have a few spare copies of the white pages lying around, you might want to send it onto alex queral, who carves intricate three dimensiona. 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. His choice of medium is quite unique, yet ordinary which results in threedimensional quality that enhances. In carving and painting a head from a phone book directory, im. He came upon a bunch of old discarded phone books and thats when. Alex queral is a 51 year old artist who respects the rejected telephone books.
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. Join facebook to connect with alex queral and others you may know. 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. Jan 29, 2014 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. Jun 10, 2010 alex querals its all relative albert einstein. Portraits from telephone directories curious, funny. Using the drawing as a template, he slices away at the thousands of pages with an artists scapel or razor blade. Jul 19, 2010 alex queral is a 51 year old artist who respects the rejected telephone books. Alex queral occasionally, you come across an artist whose skill and dexterity in the practice of their art can leave you breathless with admiration. Cubanborn artist alex queral creates these amazing artworks by taking to old telephone directories with a razor knife and some acrylic. Back in 1995, alex queral was just an undergraduate at the university of washington in seattle who loved to paint.
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