Life-Size Steel Wire Sculptures

25 March 2020

Sculptor Nadia Zubareva creates incredible figurative wire sculptures from stainless steel threads and polymer coating. From Siberia, Zubareva now lives and works between St. Petersburg and Finland, constructing her life-size sculptures with incredible skill. The wire sculpture artist manipulates her medium deftly, molding the metal into expressive figures that at times mimic classical art.

Sewn into metal boxes, Zubareva’s creations are often inspired by Greek and Roman sculptures. She takes on classic figures like Apollo and the Three Graces, yet seems equally inspired by the spirit of dance. Her ballerina, placed in a snowy forest, rests pointing her toes, while other dancers delicately arch their torsos.

Fixed in their boxes, each translucent sculpture is trapped in their own environment. They are all at once a part of, yet also separate from, our world. As light passes through, the emotions change, each stage of the day bringing out new evocative shadows. Whether in the gallery or placed dramatically in a natural environment, each figure takes on a graphic quality characteristic of Zubareva’s work.