American sculptor Tony Matelli unsettled tourists when his nearly-nude, eerily lifelike Sleepwalker was installed on the repurposed railroad of New York City’s High Line in 2016. Eyes closed, mouth agape, and arms reaching forward, the man’s skin appeared to be real flesh rather than its actuality—painted bronze. Matelli uses materials and vernacular associated with antiquity, blended with the contemporary, to create uncannily realistic sculptures that are hard to pinpoint in time. Faux bronze fruit, hot dog weiners, crab legs, and sliced bread, each painted with impeccable detail, casually rest upon figurative concrete sculptures and busts.
For Dallas Art Month and the Dallas Art Fair, his sculptures will be on view throughout The Joule’s common areas. To celebrate, he will present a talk delving into his process.
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