3D Printing Sculptures: After the Mermaid … The Pig …..

If you haven’t checked out the contemporary sculptural genius of Eric van Straaten, you really should — whether you are interested in 3D printing (the sculpting medium), or not.

I highlighted his mermaid sculpture last month, currently still on show in the Netherlands. But now I’ve had word that a full collection of Eric’s work is on show in Tokyo, Japan. One of the highlights of this collection — Bliss — just makes me LOL, and think, and contemplate the gender relationship, not to mention the nature of men!!

And, regardless of how a piece of art is conceived, made or otherwise brought into being, isn’t that the point — challenging the viewer to take time to reflect on things that do, and sometimes don’t, matter! The fact that Eric’s work is produced using 3D printing just makes me do this in the course of my working day — and most welcome it is too.

According to Eric, ‘Bliss’ “is about a man who finally gets what he wants (the attention of many girls) and therefore should be in a state of bliss. The problem is, that because the man is actually a pig (and he knows that), he can’t be happy anyway and the girls bother him like Buffalo Birds do a buffalo.”

The Eric van Straaten exhibition at the FUMA CONTEMPORARY | BUNKYO ART in Tokyo opened June 6 and will be run through until June 29. The gallery is open between 11:00 and 18:30 Tuesday – Saturday.