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Photorealist Sculptures

PHOTOREALISM

A direct challenge to Abstract Expressionism’s subjectivity and gestural vigor, Photorealism was informed by the Pop predilection for representational imagery, popular iconography and tools, like projectors and airbrushes, borrowed from the worlds of commercial art and design.

Whether gritty or gleaming, the subject matter favored by Photorealists is instantly, if vaguely, familiar. It’s the stuff of yellowing snapshots and fugitive memories. The bland and the garish alike flicker between crystal-clear reality and dreamy illusion, inviting the viewer to contemplate a single moment rather than igniting a story.

The virtues of the “photo” in Photorealist art — infused as they are with dazzling qualities that are easily blurred in reproduction — are as elusive as they are allusive. “Much Photorealist painting has the vacuity of proportion and intent of an idiot-savant, long on look and short on personal timbre,” John Arthur wrote (rather admiringly) in the catalogue essay for Realism/Photorealism, a 1980 exhibition at the Philbrook Museum of Art, in Tulsa, Oklahoma. At its best, Photorealism is a perpetually paused tug-of-war between the sacred and the profane, the general and the specific, the record and the object.

Robert Bechtle invented Photorealism, in 1963,” says veteran art dealer Louis Meisel. “He took a picture of himself in the mirror with the car outside and then painted it. That was the first one.”

The meaning of the term, which began for Meisel as “a superficial way of defining and promoting a group of painters,” evolved with time, and the core group of Photorealists slowly expanded to include younger artists who traded Rolleiflexes for 60-megapixel cameras, using advanced digital technology to create paintings that transcend the detail of conventional photographs.

On 1stDibs, the collection of Photorealist art includes work by Richard Estes, Ralph Goings, Chuck Close, Audrey Flack, Charles Bell and others.

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Style: Photorealist
Period: 21st Century and Contemporary
Palette with Ink Pencil Eraser
Located in Burlingame, CA
In the world of ceramics, Richard Shaw is a professor and the master of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) sculpture, a style often associated with paintings intended to give ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Glaze, Underglaze

Corona Cigar Box with Watercolor Tray and Cold Cigar
Located in Burlingame, CA
In the world of ceramics, Richard Shaw is a professor and the master of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) sculpture, a style often associated with paintings intended to give ...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Glaze, Underglaze

Spilling Pepsi Cup with Coffee Lid and Five of Spades
Located in Burlingame, CA
In the world of ceramics, Richard Shaw is a professor and the master of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) sculpture, a style often associated with paintings intended to give a convincing illusion of reality. Shaw's work replicates everyday objects (such as tin cans, playing cards, and cutlery) in porcelain. He then glazes these components and groups them in unexpected and even jarring combinations. While interested in how objects can reflect a person’s identity, Shaw also poses questions regarding the relationship between appearance and authenticity. Spilling Pepsi Cup with Coffee Lid...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Glaze, Underglaze

Paint Palette with Spilling Dixie Cup
Located in Burlingame, CA
In the world of ceramics, Richard Shaw is a professor and the master of trompe l’oeil (French for “fool the eye”) sculpture, a style often associated with paintings intended to give...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Sculptures

Materials

Porcelain, Glaze, Underglaze

Alexander The Great's Siege Tent, Halicarnassus, ca. 333 BC, Miniature Room
Located in Chicago, IL
Halicarnassus was an ancient Greek city in Caria, in Anatolia. It was located in southwest Caria, on an advantageous site on the Gulf of Gökova, which is now in Bodrum, Turkey. The city was famous for the Mausoleum of Halicarnassus, ranked as one of the seven wonders of the ancient world. Halicarnassus was loyal to the Persians and formed part of the Persian Empire until Alexander the Great captured it at the siege of Halicarnassus in 333 BC. Here, the Kupjack Studios have meticulously researched the era and have gone to painstaking detail to present this miniature version of Alexander's Tent. Based on a scale of one foot equals one inch, each piece of furniture, rug, decoration is fabricated with exacting detail. Kupjack Miniatures Alexander's Siege Tent, Halicarnassus, ca. 333 BC, circa 2003 mixed media 24.50h x 22.75w x 18.50d in 62.23h x 57.78w x 46.99d cm KJK004 Eugene Kupjack and his sons Hank and Jay created museum quality miniature rooms...
Category

21st Century and Contemporary Photorealist Sculptures

Materials

Mixed Media

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Forget about it
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I should have told you that I loved you more often
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Photorealist sculptures for sale on 1stDibs.

Find a wide variety of authentic Photorealist sculptures available for sale on 1stDibs. Works in this style were very popular during the 21st Century and Contemporary, but contemporary artists have continued to produce works inspired by this movement. Many Pop art paintings were created by popular artists on 1stDibs, including Richard Shaw, John DeAndrea, and Marc Sijan. Frequently made by artists working with Ceramic, and Glaze and other materials, all of these pieces for sale are unique and have attracted attention over the years. Not every interior allows for large Photorealist sculptures, so small editions measuring 9 inches across are also available. Prices for sculptures made by famous or emerging artists can differ depending on medium, time period and other attributes. On 1stDibs, the price for these items starts at $5,000 and tops out at $300,000, while the average work sells for $14,000.

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