Romanian sculptor Darius Hulea uses industrial metal wires to “draw” portraits of historical figures, bringing them back to life. The artist uses iron, stainless steel, brass, and copper wires and molds them into recognizable 3D portraits.
Hulea was first introduced to sculpture when he was very young. His grandmother worked with traditional geometric fabrics while grandfather has worked with agricultural tools. His early exposure to the medium gave Hulea insight into the power of industrial materials. As a result, the artist took his interest in sculpture and combine it with his other passion, which is painting.
Hulea’s artwork is founded on the principals of classical drawing. He uses varying wires to ‘sketch’ and placed them in three dimensions to create stunning portraits.
“I discovered during my second year of college that the great artists of modern history used the principle of drawing in space or drawing the space through different metallic structures,” Hulea told My Modern Met. “Some, like Picasso, used recycled materials or, like Calder or David Smith, industrial materials. That moment was the turning point of the sculptures that I am doing now. For me, this type of drawing is what we find in the sketches of the great artists of the Renaissance like Michelangelo and Da Vinci—serious and realistic compositions that anyone can understand.”
