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Alma Allens biomorphic sculptures have minds of their own

In a bold takeover of Kasmins gallery and sculpture garden in New York, American artist Alma Allen introduces his latest series of curious creatures in bronze

If you didnt know they were rendered in static bronze, you might be mistaken for thinking that Alma Allens sculptures were alive. Imbued with organic, surreal and creature-like characteristics, they appear to be growing or evolving;blink and you might find them somewhere else.

Allens biomorphic sculptures can currently be found both indoors and outdoors at Kasmin, New York. In the gallerys 514 West 28th Street location, Allen is presenting more than 20 small-scale bronzes. Hyper-polished almost to the point of liquidity, these works are both lifeforms in their own right and proposals for future large-scale works. Atop Kasmins elevated and newly rewilded urban garden, the artists monumental outdoor sculptures can be experienced by all those who walk the adjacent New York High Line.

Allens deep affinity with the natural world stems from a childhood spent in Utah, where proximity to the desert allowed him the chance to roam, whittle wood, and hand-carve stones that he stumbled upon. The sculptures are often in the act of doing something: they are going away, or leaving, or interacting with something invisible, Allen has previously said. Even though they seem static as objects, they are not static in my mind. In my mind, they are part of a much larger universe. They are interacting with each other as well, with works I made 20 years ago.

Allen begins his process by instinctively hand-sculpting intimately scaled model clay or wax forms. Its a gradual emergence as the artist works and reworks until each has a life of its own. The artist casts and finishes the sculptures at his own foundry, on site at his studio in the hills of Tepoztln, Mexico.

Installation view of Alma Allens exhibition at Kasmin gallerys514 West 28th Street location. Photography:Diego Flores

The forms and shapes of Allens work are only half the story; a great deal exists on the surface. The artists expressive and tactile finishes involve welding smaller pieces together, brazing, polishing, and developing chemical patinas until surfaces almost resemble paintings, or even rippling landscapes.

Kasmin is in the process ofimagining new ways to bring Allens sculpture to the public. The gallery ispartnering with Membit, an augmented reality platform to create anart anywhereexperience.Through this, users are able to introduce a 3D image of one of Allens sculptures into their own environments, whether athome, a local wilderness, or in a public space.

Here, small-scale meets monumental, exhibiting the versatility and ambition of Allens work. Whether occupying the clean white walls of the gallery or reaching for the skyline in Kasmins urban garden, Allens sculptures feel very much at home.

Photography:Diego Flores

Photography:Diego Flores

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