Handmade '90s HEAVY Incredibly Detailed Anatomical "Fairy Man" Mask Sculpture For Sale

Handmade '90s HEAVY Incredibly Detailed Anatomical "Fairy Man" Mask Sculpture

~Note: This mask is one of a 6 piece set. Please see active listings for the other entirely unique masks! If you would like to make an offer on the set, please reach out in the form of an email.

Intro:

This is, truly, one of the most astounding works of sculptural art I’ve come across throughout my just under 80 years. To myself, and to a great many others - this work of sculptural art is an anomaly… at once eerily lifelike, yet simultaneously a product of our strangest dreams… I hesitate to call this piece a “mask,” - it truly is not. The HEAVY bodied, THICK ensemble would most certainly - not - be something you would want to attempt to functionally wear… the piece was made to hang on a wall - it is so innately complex in its build, with such fine elements of detail that I would never imagine displaying the piece anywhere but. Truth be told? This is the first time in almost 30 years that this fundamentally unique sculpture has been taken down. We have always “cleaned in place.” While the piece itself is thick, chunky, heavy, VERY solid - the exterior also boasts elements of sculptural detail I’d never want to “test.” This isn’t a mass produced, easy to replace “item,” this is a one of one, entirely made by hand vision brought to life... The product of ludicrously talented hands, a brilliantly creative mind, and the commitment of countless hours of precious time. This is a work of art that my wife and I - never - imagined we would part with… decade after decade, our eyes and minds never grew accustomed to what our children always referred to as “the green man.” To this day, I marvel (and sometimes fight disbelief) at what human hands can achieve - what is possible through unparalleled vision, raw talent, and steadfast dedication. So why have I taken this irreplaceable work of art from its spot on the wall after all - these - years? Well… I find myself thinking moroffer thoughts. What happens when I am gone? Where does our “green man” end up? Will whoever ends up with the piece appreciate and care for it in the way that I have for so man years? I want to have some control over who this piece goes off to… I want to be able to keep the piece’s story (the artist’s vision) intact. And so, here we are (: It will be a bittersweet moment when this piece goes out - but I take solace in that long after I am gone, this wonderful work of art will continue to live on.

Background:

In the early ‘90s, I was living in Malibu, California and working in the film industry. Now - everybody has their particular taste in art, but I have to say - most of the industry figures in Hollywood at the time? “Taste” was not something they were often associated with. For the majority of the ‘80s and ‘90s, my life revolved around the “set.” An often arduous and wearing world - it did have its perks. In the process of making a movie, you come across all manners of men and women. Costume designers, directors, camera buffs, audiophiles, actors, writers, and (of course) artists. I remember one particular occasion after a days worth of shooting, overhearing some “logistics” men talking art. They were brainstorming on who to approach for the creation of a mask needed for the film’s final act. They seemed to go around and around when almost in unison I heard the group proclaim “perfect!” I debated whether to engage or let go - but my interest was too great. I asked about the mask in question - and then, about the proposed “creator.” The artist in question was local to Malibu, and (according to the group) the “talk of the town.” “Sure…” I remember thinking - equating the “talk of the town” with that same posh, abstract, pretentious work I’d seen from who knows how many other “trendy” artists of the time. Nevertheless, I accepted the group’s invitation to head to the sculptor/painter’s gallery… an invitation that would take me on one of the most fascinating/stunning adventures of my lifetime.

The Artist

The gallery was small, but I was curious off the bat given the line of people trailing through the front door. I remember thinking “this looks like a film premier?” We were allowed entry, and greeted by a woman identifying herself as the artist’s assistant. We were to be given a “special tour” - a tour of a “wall of masks” that would “give us an idea” of the artist’s style.. whether or not he was “right for the job.” I was half paying attention - half contemplating the oddity of wall covered in faces? Half paying attention - this is - until we found our hall….

I’ve never been the one to find art “breathtaking,” yet - that is EXACTLY the way in which I would describe my encounter with the “wall of masks.” I was - absolutely - confounded.. how? HOW could you make these - these BEINGS, so life-like and real out of an inorganic medium? And by HAND? While at first captivated, perplexed, floored - as I moved from mask to mask I suddenly felt overwhelmed. Not because “oh, the art is simply too beautiful!” but rather because of the many faces, foreign - strange - beautifully abnormal faces - staring back at me. A few held my gaze to such a degree I didn’t want to “move on.” I didn’t CARE about the paintings that hung in the main gallery… I didn’t CARE about what my peers thought of what we were all looking at… even the idea of meeting the “man behind the mask” couldn’t drag me to the end of that hallway… and especially, away from the “Fairy Man.” The mask you see here…

Once in a while you come across a certain kind of person perhaps best described as “no BS.” THAT was how I remember “the man behind the mask.” He was dressed in what looked to me like a “monk’s robe,” and COVERED in clay. I realized now - away from the masks - that I was thinking more clearly. I HAD to convey just how incredible what I had seen was to the man who had created it. The funny thing? I talked and I talked, I expressed my admiration in wayyy to many ways - and it didn’t look like I was getting through! The man had brought to life these… spectacular works of art and I got the feeling as though he thought what he did was ordinary? Well… maybe to him it was - but to myself? I simply couldn’t grasp how he did what he did. After making somewhat of a fool of myself, and discussing briefly the business of making - our - mask for the movie, we shook hands - and he sauntered off. I realized just then the growing crowd out in the main gallery, the loud chatter and banter of a mass of people. I called after the clay covered man, half joking “so are you going to make your appearance in that?” Without skipping a beat “who says I’m making an appearance?” —

The Mask Itself:

Long story short, our production did not request the services of the “mad hatter,” as he was affectionally called in within the art community. He was (oh but of course) “too unpredictable - who knows if he’d produce anything at all when the time came.” My peers had cut ties - but I was still standing in that hall.. peering into the eyes of creatures at once both familiar and alien. I called the sculptor’s assistant, and set up another meeting under the guise of “further production business.” I’ve not wanted much in my life.. I’ve not often come across something I knew I “had to have,” but I knew I had to have these… Another encounter with the “Mad Hatter.”… the news that the masks “weren’t for sale.”… some begging and then bargaining… offers made that had a chance of leading me to the poorhouse… but at the end of it all? I got what I was seeking… a “dream world” that would occupy my home for the next many, many years.

“Fairy Man” : The Design

There was indeed a point in time when I had a summary (from the artist) on each of the masks I own. That time has passed.. a house fire, a move - and then another (this time across country) and somewhere along the way, I lost paperwork nearly as important as our marriage certificate. One day while ranting about how “it was all gone,” my wife calmly said “Honey - it’s all in your head, isn’t it? So just - write it all down.” She was RIGHT. I’d read over those documents so many times over, I could recreate them. Thank GOD for her, because that was years ago. At my age now? I’m not sure I would have been able to give you this piece’s design story… the story you will find below.

This mask was made to represent the mythical “fairy,” but not the fairy of children’s book. The artist said that - this - fairy was a frequent visitor of his early childhood dreams.. “this isn’t your soft, cute, good spirited fairy you read to your children about… this is that creature in the woods you dream about stumbling upon… that you aren’t sure how to feel about - Not all good, not all bad… but far beyond our level of comprehension.” That there is the beauty of this sculptural work. How does it make you feel?? The mask isn’t exactly frightening… it is actually (I believe) beautifully “human,” but there is something mythically eery about the piece. SO anatomically accurate is the THICK sculpted mask that despite its obvious strangeness, it feels “familiar. The artist showcases an ASTOUNDING display of anatomical knowledge.. everything about this face is proportionally “human.” The cheeks, the nose, the chin, the lips, the eyes - LOOK at the masterful manipulation of the medium at hand that allows for such perfect angles… angles that recreate the human form. For a moment, please view the image above that is shot from the “bottom up,” look at the nose! I’ve never - truly - seen the human nose captured with such ludicrous accuracy.. there is indeed something weirdly human about the fairy man, but - then again - in some ways he isn’t human at all…

The mouth on this piece is such a brilliant display of artistry. One side of this figure’s mouth is upturned - as if in a slight smile.. the other side of the mouth, however, is warped and disfigured… shriveled and thin. How the artist was able to achieve THIS level of detail - capturing perfectly even the human face it its irregular?? Of course, it isn’t just the mouth on this mask that is a little strange.. the mask is covered in bumps and striations, its surface HIGHLY irregular… the beauty of this mask is that no element of the surface is the same… wonderfully and perfectly imperfect. According to the artist, the “Fairy Man” of his dreams was likely a product of his mother - who spoke of the “Fairy Man” to keep her little boy from wandering off in the woods alone. The “Fairy Man” had “thick, course skin - bumpy and textured.”

To myself, the surface of the “skin” almost looks pockmarked.. scarred.. I could - quite literally - sit here all day discussing the incredible nature of this mask’s surface.. yet, in actuality you would be no closer to understanding all that this piece is.

The eyes of the mask.. soft, inquisitive - yet also piercing and empty. The thick, heavy eyelids are MASTERFULLY molded, and boast such detail that even the creased in the “skin” are visible. They sit under THICK, heavy bulging eyebrows - one thick and one thin.. malformed.. “off.” At the center of each eye, the pupil has been carved out CLEAR through the back…. whatever is placed behind this mask - is what you shall see. At the gallery, this mask was placed on a wall that housed dim green light - resulting in an eery green light radiating through those piercing eyes…

While - somewhat - resembling a human from the forehead down, forehead up is all “Fairy Man”… all “dreamworld.” At the top left and right of the head - thick green stubby horns that actually look as though they are stretchinggg the skin as they protrude from the skull… bony and bulky…coming between the two horns, a triangular hairline that continues on to the top and back of the head. At the statues top - angled and oh so purposefully off center - a large, intricately carved black and white singular horn. Unlike the two horns at the front - this singular horn is long and pronounced - protruding forth from the statue’s top.. impossible to miss… It is here that the artist solidifies the “Fairy Man’s” dreamworld existence.

Color/Paint

Again, I could sit here all day - and I just would not be able to adequately describe how the artist painted this one of a kind one of one work of art… all I can say is that this is perhaps the most striking blend of hues and color palettes I’ve seen on a sculptural work of - any - kind. Everything is SO vibrant… so - “of the forest.” Within this piece you will find cool greens and light blues, yellows, blacks, greys, whites… and ALL of it intermixed amongst the entirety of the HIGHLY varied surface of the piece…. in areas were striations are particularly thick - take note of how contrasting hues were actually embedded within those thick indentations… on bulbous bumps - notice how they are capped in BRIGHT greens and blues to make them “pop” all the more… in order to describe everything at play here - I would need an art degree… and while I’ve owned and collected all manners of fine art throughout my years - that does not leave me any closer to being able to capture this piece through word alone..

Composition/Material

This is a THICK mask made from a type of concrete plaster. It is - heavy - but keep in mind that for almost 30 years, but two nails into the wall (on hinges) supported that weight just fine. The piece weighs in at 5.8 pounds! Thick, chunky, heavy, SOLID - if this thing came off the wall, I’d more be worried about the damage done to the HOME! Secure properly… it would - truly - be a travesty to see this piece subject to even the chance of harm. The back of the mask is a HIGH vibrancy NEON almost glowing green! When exposed to the natural light, the green at the interior is -SO - green that I find it actually hard to make direct eye contact with. You can actually see at the interior a “mask within a mask” of sorts - as you can make out the eyes, nose, moth, even horns (though crudely) of the figure at the front!

Artist Signature:

Ahhh.. the greatest travesty of the listing of this mask… and the reason I am not asking the — fortune — I had to pay to acquire this piece (and we’re talking way back in 1993), I cannot make out the artists signature… not only can I not make out the artist’s signature, this was the ONE thing I could not remember when I re-wrote the summary of each piece I had acquired from him. I’ve looked at this signature from - every - angle… I’ve guessed at what I see there maybe 200 times? Combing the web countless times armed with whatever the signature looked like to me on that given day… I’ve called old associates, quizzed my wife 10 times over…. the signature is there (and photographed above) but it is so FRUSTRATINGLY unclear… handwritten, and right next to a ’93 scrawling - indicating the mask’s creation in 1993. Truth be told? The signature is EXACTLY what I would have expected of the “Mad Hatter.” He made simply to make… my praise hadn’t mattered way back when I first toured his gallery, and it likely didn’t matter that his name wasn’t perfectly legible… but boy, does it matter to me! Before I pass, man… one of those bucket list items is just getting that name back… knowing just who it was that made this absolutely incredible work of anomaly sculptural art.

Dimensions/Specs

8.5” Wide

14” Length (top to bottom, with horn)

6” Deep (with small horns)

Weight: 5.8 POUNDS

Overall, this is a piece that exists in one place and one place only, and that is here… I debated for a long, long while over whether or not to list, but I believe that nothing is really ever “yours,” you have your time, but ultimately - you pass it on… the time has come for this piece to move on to the next phase in what is hopefully a long, long life (:

~If you have any further questions, or would like to see any additional photos, please do not hesitate to reach out in the form of an email. I will get back to you promptly. Will ship overseas, but not responsible for any customs fees that might be incurred.