Resin Sculptures Reimagine Painting With Brushstrokes Placed in Suspended Animation

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

Artist Fabian Oefner explores the connection between time, space, and reality in his mind-bending works. The pieces, which range from dissected cameras to sliced sculptures, are the result of a highly methodical process in which he experiments and often collaborates with experts in various fields. Through this, new boundary-breaking pieces emerge. His VOLUMEN series reimagines brushstrokes and encourages us to think about them in ways we haven't before.

VOLUMEN is a series featuring 12 works that are a new chapter in Oefner’s “exploration of the boundaries of painting.” The pieces transform a flat, two-dimensional element into a sculptural, three-dimensional viewing experience. Oefner has fabricated clear resin boxes and placed vibrant, energetic brush strokes within them. Ribbons of blues, reds, oranges, and pinks twist and turn within the transparent form, allowing us to appreciate the gesture and color contained within a single stroke.

Beyond appreciation for the brushstroke itself, VOLUMEN raises other points that hearken back to the greater concepts in Oefner’s work. Creating a brushstroke is fleeting; it takes just a split second and then onto the next stroke. By encasing the strokes in resin, they're in suspended animation—essentially freezing them in time and space.

VOLUMEN was born out of Oefner’s appreciation of painting. “I have always been fascinated by the textural quality of paintings,” he states. “For me, experiencing works like de Kooning’s Door to the River or Pollock’s Lavender Mist has always been as much a tactile experience as a visual one. These paintings are almost like sculptures to me. What I am doing is removing the canvas entirely and lifting the paint into space, making its physicality completely tangible.”

Artist Fabian Oefner has created 12 works that “explore the boundaries of painting.”

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

The series is titled VOLUMEN, and it reimagines brushstrokes and encourages us to think about them in ways we haven't before.

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

The pieces transform a flat, two-dimensional element into a sculptural, three-dimensional viewing experience.

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

Oefner has fabricated clear resin boxes and placed vibrant, energetic brushstrokes within them.

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

Ribbons of blues, reds, oranges, and pinks twist and turn within the transparent form, allowing us to appreciate the gesture and color contained within a single stroke.

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

By encasing the strokes in resin, they're in suspended animation—essentially freezing them in time and space.

VOLUMEN Resin Sculpture by Fabian Oefner

Studio Oefner: Website | Instagram

My Modern Met granted permission to feature photos by Studio Oefner.

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Sara Barnes

Sara Barnes is a Staff Editor at My Modern Met and Manager of My Modern Met Store. She is a graduate of the Maryland Institute College of Art where she earned her BFA in Illustration and MFA in Illustration Practice. Sara is also an embroidery illustrator and writer living in Seattle, Washington. She runs Bear&Bean, a studio where she stitches pet portraits and other beloved creatures. She chronicles the creativity of others through her website Brown Paper Bag and newsletter, Orts. Her latest book is Threads of Treasure: How to Make, Mend, and Find Meaning Through Thread, published in 2014. Sara’s work has been recognized in Be Creative With Workbox, Embroidery Magazine, American Illustration, on Iron and Wine’s album Beast Epic, among others. When she’s not stitching or writing, Sara enjoys planning things that bring together the craft community. She is the co-founder of Camp Craftaway, a day camp for crafty adults with hands-on workshops in the Seattle area.
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