We are all well aware that ink on paper, paint on canvas or crafted clay can create any form imaginable. Czech artist Kristian Mensa takes this a step further, displaying the underappreciated fact that almost every object, or combination of objects, has this potential to hold wonder.
Related Post: 26 Collage Artists You Should Know Today
Whether it’s mushroom’s posing as the heads of Elephant, a rose as a dress, an avocado as a boat’s hull or a cheeky pear as a showering man’s rump it’s clear that there is much magic held within the most banal of everyday objects. While the majority of Mensa’s works come from combining a key, everyday object with a drawn element, their work also displays that everyday objects can be crafted into their very own piece. Their effortlessly characterful whale made from a single red onion is perfect testament to this.
Artist Kristian Mensa uses food and other objects to create whimsical artworks.
Beauty from the Mundane
Kristian Mensa’s whimsical art is all the more potent in a world suffering in the shadow of COVID-19. With varying degrees of lockdown still reverberating across Europe, many are still finding themselves somewhat secluded at home. Thus, what better time than to show the true joyous potential of all the mundane objects that surround us?
Due to the simple materials required for these pieces, the artworks also hold in them an inherent question—what beauty and joy can you find within your everyday objects? In such a way, these playful pieces are likely to inspire many to scavenge their house and wrack their brains for objects to use within similar pieces. That said, less experienced artists may struggle to produce works containing the boundless joy Mensa’s images effortlessly capture. Despite the relative simplicity of Mensa’s works, their affect remains incredibly potent—squeezing smiles out of us all while, at the same time, filling us with a light-hearted playfulness.
Multi-modal
But Mensa’s whimsical art has one more potent lesson for us all—and that comes from looking at the rest of their portfolio. As a highly trained dancer, illustrator and commercial artist, Mensa’s work has seen him work across numerous media, forms and with vastly varying styles. This freedom to move, shift and experiment is forever refreshing in a world where individuals are often encouraged into one neat-and-narrow career.
Related Article: Artist recreates iconic rooms as detailed 3D minimalist art
Thus, while to the untrained eye Kristian Mensa’s recent whimsical object-centric art may be nothing but chuckle worthy—to those who look a little deeper it signifies an essential joy. Both a joy to appreciate the whimsicality of everyday forms, and to continue to experiment and expand our own artistic potential by reaching out into different media which inspire us.
In short—Kristian Mensa’s whimsical artworks are at once a works of joy and a bank of inspiration.
LOVE, LOVE, LOVE YOUR WORK! I see objects that remind me of people, situations and moods. Your work tells a story and creates other worlds I didn’t know were possible. I love your work so much and I am happy to have seen your creations. Keep being inspired.