#25. Icarus

Artist             Davide Prete

Hometown  Washington, D.C.

Size                14'H x 6'W x 4'D

Price                $  15,000

Icarus When I was a child, my father always told me stories based on Greek mythology and Icarus' story was my favorite. Icarus is the son of the master craftsman Daedalus who built wings with wax and feathers for him and for his son to escape from exile in Crete. Icarus ignored instructions not to fly too close to the sun, and he fell. This myth serves as an example of hubris or failed ambition, but it also represents human limits and what we try to do in order to overcome them. The sculpture shows Icarus before his flight, standing in front of his future. The pair of wings formed by five shining, silver, tapered lines are in contrast with the earth bound figurative symbols in blackened forged steel that support them. Forging steel is the traditional way of working this metal. On one hand, I like to think that forged steel represents the basic material nature gave us, what defines us as humans. On the other hand, I like to think about the shining stainless steel as a representative of the special human talents that help people overcome their limitations. I like to play with materials and with contrasts: black with white, circular cross sections with rectangular, shiny with roughness. The asymmetric shape of this sculpture is also an attempt to represent the story of both Icarus and his father. By changing your viewpoint of the sculpture you can perceive it as one figure or two different, separate figures, one smaller and one bigger; father and son.

 

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