Sculptor Michael Alfano’s contemporary sculptures convey evocative and transformative philosophical truths. Influenced by art greats including Surrealist artist Salvador Dali, Alfano’s dynamic sculptural artwork captures the imagination and encourages the viewer to look beyond the superficial and seek deeper meaning.
by 
Michael Alfano, an internationally renowned sculpture artist, sculpting with various mediums – bronze being his favorite – creates acclaimed sculptures ranging from animated surreal sculptures to figurative and portrait sculptures.
His sculptural art spans the spectrum from monumental public works and commissions to smaller pieces in private collections. Many of his works are on show in public venues including sculpture gardens, respected art fairs, and contemporary art galleries.
Alfano’s contemporary sculptures convey evocative and transformative philosophical truths.
Influenced by art greats including Surrealist artist Salvador Dali, Alfano’s dynamic sculptural artwork captures the imagination and encourages the viewer to look beyond the superficial and seek deeper meaning.
Alfano, a classically trained sculpture artist, demonstrates, in the following video, this concept with his pigmented resin sculpture titled “Cubed” – a two-faced, interactive sculpture puzzle composed of nine skin-toned puzzle pieces that can be arranged in various combinations to reveal conjoined faces – one male and one female. Or, if one prefers to escape the conventional bounds of reconstructing the pieces in the order necessary to expose the expected puzzle solution, one can mix and match the individual sculpture pieces to form a myriad of abstract sculptures.
Of his provocative puzzle sculpture, Alfano explains, “It challenges us to consider the nuances of race, labels like gender, art as a fixed product of its creator, and the constant admonishment ‘do not touch the artwork.’”
Throughout the video quotes from the classic text Tao te Ching float in and out of each frame “alluding to philosophical interpretations of the sculpture,” according to Alfano.
The philosophically-inspired sculptor exhibited his artwork at the contemporary art fair Spectrum Miami during Miami Art Week. And it was at that art fair that Alfano’s kinetic art sculpture works caught my attention and enticed me to learn more about this talented artist.
His surreal sculpture titled “Questioning Mind” lured me into his exhibition space. And once there, I was riveted and curious about each art piece.
A cursory web search proved that I was not alone in my curiosity about Alfano’s “Questioning Mind” and his other artistic works.
It was apparent that Michael Alfano’s compelling sculpture impacted many who’d seen it and they were hungry for knowledge about the sculptor, his other creations and seeking further artistic insight on his thought-provoking creation “Questioning Mind”.
I found my way to Alfano’s website. There I learned about his many other works and the inspiration and philosophy behind each.
In “Questioning Mind,” the artist explains “the high relief face is cut away, surrealistically creating a question mark, a hallmark of the human race.” He then refers to Albert Einstein’s quote, “The important thing is to not stop questioning. Curiosity has its own reason for existing.”
As a person with an intense curiosity – who is always questioning and seeking truth, the sculpture and the Einstein quote resonated with me. Perhaps Alfano’s “Questioning Minds” sparks that desire for knowledge that lives within all of us, and perhaps that’s why his artwork reverberates with all that encounter those artful and philosophical sculptures – whether at an art show, gallery or in a public space.
