MARC SIJAN

Serbian-American artist Marc Sijan (b.1946) is known for his hyperrealist sculptures, capturing his models in a moment in time. In 1968, he received his BA in Art Education from the University of Wisconsin-Whitewater in went on to earn his Master of Science in Art degree in 1971, undertaking intense study of anatomy and biology in the process.

Sijan’s original inspiration was Michelangelo’s David and he was always fascinated by Michelangelo’s awareness of human anatomy and his ability to execute this awareness. However, unlike Michelangelo, Sijan does not celebrate the ideal form; his works are tributes to real people and in their realism, they are unpretentious and gritty and communicate a deep sense of emotion. In order to achieve the ultra-realistic finish, Sijan initially works from a live model and produces a plaster mold. He then sculpts the interior of the mold with tools and a magnifying glass and casts the figure in a polyester resin. To achieve realistic flesh tones, Sijan applies twenty-five coats of paint and varnish. His goal is to achieve depth, yet translucency and spends as long as six months reproducing these details on each piece.

He has participated in over 50 world-wide one-man museum exhibitions, with the majority of the museums setting attendance records with the showing of his sculptures.

Sijan’s super realistic sculptures are “homages to humanity’s fascination with its own forms — a fascination which has compelled artists throughout the millennia to mirror life in virtually every medium.” His figures are incredibly lifelike, sensuous and graceful. In fact, they are so lifelike, they seem always on the verge of movement, a mere instant away from action. The pores in the skin, the tiny hairs, and veins; even the bald spots, the blemishes, the individual shapes of the faces that make human beings so similar, yet so unique: These are the essence of what makes Sijan’s work so remarkable.