Imagine a room, where the past, present and future melt into one, and objects decay into dust while somehow forstanding. Daniel Arsham’s Hour Glass series is, indeed, the magic. His works coax you to stop, to think, to ponder the passage of time that feels uncomfortably personal. Arsham combines the eroded materials with futuristic vibes creating a visual time capsule that feels like it was plucked out of an ancient site (or perhaps, a future one).
The Hour Glass series is not a set of sculptures but a metaphor for what time does to us all, quietly, relentlessly, gracefully. This series speaks to something primal in everyone: whether you’re a newbie in the art world or an old hand. It asks: What do we leave behind and how much time do we really have?
Who Was Daniel Arsham?
Does the name Daniel Arsham sound familiar? If it doesn’t yet, it will. Arsham was born in Cleveland, Ohio, in 1980 and grew up in a world that always captivated him. He was, after all, once a man who had survived a hurricane that swept through his home, leaving no wreckage behind but that would inform his vision as an artist. When time and the elements have had their way with things, what’s left? Almost all of his art is dotted with that question.
He is now one of the most sought-after contemporary artists. Being temporary, he mixes the eternal with the new. As with his famous eroded sculptures, or collaborations with larger names like Dior, Arsham has a talent for making quotidian objects ‘future relics.
FUN FACT: Daniel Arsham once transformed Pharrell Williams’ first keyboard into a crystallized sculpture!
His Career
In New York City, Arsham learned his skills from the Cooper Union and eventually developed his unique style. His first major exhibition came in 2004, and he broke out. His star only rose from there. From Paris (bonjour!), to worldwide exhibitions, to collaborating with musicians such as Pharrell Williams and the choreographer Merce Cunningham, he’s showcased himself. He’s also gotten into fashion, theater design, and even sneaker culture.
Arsham’s treatment of time distinguishes him from other contemporary artists. His sculptures are dug up from an archaeological dig, only instead of bones and pottery, you find eroded sculptures of people, sports cars, and even video game consoles. It’s like going into a museum of a future past. Pretty wild, right?
What Is Happening in Hour Glass Series?
| Artist | Daniel Arsham |
| Date Created | 2017 |
| Medium | Crystals, Eroded Bronze, Plaster |
| Genre | Contemporary Sculpture |
| Period | 21st Century |
| Dimensions | Varies (typically life-sized) |
| Series / Versions | Hour Glass (various editions) |
| Where is it housed? | Private collections, Exhibits |
Let’s start on the Hour Glass series, as things get much more exciting here. Hour Glass is Arsham’s exploration of a fragile time itself. But usually, human figures, are petrified in their place and not necessarily whole. The sculptures’ surfaces are deliberately eroded, collapsing in some places, intact in others, or maybe even growing into crystalline growths. The effect? These sculptures are on the verge of decaying but never decaying away completely.
In this series, the hourglass serves as a symbol of the inexorable passage of time itself. Each piece is a visual metaphor that plays itself out over and over. Time erodes everything, even the human form, and you can’t help but think about it.
Arsham’s figures tend to be ghostly, as if they come from some distant past, and yet still in the future. This tension of eroded surfaces against almost untouched fields of flowers keeps you looking, questioning, and wondering.
What’s So Special About Hour Glass Series?
The Hour Glass series shines here: it makes you think. It’s visually stunning, yes, but it’s also emotionally resonant. You look at these figures and are drawn into them. After all, they’re human; they’re crumbling away. It is a painful reminder that we too are temporal. Did any ever make you stop and think about who you truly were?
But the most interesting thing of all is the tactile nature of the work. As a medium, Arsham isn’t just going for visual decay, it’s going for texture. Gritty, almost fragile-looking, the surfaces of his pieces could disintegrate at any moment. However, they’re resilient.
Arsham is great at blending ancient symbols with modern techniques, evidenced by the Hour Glass series. Simple yet deeply complex, it feels timeless, yet futuristic. After all, the hourglass is one of the oldest symbols of timekeeping — but in Arsham’s hands it’s something new, something you haven’t seen before.
Interesting Facts About Hour Glass Series
Crystals Galore: Arsham has a thing for crystals, and the Hour Glass series is no exception. He often incorporates crystals into the eroded areas of his sculptures, making them seem as if time has not only worn them down but also transformed them into something entirely new. It’s almost like nature is reclaiming these figures, healing them in a way.
From Erosion to Performance: The Hour Glass series is more than just static sculptures. In one iteration, Arsham collaborated with dancers from the Merce Cunningham Dance Company to create a live performance that played with themes of time and decay. The dancers, like the figures in his sculptures, seemed to be eroding in real-time, their movements slow, deliberate, and haunting. Can you imagine watching that? Très unique.
A Nod to Japanese Aesthetics: While Arsham is deeply rooted in Western art traditions, there’s a subtle influence of Japanese aesthetics in his work, particularly the idea of wabi-sabi, which finds beauty in imperfection and impermanence. The cracks, the eroded surfaces, the incomplete figures—all of this ties back to wabi-sabi, reminding us that decay can be beautiful.
Artwork Spotlight: Crystal Relic 003
Crystal Relic 003 is available on Singulart. It’s one of his smaller pieces, a classic camera, crystallized and eroded. A perfect homage to both nostalgia and the slow decay of time.
Are you looking for a piece of artwork from Daniel Arsham?
Singulart has limited edition prints of Daniel Arsham. If you are looking for a piece of Arsham‘s artwork for sale, simply click on the artwork or the button below to discover more!
FAQs
1. Is Daniel Arsham colorblind?
The colorblindness of Arsham was another factor. A large portion of his art has been in shades of gray or white because of his color blindness.
2. How does Daniel Arsham make his pieces?
Artist Daniel Arsham initially made a plaster mold, which was subsequently utilized to cast the sculptures in bronze.
Conclusion
Daniel Arsham’s Hour Glass series isn’t just art for you to look at but art to make you stop, think, and feel. The material blend of eroded materials, crystalline forms, and figures of man communally defines a visual language focused on the fragility of time.
With the Hour Glass series, Arsham gives us a gift in a world that moves so quickly. He’s barraging us with the reminder that time goes by fast, but that fleeting nature is also beautiful. C’est la vie.
