Plucked from ordinary life, the things used to create artist Kris Kuksi‘s surreal assemblages are changed into high art. Since 2004, the American artist has focused on his sculptures, every tinged with a somewhat Gothic, dark texture. Using railway model kits, jewelry, figurines, wedding cake parts, wood trim, resin, stones, and other found materials, ” he gradually builds up every piece. Influenced by the classical world, Kuksi lovingly crafts every piece over the span of months–often years. Many times, it’s the small architectural elements and details that create up a nostalgic, vintage feel to work, which borders on the surreal. “I dream from the classical worlds. “Re-live classical ideas and themes and remix it. Life for me in the studio is a remix of the ancient, classic, and vintage realms to the contemporary edge.” Working out of a 19th-century church at Kansas, Kuksi is surrounded by the background that he incorporates into his job.

An Artist Assembles Gothic Sculptures From Found Materials

Now, galleries are waiting for these contemporary assemblages. Kuksi lets go of each with complexity–the thousands of bits making up the unified whole represent the innumerable hours spent and conclusions designed to complete the sculpture. Ornate and grand, the showstopping sculptures can be looked at in detail from Kuksi’s book Conquest, which contains over 200 color reproductions and details of his stunning work.