“In creating I release my positive energy. I would like my creations to help men channel their dark thoughts, and transform them into beauty.”

(Richard Orlinski)

Richard Orlinski’s Born Wild© concept

Just like in the iconic American monster film King Kong (2005); beauty kills the beast once again through the contemporary French Pop art sculptor Richard Orlinski’s Born Wild© concept where the artist presents art as the bridging mechanism between an originally primitive instinct transformed into a civilized emotion, manifested in the shape of a beautiful work of art. Orlinski’s fierce animalistic figures manage to balance the intimidating savagery evoked by a Wild Kong, a menacing Wild Bear or a Howling Wolf with the hypnotizing majestic beauty of his colorful diamond-cut like sculptures and their vibrant mirror polished surfaces.

About the Sculptor Richard Orlinski

Born in France on January 19, 1966, Richard Orlinski’s interest in discovering the great masters of painting and sculpture was awakened at the age of 18 after attending a contemporary art exhibition. It wasn’t until 2002 that Orlinski decided to abandon his career as a designer/interior designer and devote himself fully to producing art, working diligently for two years prior to exhibiting his artworks for the first time in 2004. Orlinski’s hard work and determination were rewarded by his immediate success, leading him to exhibit his works at important international galleries and venues including Fiac, Art Élysées, Art Basel, Le Château de Versailles, among others.

Quickly Orlinski’s works began to reach new heights and records and began to enter major collections around the world. Since 2015 ArtPrice, the world’s leading online art price database has recognized Orlinski as the best-selling French contemporary artist in the world.

Influenced by artists like Jeff Koons, Takashi Murakami, and Robert Montana, Richard Orlinski strives to make art accessible to all audiences by using popular iconography in his works, while commenting on our present-day society’s consumerism through his use of industrial materials such as resin and aluminum as well as marble, stone and bronze. Orlinski attempts to reach all audiences and destroy the elitist pedestal of art by presenting his sculptures in public spaces, as a way to demonstrate that art should not be limited to the confinement of galleries and museums, rather that it is a pleasure that everyone can indulge in. From December 10 to April 17, 2017 Richard Orlinski exhibited a series of monumental sculptures at the famous ski resort Courchevel located in the French Alps. The sculptures include a Standing Bear (16 ft. tall), a Wild Walking Bear (13 ft.) as well as two stainless steel 11 ft. tall sculptures located at Centre-Ville Station at Place du Rocher including a Carved Wild Kong and a Lace Standing Wild Bear sculpture. Lastly, in the exterior of the Grand Alps visitors are likely to encounter an astounding 14 ft. tall stainless steel Carved Wild Tiger sculpture.

Orlinski’s artistic influences

Music

Orlinski’s untamable artistic creativity masterfully extends beyond the boundaries of the visual arts and transgresses into the realm of the incorporeal artistic medium of music. Orlinski’s artistic influences are just as varied as his works of art, for the artist also looks into nature, music and theatre and cinema as sources for artistic inspiration. For centuries in history of art, important artists like Gustav Klimt, Wassily Kandinsky or the German composer Richard Wagner have attempted to reconcile and find common grounds between the visual arts and music. Richard Orlinski’s presentation at the Electroshock 2017 Festival held in Paris, demonstrates his all-encompassing artistic capabilities by setting one of his iconic monumental red Wild Kong sculptures on the stage overlooking the audience during his performance. In this wild and electrifying performance, Orlinski corroborates once again that just as his forceful wild animal sculptures, when it comes to artistic expression he knows no chains or boundaries.

Collaboration with Hublot, luxury Watchmaker

But it doesn’t stop there! On December 8th during Art Basel Miami 2017 Richard Orlinski’s multi-faceted artistic creativity, his lighting effects and iconic diamond-cut like style in his sculptures partnered with the Swiss luxury watch maker Hublot, to create a new Classic Fusion Aerofusion Chronograph Orlinski model designed by the artist himself. The launching and reveal event took place at the Hublot Galerie and the Markowicz Fine Art Gallery, where Orlinski’s works are currently displayed, both venues located in the heart of Miami’s design district. Guests were first invited to the Markowicz Fine Art Gallery where the artist presented some of his works currently on display while giving a speech, then guests were invited to the Hublot Galerie where the artist was joined by Hublot chairman of the board, Jean-Claude Biver to reveal the new one-of-a-kind Hublot x Orlinski timepiece. Finally, guests were then taken back to the Markowicz Fine Art Gallery where the artist would be participating in the French Telethon to raise funds for Medical research.

This 45-mm work of art on the wrist is a limited edition of 200 pieces featuring two models one in polished titanium and the other in blue ceramic, representing the artist’s characteristic mirror-polished surface in his sculptures. Also the watch’s case design presents the same diamond-cut like angles and ridges featured in the artist’s sculptures. For Orlinski, this union not only pushes the boundaries of traditional watchmaking and art, but also presents itself as an opportunity to make art an expression of time itself, where he interprets the hands of the watch in their perpetual movement as a symbolic metaphor for infinity.

A footprint of ceramic work in art history

For centuries almost all cultures have practiced the craft of ceramics, in fact, the earliest known ceramics date as early as 20,000 years ago in China. The word Ceramic comes from the Greek word Keramakos, meaning “of pottery”, and it refers to the art of making objects from a naturally occurring earth substance known as clay. To ensure their consistency ceramic forms are fired in a kiln at temperatures as high as 1200 to 2700 degrees Fahrenheit, or higher. However, for hundreds of years the Chinese discovered and perfect the secret of mixing kaolin (where the manufacturer K.Olin Tribu, attributes its name to) with finely ground petunse; the result of firing these materials at high temperatures is a white, translucent ceramic known as porcelain. After the porcelain form is shaped it is then dipped in a glaze and decorated with enamel colors.

The discovery of Kaolin during the 18th century in the French region near the city of Limoges, southwest of Paris rapidly made the city known for its unique porcelain production. The distinctiveness of Limoges porcelain products is also attributed the unique mixture of minerals in addition to Kaolin found in this particular region, as well as the attention detail and high-quality standards demanded by expert craftsmen. K.Olin Tribu produces and decorates its exquisite pieces in the city of Limoges where it is located, marking all of its products Porcelaine de Limoges, France; attesting to their quality and uniqueness.

Destruction of Elitism in Art – Orlinski’s Wild Kong sculpture a strong symbol

Richard Orlinski’s attempts to destroy elitism in art become evident in his immediately recognizable in his Wild Kong sculptures by reinterpreting the iconic invincible and menacing gorilla from the epic monster movie “King Kong” widely known in our popular culture. Orlinski challenges our contemporary consumerist society not solely through his use of industrial materials but also by raising questions on barbarism versus civilization, also argued in the film by the tragic killing of the beast at the top of the skyscraper. Orlinski extends the issue between animal barbarism and civilization through a variation of his Wild Kong sculpture, Wild Kong Oil, where the gigantic threatening gorilla holds a barrel of oil with the intent of throwing it on the ground as a rejection of human actions polluting the environment. Orlinski’s Wild Kong sculptures invite the viewer to ponder on where is the barbarism? On the animals, we fear and find threatening or on the side of human civilization, destroying its environment, and enslaving animals, like King Kong, for entertainment. The character Carl Denham, in the 2005 King Kong film, says, “There’s still some mystery left in this world, and we can all have a piece of it. For the price of an admission ticket.” However, Orlinski shows that whether it is a skiing trip to the French Alps, a casual walk through the city, a visit to an art gallery or to your favorite museum boutique store, we can all have a piece of Richard Orlinski’s mysterious and wild art world, for the price of an admission ticket…a watch, a porcelain sculpture, and in some cases, at no cost at all.

Musart loves Richard Orlinski artwork

To start off the year right, in our quest to bring art and culture to accessible prices and share our enthusiasm for worldwide renowned artists like the French Contemporary artist Richard Orlinski, at Musart we are proud to include in our collection two black and white “Wild Kong” Richard Orlinski x K.Olin Tribu Limoges porcelain sculptures. As a supporter of art being accessible to all, Richard Orlinski has partnered with the Limoges-based manufacturer K.Olin to produce two Richard Orlinski Wild Kong not enameled porcelain models in black and white each being a limited edition of only 10 pieces, all numbered. K.Olin Tribu is a Limoges, France-based Company dedicated to bring the unique delicate quality standards of Limoges porcelain to world-renowned graphic designers and artists and create one-of-a-kind or limited edition pieces.

Richard Orlinksi collectible pieces are only available at our Brickell City Centre store in Miami. Contact us directly for more information.