Icarus had a sister
“Icarus had a sister" is a breathtakingly beautiful innovation in sculpture with a classical theme. Made from cast quartz with crushed pearl dust to give the sculpture her ethereal white marblesque finish, with over 200 individually 3d printed and hand-finished feathers, coated in real copper, on a cast slate plinth threaded with ribbons of copper and iron; this incredible, life-size nude sculpture is one of the earliest and most well recognised examples of the blending of traditional sculpting and casting techniques with state-of-the-art digital processes.
The sculpture in its original white cast quartz finish is a limited edition of five, with only four remaining available to order, starting at £50,000 for the white cast quartz option. ‘Icarus had a sister’ is also available in a cold cast copper finish (body and feet, the rest of the sculpture being created exactly the same way as the original) as a limited edition of three, and a special one-of-a-kind version can be ordered in foundry cast bronze, which can be displayed in or outdoors.
The sculpture was originally designed by André Masters of Masters & Munn in 2004, as a means of processing his feelings when his mother died. Although never intended as a memorial piece, he wanted to express in a positive and hopeful way the seemingly dichotomous capacity in women for incredible courage as well as vulnerability.
He shows the figure at a pivotal moment between two planes of existence, paused in a relaxed and contemplative fashion before taking a fearless jump and passing into something unseen, unknowable.
Over time, as CJ Munn joined in with the production of the piece to develop it together, the meaning of the sculpture evolved to mirror the couple's own situation in the art world - threatened by the rise of new technologies such as 3d printing and digital modelling, they chose to embrace and try to master that which they feared most, stepping into unknown territory.
The sculpture reflects that key moment of reflection before taking a calculated leap of faith - destined to either soar or descend. Their leap of faith paid off, bagging them the International Rising Star Award at the 3D Print Show in 2013, and attracting attention all around the world. Despite its ‘hybrid’ status being partly hand-sculpted and partly digitally sculpted, it was even named one of the top ten pieces of 3d printed art of all time by technology journalist Rachel Park.
‘Icarus had a sister’ was first exhibited at the Business Design Centre, Angel, Islington in 2013 (coincidentally in the very room/building where CJ Munn and André Masters had first met ten years earlier) and then at the Louvre in Paris at the visiting 3D Print Show art gallery exhibiting alongside Iris Van Herpen, Rem D. Koolhaas and Joshua Harker. The first of the five in this very limited edition was sold to a private collector in Melbourne, Australia.
"Icarus had a sister" (original cast quartz finish - 1 of 5).
"Icarus had a sister" on display at The Louvre Visiting Exhibition Centre, Paris, in 2013.
The making of the copper-coated wings, before patination and final polishing.
"Icarus had a sister" (close up).
Individual 'Icarus' foundry cast bronze feather.
The new limited edition cold-cast copper version of 'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 3).
'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 5) at her new home in Melbourne, Australia.
'Icarus had a sister' - (beneath her wings).
'Icarus had a sister' (original cast quartz version - 1 of 5).
The first of over 200 digitally modelled feathers for 'Icarus had a Sister'.
The feet of the cold cast copper special edition of 'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 3).
'Icarus had a sister' on display at the Visiting Exhibition Centre at The Louvre, Paris.
Masters & Munn winning the Global Rising Star Award in 2013 for 'Icarus had a sister'.
A solid silver individual 'Icarus' feather.
Limited Edition cold cast copper version of 'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 3 - available to order).
The cast quartz and crushed pearl feet of the original 'Icarus had a sister'.
Detail of the cast slate plinth for 'Icarus had a sister', laced with subtle ribbons of iron and copper; cast from an ancient British stone monolith.
Closeup of the cold cast copper special limited edition of 'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 3).
The making of the original 'Icarus had a sister' feet.
'Icarus had a sister' (original) - detail.
Closeup of 'Icarus had a sister', the new cold cast copper Special Limited Edition (1 of 3 - available to order).
The very first of 'Icarus had a sister' (1 of 5) at her new home in Melbourne, Australia.
To order one of the remaining available sculptures in this edition, the copper edition or the unique bronze version and to enquire about production lead time please read the information on the purchasing page and/or contact us on the phone number or email at the bottom of the page. The sculpture is only available directly from us, and any others (the same or similar) you may see online are unfortunately art scams and should be avoided.
To order 2D photographic prints or art prints (giclée) and other official merchandise please click here for further details.
“As artists we have never known one of our sculptures to resonate so deeply with such a wide audience, and have been so deeply honoured by the thousands of messages we have received from around the world about this piece since its first creation.
The initial sculpture took nine years to complete due to the many experiments we undertook to create the perfect wings to complete André's vision; but the investment of so much time, work, love and tears paid off with a piece of sculpture we remain incredibly proud of and deeply emotionally connected to.
The first in this very limited edition not only took us to London and Paris but eventually to Australia, where it found its home with a private collector. We look forward immensely to the adventures our favourite sculpture will bring us in the future as the few remaining pieces in this very limited edition find their forever homes.”
- André Masters & CJ Munn.