DIMITAR LUKANOV SCULPTOR

The Complete Trilogy of 2014 JFK International Airport Terminal 4 Monumental Sculpture Commission: - History of Time (70 unique, hand-sculpted clay segments, 11ft x 8 ft x 2ft, fired clay); - Voice of Tomorrow (steel, 14.6' x 9' x 5', 90% airborne...

[dimitarlukanov]

[dimitarlukanov]

[dimitarlukanov]

DreamRiver, a sculpture that stands 32ft (10m) is a veritable architectural gesture. Massive labor to produce it for I had no space for error, not an inch or an ounce indeed.

[dimitarlukanov]

Dimitar Lukanov, Entrance to Now

[dimitarlukanov]

Dimitar Lukanov, moment of contemplative rest by the Black Sea, Bulgaria

[dimitarlukanov]

Amsterdam NY Pedestrian Bridge

In the summer of 2017 the City Council of Amsterdam, New York voted unanimously to award Dimitar Lukanov the commission for three-piece public art project for MVGO, the pedestrian bridge spanning over the Mohawk River, a part of the Erie Canal.

Consisting of three vastly different, monumental pieces, work on his winning proposals would span over ten months.

The first piece, Mother and Child at the Mohawk River was installed January 8, 2018. Cast in bronze, the sculpture stands at 10’6” (3.20m).

Dimitar Lukanov built the sculpture first in clay, with many of the composition’s elements created directly in beeswax.

[dimitarlukanov]

Waterfall of Light, just unveiled (May 23, 2017) at Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport - 19ft (6m)

[dimitarlukanov]

Photographed by Herve Fabre, here it is - my Sculpture Journal from the South of France.  I created these 8 sculptures and numerous drawings as a veritable visual diary of those extraordinary days spent on the Cote d’Azur. Realized in only 7 days – work in clay, firing and glazing – the sculptures represent my ideas for eventual monumental projects.

[dimitarlukanov]

Waterfall of Light

Waterfall of Light

Steel, color, h=17’ x 8’ x 8’

GSP International Airport Commission,

Greenville, South Carolina

In the fall of 2016, sculpture Waterfall of Light, created by Dimitar Lukanov, is to be installed at South Carolina’s Greenville-Spartanburg International Airport. The sculpture will “live” as a visual crossroad; a welcoming beacon and a focal perspective point as if all trajectories of travel converge into one. The 19ft sculpture’s immediate vibrancy is embodied by an upward sequence of 250 light-filled, filigree steel elements and 300ft of bent steel tubing. Dimitar Lukanov built the sculpture as a veritable drawing in the air. No computer was used to extrapolate sculpture’s development as work was scaled by eye, with an immediate placement of tubing and elements.

As a symbol of growth, renewal and continuum, sculpture’s ascendant cascades of light culminate in a sun, oriented to both airport’s interior and GSP’s unique nature-saturated exterior. Much like people in an airport, the beams of light - veritable comets, converge into a single apex, only to disperse - ad infinitum - at its next level. Like the flow of water, Waterfall of Light aspires to be a never-ending gesture of movement, and a wellspring of life.

Schoharie County, New York

[dimitarlukanov]

Waterfall of Light, outside of the Studio, Upstate New York, Fall 2016

Waterfall of Light, Painting Studio, Fall 2016

[dimitarlukanov]

Saturated with so much, and utterly complex labor, Light to Sky has made the magical voyage to America - in perfect shape - to grace the Arrivals Hall at JFK Terminal 4!

[dimitarlukanov]

I built the sculpture from a scratch – by using the best beeswax I can find – from my native Bulgaria. I made every element (however small) of the piece by hand. I’d connect the thousands of small elements then in eight large segments of the sculpture (as seen here). Once I’d finish a segment (roughly 3ft x 4ft x 2ft each), I’d take it to the foundry. Without having it (the segment in the foundry) in front of me, I would start the next, higher up segment. It would be more air-filled, and lighter as to establish weight distribution throughout the piece.

From the distance of time, I am still in marvel, how seamlessly all the eight segments fit in the entire contour of the piece – frontally and laterally. Each of the eight segments – as the images show here – are unique as an only cast – therefore if a segment would not cast, I’d have to make it again, from scratch. However All eight segment cast beautifully – with a Singular pour of metal.

No computer whatsoever was used to map out piece or/and in its detail or as a whole. Made by eye, fit by eye, scaled by eye.

[dimitarlukanov]

Light to Sky

Its intricate and delicate design gives the impression of movement by being both transparent yet solid. Its boundary-less silhouette, like a stairway to the sky, conveys the movement of travelers passing through time and space. This unique sculpture was created in the timeless lost wax tradition – the oldest technology of casting bronze. Originating in the Middle East and later known in Greece, China, Etruscan Italy, Benin, India, Thrace, and the West, this labor-intensive process remains unchanged after 5,000 years. For Light to Sky, eight large sections were formed separately in beeswax. Each of them was plastered in several layers with a foundry ceramic mix. The result, called ceramic mold, was cured in a kiln. Once the wax melts it disappears and thus becomes ‘the lost wax’. The beeswax sculpture evaporates leaving only hollow spaces imprinted within the ceramic mold. The bronze is melted separately with a touch of aluminum for plasticity. A single pouring feeds the optimally heated ceramic molding. This elaborate process creates a truly unique piece that can never be duplicated or controlled - as the degree to which the molten metal reaches even the tiniest cavities of what was formerly wax remains unforeseeable.

[dimitarlukanov]

History of Time and Voice of Tomorrow, the two remaining monumental sculptures that comprise the 2014 JFK International Airport Terminal 4 Sculpture Commission. The clay sculpture, History of Time is a hand-build wonder consisting of 70 mini-ceramic sculptures. The many become one, and each indispensable in the whole ensemble. Voice of Tomorrow is a pulsating heart; placed at eye level; Each segment is three-dimensional, so the sculpture can be observed from every angle. Adding to the magic of this piece is its minimal depth - a mere two feet for a structure as tall as eight feet and 10 feet wide. Comprised of 150 feet of bent steel tubing and 150 elements, Voice of Tomorrow radiates its warmth beyond the physical boundaries of its construction. Like Outside Time, it is 90-percent airborne. Voice of Tomorrow is a singular, starting source of energy, a veritable origin of warmth, and thus light.

[dimitarlukanov]

Overview of rare and outsanding work by celebrated artist Dimitar Lukanov. Large scale public art projects in the United States and overseas. Sculptures are one-of-a-kind creations - via the lost-wax method with no welding used when bronze is used, or welded when steel/aluminum is the core material.

[dimitarlukanov]

jfk terminal 4 photos of outside time by herve fabre, the very talented french photographer..

work photos of the making of outside time, spring, summer, fall 2013 dimitar lukanov

one photo of light to sky, executed in the lost wax method with minimal welding, jfk terminal 4, arrivals hall, center.

[dimitarlukanov]

Outside Time. sculpture.

in its natural habitat. the gateway from new york city. steps from the control tower at jfk. the heart of the airport. sculpture that lives, breathes amongst people, aircraft, the sky, ciouds, the passage of time. an immaterial 4600 lbs, 90% airborne structure, weightlessly floats in the air..