Masks sculpted by Tomás Barceló Castelá look frightening and some of them can scare the pants off anyone. However, the artistry involved in creating each one of them is certainly incredible. No two masks are alike.
Castelá was passionate about art since childhood and used to build things with clay, cardboard, LEGO pieces, and anything he could find. However, his other love was a cinema and he tried to make a career in filmmaking, but soon realized that sculpting was what he really wanted to do.
This artist, who’s half French and half Spanish from Mallorca, Spain, went on to study Fine Arts at the Sant Jordi Faculty of the University of Barcelona. Here he specialized in sculpture. He was also mentored by JS Jassans, one of the great sculptors. However, he didn’t become a sculptor after graduation, but took up a high school teacher’s job and taught for more than 15 years. Later he left teaching and decided to pursue sculpting.
His inspiration comes from ancient art, and hieratic sculpture fascinates him. Initially, he got bogged down in details of classical and Egyptian sculptures, which frustrated him no end, since he was focusing only on the language of the sculpture. It was only when he realized he could use traditional language to tell things that interested him, that he found his niche. His incredible masks are a testimony to his newfound niche. His work involves modeling in clay and carving in plaster.
Castelá took the path of fantasy, science fiction, and subjects of this genre and has been working on all kinds of projects, including international films, such as Maleficent II, Dune 2020, Asura, and many more. He also focuses on exploring new themes and paths on a personal level. The sculptor enjoys a fan following of over 71,000 on Instagram alone.
Tomàs Barceló Castelà
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