The sculptor who conjures work from light and darkness | Huck

Sign up to our newsletter and become a Club Huck member.

Stay informed with the cutting edge of sport, music and counterculture

The sculptor who conjures work from light and darkness

  • Text by HUCK HQ
A mastery of materials — Artist Rubén Fuentes takes us on a poetic and philosophical journey through his creative process.

“For a sculptor, the material is anything that can be used to generate an object. It may be light, vacuum…” explains artist Rubén Fuentes. “Every idea needs a material and each material is a path with different landscapes.”

Rubén’s video profile kicks off the Once Upon an Artist documentary series, which narrates the experiences of artists from a poetic and philosophical point of view.

The Spanish artist explains the journey of thought and inspiration that led him to create a 1.5 metre sculpture of a stylised human head, made from compact quartz.

“When an idea is born inside my head, it is in darkness, nobody can see it,” Rubén says. “For me, sculpture today can be a way of communicating, a passion, and my way of life is to create, in an intense way.”

Find out more about the Once Upon an Artist series. Directed by Marc Guardiola and Pepe Ábalos.


You might like

Culture

Exploring girlhood and land ancestry in Sudan’s cotton fields

Cotton Queen – A new feature debut from filmmaker Suzannah Mirghani explores the legacy of colonialism and the fight for self-determination through the tender eyes of a teenage girl.

Written by: Roxana Diba

Culture

Portraits of gay bears through a rooftop hatch

Big Boys On My Roof™ — Growing up, Anthony Stockdale struggled with his love for bigger men. His new photo series celebrates the bear community.

Written by: Anthony Stockdale

Juan in his puesto
© Pie Aerts
Culture

In photos: Lives of solitude at the world’s edge

Coirón — Pie Aerts’s new photobook documents years spent in close quarters with puesteros in Patagonia – a group of aging gauchos who live almost completely isolated existences.

Written by: Isaac Muk

Culture

The raw, fledgling intimacy of Peter Hujar’s contact sheets

Hujar:Contact — A new photobook highlights the process of the legendary queer photographer, and his process of growing into the artist he ultimately became.

Written by: Miss Rosen

Culture

Jesse Glazzard’s messy portrait of queer friends, lovers and chosen family

The Sound of Dirt and Beauty — The photographer’s debut monograph explores tender, unpolished moments shaped by the people who he surrounds himself with, while offering a window into the UK’s working-class LGBTQ+ community.

Written by: Sunny Sunday

Culture

Behind the curtain at Alternative Miss World 1981

Olympia glamour — Running a subversive take on the traditional beauty pageant, the Andrew Logan organised event prioritised underground creativity and invention. Photographer David Corio went behind the scenes at its biggest edition. 

Written by: Miss Rosen

You've read articles this month Thanks for reading

Join Club Huck — it's free!

Valued Huck reader, thank you for engaging with our journalism and taking an interest in our dispatches from the sharp edge of culture, sport, music and rebellion.

We want to offer you the chance to join Club Huck [it's free!] where you will receive exclusive newsletters, including personal takes on the state of pop culture and media from columnist Emma Garland, culture recommendations, interviews and dispatches straight to your inbox.

You'll also get priority access to Huck events, merch discounts, and more fun surprises.

Already part of the club? Enter your email above and we'll get you logged in.