Description
ADAM MATANO
ANIMAL RELIEF SCULPTURE
3 Day Workshop
October 2 – 4, 2026
10:00 – 5:00pm
Tuition $650
Materials Fee: $50
This immersive 3-day workshop explores the art of sculpting in relief, focusing on translating form, depth, and motion into a compressed pictorial space. Through live demos, guided practice, and individual feedback, students will develop a narrative or expressive composition, gaining insights into anatomical compression, visual layering, and how to achieve dynamic sculptural illusions on a flat plane. Students are able to choose their own animal subject for their compositions or work along with the instructor. This workshop is limited to 15 students. All clay and specially made relief boards will be provided by Alia Fine Art Studios. The students will need to bring their own sculpting/modeling tools, sketchbook, reference images, and a laptop/iPad for viewing digital references.
Day 1: Foundations of Relief Sculpture
- Lecture: Historical and contemporary relief sculpture
- Understanding spatial compression and illusion of depth
- Clay prep and board setup
- Demo/Exercise: Mapping relief in simple form (drawing)
- Individual feedback and compositional planning session
- Sketching and blocking out composition for main project
- Sculpting primary elements of your composition
Day 2: Building Depth and Anatomy
- Demo: sculpting animals in relief with anatomical accuracy
- Focus on contour hierarchy, light/shadow play, and foreshortening
- Continue refining primary forms
- Feedback session
- Emphasis on transitions: integrating foreground and background elements
Day 3: Refinement and Surface Expression
- Demo: tools and techniques for surface variation
- Refinement of relief elements: edges, undercuts, and finishing touches
- Individual instructor check-ins and feedback
- Final pass and polishing
- Optional: surface treatment discussion
- Wrap-up, Q&A and parting guidance
Learning Objectives
By the end of this workshop, participants will:
- Understand how to design and execute a relief composition
- Gain confidence in sculpting compressed anatomical forms
- Apply techniques for creating visual depth and narrative in shallow space
Instructor Bio:
Adam Matano is a contemporary representational artist who specializes in sculpture. His artistic practice is characterized by an organic evolution, integrating a visceral response to life with a deep appreciation for the natural world and humanity’s connection to it. This exploration yields psychologically rich and rhythmically dynamic artwork.
Adam’s affinity for nature and the arts developed early in his life, setting the foundation for his creative journey. During the formative stages of his career, he cultivated his musical interests, which now serve as a fundamental component of his aesthetic sensibility, resonating throughout his sculptures. The majority of Adam’s subjects are drawn from real-life models with whom he has engaged through observation or direct interaction.
questions?
Contact info@alia-fineart.com
