A few days ago I received a box full of vinyl toy pieces that will be pieced together for a release this fall. Stay tuned for updates. ^_^

People with a keen eye may have spotted this particular specimen already on other pictures but here is fully functional clean photo of the nightmare version of Taro Kern which will be exhibited at the “Kaiju Attack” show Atticus Gallery in Barcelona, Spain.

I will attend the opening so come on out for a chat.

Something I really enjoy about interviews is that they reveal thoughts and things about an artist that they sometimes do not verbalize regularly. So, in that regard I have had the incredible honor of being interviewed by Jeremy ‘Toy Maven’ Brautman.

Here is one of the things I have been working on lately. A set of tiny blindboxed toys. They will be released in a run of 20 at my show in LA at Toy Art Gallery.

The background story:

After body modification nano-technology had become not only common but also fashionable one company quickly seized the opportunity to offer the ability to buy cheap, timed capsules with the ability to enhance the body and mind in almost every way imaginable.

These tiny sculptures are cast in isomalt a sugar substitute frequently found in pharmaceutic and diet products. The capsules are made from gelatine. So basically the whole thing is edible. However, I still wouldn’t recommend it because well, I haven’t tested the effects…

They come in a handmade blister capsule packaging and a handmade box. There will be 10 different sculptures out of which 2 will be less often and one will be a chase. I will take not have a set of only one sculpture but I can not promise that there won’t be doubles. No single purchase will be possible. The whole set will be rounded off with a business card and a poster as pictured below.

I’ve posted this picture and some others on twitter and flickr in the last few days. One of the new works to be presented at my upcoming show at Toy Art Gallery, La will be a series of tiny blind boxed figures. The sculptures are made in a way that they will fit into a regular 00-sized transparent gelatine capsule. Today I made a first test cast and the result was semi-successful. There are still a lot of bubbles on the surface of the casts.

The material I used is not resin but isomalt, a sugar substitute that is used in a wide range of pharmaceutic and diet products as well as in patisserie and sugar casting art. I have yet to figure out how to cast without any bubbles. Oiling the silicone helps but does not remove all bubbles. It is interesting to note that the bubbles usually only happen on the surface and not on the inside of the isomalt.

And if you’ve been wondering… yes, this whole toy is eatable. All materials used, even the silicone is safe to be used with food. Swallow it and you will never see it again.

Opening reception friday may, 29th, 7-10pm!

I will attend the opening and I am looking forward to meeting everyone that comes.

Toy Art Gallery is proud to present Netzwerk and Musashinto Tech – New Works by Daniel Goffin and Martín Osuna. The show will feature a variety of original figural works and multiple editions featuring their incredibly vivid and exceptionally crafted three-dimensional figures. This exhibition marks the U.S. solo debut for both Daniel Goffin (who hails from Kassel, Germany) and Martín Osuna (Pilar, Argentina), as well as being the inaugural show of our gallery.

Daniel’s work focuses on the combination of man and technology, and the freedom and limitations such a fusion creates. His characters take design cues and citations from varied aspects of pop-culture: Haute-Couture fashion, cartoon character design of the 1930’s, Japanese animation and special effect TV-series. Daniel studied Manga at Kyoto Seika University, Japan and graduated from the School of Art and Design in Kassel, Germany with a degree in Visual Communication.

About Netzwerk: “Forty years into the future amazing developments in nano-technology have finally given humanity the freedom to choose a body of their own design. Cartoon characters as well as bodies reminiscent of old robots are common and normal sights. The barrier between the digital and analogue world has completely vanished with everyone being connected to the networks all day and night whether they are awake or asleep. The physical space-time-continuum hasn’t lost it’s importance but instead has gained new levels of possible experiences.”

Martín’s work stems from his childhood fascination with action figures. As he grew older he came to the see them as something new, as Idols or Saints of a new secular pop religion. He now sculpts his own “idols” that cater towards his new interests, creating a variety of samurai robots and mecha-inspired designs that pay tribute to Japanese historical figure Musashi Miyamoto, a self-taught artist with whom he identifies with. Martín is one of the founders of the art collective RAYO LAZER and the workshop/gallery of the same name

About Musashinto Tech: In catastrophic desperate times, when the end is near, only the secret sacred clan of Musashinto has the power to restore order in the multidimensional scheme. The titans have awakened once again, and our last chance is to trust that the Mecha Samurai Shintoist Monks of the order will save us.

shiny shiny sparkly sparkly… sorry, the sunshine made me numb and dumb. ^_^

And he’s sporting the new bold colors for the spring collection. Soon to be out at a gallery for your viewing pleasure. Yes, a good ol’ sneak peek at one of the many good things coming up.

For a while now I’ve had this quasi-miscast head of Taro Kern and I didn’t quite know what to do with it. Until a few days ago when I got the idea to make a nightmare version of this character with all sorts of weird and unsettling elements.

This morning the mold to my Lucky Tiger toy failed. There were already a few problems in the last few casts but today it gave in. RIP mold. This means that there will be another batch of 7 toys soon but after that there will be no more. So, get yours now. Of the current release there is only one left at my store. So act quickly!

If you have been wondering what I have been up to lately just take a look at this picture. I am preparing a bunch of new sculptures for an upcoming exhibition. More details will follow soon.

PS.: See, Nils, that’s what your workspace is being used for while you are away. :D

Well, some of you may remember this picture from an earlier post. And yes, I screwed up the silicone mold so bad that I had to throw it away. Yet, I did not throw away the few remaining resin pieces that you can see in this picture. This weekend I finally got around to painting these and putting the parts back together. Following are a few pictures of the painted figurine. The weird organic surface effect you can see on the head appeared after spraying it with a rattle can after I had already put on the acrylics. And it just occurs to me that it is a rather discomforting coincidence that I should write a background story about this character wherein it mysteriously disappears after being constructed/programmed…

A few days ago I got my copy of the catalogue for the auction at Phillips De Pury. I am incredibly honored to be in this auction among a very select few other great artists in my genre. If you are interested in bidding on this set of figures here is a link to the lot.

“Early in the development phase of analogue to digital personality transfers scientists used different types of animals in their experiments. One particularly successful test involved tigers. Ever since little tigers in form of the test subject have been a cute giveaway symbolizing strength and good luck.”

This resin sculpture is about 6.5 cm (2.5″) big and has been painted with special automotive effects paint that shifts colors depending on the lighting. While the top shimmers in a beautiful golden orange the lower parts of the body range from silver, pink over blue to turquoise. Finished with beautiful high gloss coat. Comes in a handmade cardboard box that also doubles as a display stand. Edition of 7.

Available now at store.danielgoffin.com for 30€ (includes world wide shipping).

Phew, finally I managed to snap a few pictures of the little beast I am still working on. As you can see the sculpt is heavily detailed on the back with lots of cables and tubes and whatnot. What you see here is a primed sample of one of the seven figures that will be released next sunday. Pictures of the final colored edition will be posted soon, so stay tuned.