6 of the Coolest Works of 3D Printed Art We’ve Ever Seen

Mushroom chairs, nuclear cloud lamps, eerie ghost-like trapped creatures, beautiful shell-cone objects, and stag’s and futuristic human heads, are all featured as some of the coolest pieces of 3D printed art we’ve seen yet.

3D printed art has unique details, with 3D printing allowing for the kind of subtlety and nuance of detail that requires much less handicraft time than conventional sculpture. This list represents a range of styles, textures, and functions; some beautiful and organic, other witty or humorous, and yet others introspective, eerie, and even unnerving.  Enjoy!

 1.  Shane Hope: “Public Panopticon Powder”

In Shane Hope’s piece, he combines nano-structural, or small scale structural, reliefs that are first 3D printed and then painted to “reconcile the parts seamlessly.” From a great distance the work, “Public Panopticon Powder,” looks almost like an Impressionist painting, but up close it resembles barnacle pieces of coral reef.  The work is part of his series “Species-Tool-Being”; the rest of the series can be found here.

2. Eric Klarenbeek, “Mycelium Chair”

Not only is Eric Klarenbeek’s “Mycelium Chair” also inspired by organic elements — it features mushrooms. In this piece that looks like something you may find in the same magical other world where Nuala O’Donovan’s (see above, “Teasel Grey Fault Line”) work resides. Maybe not so comfortable to sit in, Klarenbeek‘s chair shows how 3D printing can use natural elements to enhance the message of  a work.

3. Valeriya Promokhova, “7 Davids Project: in Flowers”

While there’s some incredibly unique 3D printed art, there’s also some more knock off work that this next series seems to epitomize. Recognize this sculpture? It’s Michelangelo’s “David” reworked in a 3D Printed Cat sponsored series entitled “7 Davids,” by designer Valeriya Promokhova. This piece is done “in Flowers,” and the series also includes printings in spirals, splines, curves, and other designs.

3D printing is allowing people to create images and objects that may have been previously difficult to capture. In this case, this Beijing artist creates haunting and sometimes terrifying works by layering glass panes to create a three dimensional effect. Some of his work looks like people are drowning or trying to escape another dimension — as this one does. Others can be described as ghost-apocalyptic, as the subjects represented appear to have endured harrowing events. This is certainly some of the more thoughtful 3D printed work out there.

4. Veneridesign Studio, “Nuke Lamp”

If the previous piece seems eerily post-apocalyptic, this one is definitely mid-apocalyptic. Nothing says “end of the world” better than this 3D printed nuclear lamp cloud designed by Veneridesign Studio. Over the years, we have seen so many different versions of the mushroom cloud: why not make it functional by using it as a lamp?

5. Eric van Straaten, “Groomer”

For some reason, heads and busts are big in 3D printed art, and the first one we feature here in our series of 3D printed head art is really surreal and kind of unnerving. The next artist, Eric van Straaten, describes his work as  embodying “weirdly eroticized corporeality”: and weird is right. Young nudish swimmers laying on top of an older man’s head, forming a makeshift swim cap, can only be interpreted as a clash between youth and age, revealed in the focus on the physical aging of the man’s body. What’s important to note is how the materials used mimic real skin. This 3D printed sculpture is definitely over most of our heads!

6. Monika Horčicová, “The Wheel of Life”

This last piece is a wheel made up of skeleton legs that has a very pretty appearance from afar, but on closer inspection it presents a macabre, yet still thoughtful, feel. Done as 3D print artist Monika Horčicová’s Bachelor’s Thesis, “The Wheel of Life” reminds us that the future of 3D art is in good hands, and life is too short not to enjoy some of it today.

What do you think about these pieces? Let us know your favorite — of these, or all time! — piece of 3D printed artwork over in the 3D Printed Art forum thread at 3DPB.com.