This Artist Creates Beautiful Sculptures Inspired By Suburbia

Artist Michael Afsa is bringing new inspiration to suburban Phoenix. The California-born, Arizona-based creative has spent 10 years photographing suburbia and producing sculptures from those images. “I was finding these really beautiful moments in this really common place,” he says of his early days with the subject matter. “When I see these neighborhoods, I see that the architecture is creating a façade. There may be arches, columns or pop-outs that are just decorative. That’s the strangeness of it—that it almost feels like a set because of its fabrication and façades. Yet, at the same time, suburbia has offered the American dream to so many people.” Sensitive to this duality, he creates sculptures that spark curiosity—and perhaps a new perspective. His artworks—recently on view in his first solo exhibition at Scottsdale Museum of Contemporary Art—sometimes begin as cardboard mock-ups so that he can get the angles and textures just right. Then, he leverages simple construction materials like wood, plywood, drywall compound and sand to create the sculpture, finishing it off with acrylic latex paint in a desert hue. The result? A medium through which you may just find unexpected beauty.