Frodo Mikkelsen

2012

Mixed media and gold (cayote's skull)

2012

mixed media and gold

2012

Mixed media and gold 

2012

Mixed media and silver (black bear's skull)

Frodo Mikkelsen was born in 1974,  and debuted with his sculptures in 2001 at the Artists' Autumn Exhibition. He is both a painter and sculptor. Many of his works have been in exhibitions in Denmark and abroad. In many of his sculptures, he works with silver and gold plated skulls.

Not only does Mikkelsen plate his skulls, but he elaborately adds precise and delicate little scenes on top of them. Many of his skulls have cute little country homes and farm houses assembled onto them, and some have wild western scenarios. The details are phenomenal; tiny windows, fences, leaf textures, and cactus spines are all realistically rendered. Detail alone makes this sculpture truly worth inspecting every single inch of the skulls.

An interesting note on Mikkelsen's skull sculptures is that many of the urban, building scenes are built on top of human skulls. On a bear skull however, is a water tower, a little cabin and some trees, and a big bear climbing the side of the skull. Maybe Mikkelsen is trying to convey memories when depicting scenes on these skulls, like what the bear was doing before it died, or what someone remembers (the country home) before passing away.

Of course, he could just be making scenes on skulls.