David Kracov

David Kracov: Biography of the Artist

Eclectic and versatile artist, David Kracov was born in 1968 in Boston. When he was 12, he won an art competition that allowed him to exhibit his works at the Boston Museum of Fine Arts. Thus he became one of the youngest artists to have ever displayed his art in the American institute.

After graduating from the Rhode Island School of Design he moved to Los Angeles where he began his career in animation. His sculpture stemmed from the characters he animated: Kracov thus represents the iconic Looney Tunes with clay, achieving great success that will lead him to continue with this art.

From clay he moved on to works in metal and steel that he then enriched colours and vitality. His sculptures became so successful that they feature in the collections of several Hollywood stars, including Steven Spielberg, Kirk Douglas, Matt Damon, Whoopi Goldberg and many others.

We highlight the artist's collaboration with the Douglas family for which David Kracov created a sculpture to honour the Hollywood legend Kirk Douglas: the iconic The Book of Life, was personally given to him by his son Michael. References to pop culture, quotes from other artists and tributes to great masters of art are recurrent features in David Kracov's career, creating the explosion of colour and positivity that characterizes his works.

Kracov and the World of Animation

David Kracov's career in the world of animation began with his collaboration with director Ralph Bakshi in Cool World, a movie in which cartoon characters interact with real-life actors (including Brad Pitt). The movie achieved great success, hence Kracov collaborated with the most renowned animation studios, as for instance Disney Animation, Don Bluth Animation and Rich Animation.

The artist participated to the creation of masterpieces such as The Lion King and Aladdin. This first phase will be the starting point for his career as sculptor that was launched with the representation of the same characters he had previously animated.

"When my eyes are closed, I'm thinking and when my eyes are open, I'm creating" - David Kracov

The Colourful Sculptures by David Kracov

Colourful, energetic and joyful, David Kracov’s sculptures are a message of hope and a symbol of positivity. Their aim is to let the viewer enjoy a true experience of feelings and memories.

The artist often uses small shapes of hearts, butterflies, flowers, musical notes and much more, creating compositions that seem to "explode" in three dimensions. These wonderful elements come out from a book as in the masterpiece by David Kracov, Book of Life or from a gift pack, as in Gift of Life.

A recurring element of Kracov's art is also the reference to symbols of pop culture and to other artists, as it quite customary in the world of contemporary art. From the first clay sculptures of Looney Tunes to the well-known series by David Kracov Shadow Box and the tributes to Keith Haring, Takashi Murakami and Jackson Pollock.

The Clay Sculptures for Looney Tunes and Disney

During his period as animator David Kracov began to experiment with different types of clay and started sculpting the characters from films that he had previously animated. Having no formal training he discovered what will become his passion and his art.

The real success came when, commissioned by Warner Bros. Studios, the artist created Looney Trails, a chess set featuring the iconic Looney Tunes, hand-sculpted by Kracov.

In a limited edition of only 50 pieces, the set was immediately sold out. After this splendid collaboration Disneycontacted him to create other sculptures, in different materials, of the iconic characters of the famous studio for shops, galleries and theme parks.

David Kracov, My Heart Is All a Flutter and the Steel, Metal and Papercut Works

After these successful collaborations with the animation studios David Kracov created new artworks in which he favours the use of painted metal in order to create colourful and evocative sculptures. This unique technique gives life to the masterpieces of the artist, among them one the most famous works by David Kracov: Book of Life. From an open book a myriad of butterflies comes out and it rises upwards in an enchanting interweaving of colours and shapes.

The work was created as a tribute to Rabbi Yossi Raichik, director of a humanitarian organization for children victims of the Chernobyl disaster. Each of the 2547 hand-painted butterflies represents one of the children who escaped the disaster and thanks to charity have been given a chance at a new life. The pages of the book instead are filled with poems, diary pages and songs written by children who died in Auschwitz. The main poem of the book is "The Butterfly" by Pavel Friedman, who was just thirteen years old when he wrote it.

After that, the butterfly became the artist's subject, a symbol of freedom and hope that we also find in several other works like the beautiful wall sculpture by David Kracov My Heart Is All a Flutter, in which the iconic creatures create a large coloured heart. Kracov deliberately decided not to reveal the meaning of the work so that viewers can identify with it and "see it as an extension of themselves". Besides, metal and steel, David Kracov also uses the papercut technique to represent his most iconic subjects.

“Who I am defines what I create, and what I create is the definition of who I am” - David Kracov

Artworks of David Kracov on Deodato Arte

For those who love David Kracov’s art, Deodato Arte offers a selection of his most beautiful works on our website.

For more information about the artist and his works do not hesitate to contact us.