Noah James Saunders brings us the male human form, sinewy and powerful. The searching eyes to the brawny shoulders, the body mechanics of these wonderful pieces fill the room with presence. “I speak in wire; and faces are my language,” says the Athens, Georgia-based artist. For thirty years, the largely self-taught sculptor has manipulated metal wire, inventing new techniques and honing his talent in the US and in Europe. Today, his works are feats of artistry and engineering. Heads and torsos move, casting shadows so ethereal, we must remind ourselves that these are strips of metal. Saunders’ works are experiential and intimate. By day, the heads, torsos, and tableaus turn, and with every rotation they create a new expression, a new figure. After dark is another dimension as the artist invites us to flash our own cellular phone light at life-sized sculptures that throw an array of contoured faces and forms along the gallery’s whitewashed walls. All in shadow, all commanding. Series of Dreams, a tableau Saunders’ created after intense study in Italy, measures just a meter wide, but casts a silhouette twenty feet. “The shadow has the power to hold space in any Cathedral-sized room,” Saunders says. He calls this piece “a modern prayer for modern times.” We call it mesmerizing. Saunders delights in humanizing a medium - wire - usually forgotten in the back of a drawer. After three decades, he remains drawn to the simplicity of the material, and the complexity he creates. As he sculpts, he still balances each piece against its shadows, which he uses as a guide to manipulate the wire and perfect the profile. The celebrated artist has launched dozens of solo shows and has collected awards, residencies, and commissions from his home state to Luxembourg. His work is in private collections in the US and Europe. Click on the images below to view the works in detail. Visit the gallery to make your own shadows!