Woody De Othello's Anthropomorphic Sculptures Land at Art Basel

Woody De Othello, a 35-year-old Miami-born artist based in Oakland, Calif., creates surreal clay sculptures of everyday objects like phones, clocks, radios, and fans, imbuing them with uncanny animism. His bronze piece "thought in mind" (2023) features a slouching telephone receiver against a nearly seven-foot-tall comb, part of his exhibition "Guardian Spirit" organized by the Public Art Fund at Brooklyn Bridge Park through March 8. The show also includes three large abstracted bronzes from 2025 with intertwined limbs, trumpet-shaped instruments, and giant hands and ears, facing three new totemic redwood sculptures carved with motifs of the five senses, rising nearly 20 feet along the East River. Othello will bring multielement works to Art Basel, continuing his exploration of communication and prayer through anthropomorphic objects.