by An unexpected delight at the Denver Museum of Nature and Science was a gallery that includes the only collection of gem sculptures on public display outside of Moscow created by Vasily Konovalenko. Born in 1929 in Ukraine, Konovalenko became a stage designer before being asked to create a malachite box for a ballet. He enjoyed the project so much that he became a full-time gemstone sculptor, turning rocks into art. In the 1970s, American industrialist Armand Hammer discovered his work and helped Konovalenko emigrate to the U.S., where he lived until his death in 1989.
Each sculpture required hundreds of hours of cutting, drilling, polishing, and assembling, from stone such as quartz, turquoise, sapphire, amethyst, agate, pyrite, malachite, obsidian, petrified wood, and others. Each stands no more than a foot tall, with an amazing level of detail. Often whimsical, the figures are vibrant in color and full of tiny details.
In the early 1980s, a trustee of the Denver Museum of Nature & Science purchased 20 works of Konovalenko and made them available for display at the museum.
Great post, Doug! Never heard of gem carving before… beautiful & interesting.