Angel is a stone sculpture created in Germany in 2024 by Japanese sculptor Yasushi Hori. The work presents a reclining human figure emerging from a massive block of natural stone, combining figurative sculpture with the raw character of the original material.
Artist: Yasushi Hori — a Japanese sculptor whose artistic practice explores fundamental questions concerning human origins, destiny, nature, space and the passage of time. His works often seek a balance between the natural character of stone and the human forms carved within it.
Title: Angel
Material: Natural stone, with the original rough surface of the stone intentionally retained in contrast with the finely carved human figure.
Location & Date: Germany, 2024.
Concept & Theme:
Angel depicts a human figure lying peacefully across a massive stone block. The body is carved directly into the stone, while large portions of the original rough surface remain untouched. This creates a powerful contrast between human life and the primordial character of the earth.
The reclining figure appears calm and almost weightless, as if resting within the landscape rather than simply being placed upon it. The flowing contours surrounding the body suggest waves, water or natural forces moving through the stone. Beneath the figure, an arched opening creates a void within the massive block, giving the sculpture a sense of lightness and allowing the viewer to visually pass beneath the work.
The title Angel introduces a spiritual dimension to this relationship between human form and nature. Rather than depicting an angel through conventional wings or religious symbols, Hori reduces the idea to the quiet presence of the human body. The figure can be interpreted as a guardian, a spirit emerging from nature, or a symbolic human presence suspended between the earthly and the spiritual.
The contrast between the unfinished stone and the smoothly modelled body is particularly important. The rough stone represents the primordial, geological world, while the refined human form represents consciousness, life and spiritual existence. Together, they suggest that human beings are not separate from nature but emerge from it and remain fundamentally connected to it.
This interpretation corresponds with Hori’s broader artistic philosophy. He has described his work as an exploration of questions concerning where humanity comes from and where it is going, while emphasizing harmony between sculpture, space and natural elements.
In Angel, the stone therefore becomes more than a material support. It becomes a symbolic landscape of existence, where the human body appears to emerge from the earth itself. The work invites contemplation of life, spirituality, nature and the passage between the physical and metaphysical worlds.
