Artists

Richard Varano

Artistic Director - USA

Born in 1958 in New Smyrna Beach, Florida, he is the artistic director and owner of “Sultans Of Sand Worldwide”.
Learn the art of sand sculpting from his grandfather and create works on a professional level since the 1980s. He has won many awards in international competitions around the world.
Since 1998 he has been the artistic director of the Jesolo sand sculpture exhibitions. Of all the places where he works, Jesolo is the one he prefers, so much that he defines it as his second home.
In 2018 he directed the team that created the Nativity in St. Peter's Square, which the Municipality of Jesolo donated to Pope Francis.

Susanne Marguerite Ruseler

Netherlands

This Dutch artist has been working with sand since 2003, when she decided to pursue her passion for sculpture. She also likes working with other materials, such as ice, snow and concrete. After completing her university studies in Biology, she devoted herself full-time to sculpture, participating in projects, events and competitions around the world.
In 2018 he was part of the team that created the Nativity in St. Peter's Square, a gift from the Municipality of Jesolo to Pope Francis.

David Ducharme

Canada

This Canadian-born sculptor began sculpting sand about 16 years ago. Working with this material has allowed him to meet many other artists and to travel the world, participating in exhibitions and competitions held each year in various countries.
He is mostly a self-taught artist and has learned much from his colleagues.

Marielle Heessels

Netherlands

Marielle cultivated a passion for drawing, sculpture and painting from an early age, which laid the foundation for her later work as a sculptor and painter. She has always worked with various materials, but in 2006 she approached the art of sand sculpting, finding it a fascinating medium for expressing her passions and developing as an artist.

Radovan Zivny

Czech Republic

Born in 1973 in the Czech Republic, he is a graphic designer and art professor. As a sculptor he began working with sand in 1997 and currently participates in the most prestigious events in this field organized around the world.
In recent years he has also started working with more traditional materials such as wood, concrete and iron. Between 2010 and 2013 he was the artistic director of the Golden Sand Festival in Bulgaria.
In 2018 he was part of the team that created the Nativity in St. Peter's Square, a gift from the Municipality of Jesolo to Pope Francis.

Michela Ciappini

Italy

Sculptor and set designer. A graduate in scenography at the Academy of Fine Arts in Bologna, she devoted herself to theatrical set design, working in opera and drama productions, experimental theatre and cinema, for which she created backdrops, pictorial decorations and sculptures in various materials. This activity led her to work in several theatres, film studios and theme parks throughout Italy. In 2004, she began to work with sand and after some experiences in Italy, she entered the international competition and festival circuit, where she has earned awards and recognition. She has subsequently tried her hand at working with other materials, such as ice and snow and vegetable carving, as well as body painting.

Helena Bangert

Netherlands

Helena studied sculpture at the prestigious Rietveld Art Academy in Amsterdam, she herself admits that she has never considered sand sculpture. Two years after graduation, around 2000, she was contacted to create a sand sculpture for a retirement home for sailors. Since then, Helena has begun to specialize in this particular material. In 2002 she won the first prize at a sand sculpture festival in Italy. Since then Helena has continued to win awards for both sand and ice sculptures.

Pedro Mira

Portugal

Pedro was born in 1970 in Lisbon, where he studied sculpture and photography. His artistic career began in the early 1990s and he has since exhibited his works in various events. He has worked in silver, photography, design and sculpture, using various materials. He has also worked with other artists, sculpting and developing skills through the use of different techniques. Over the past 10 years, he has worked with sand at major festivals around the world.

Hanneke Supply

Belgium

After studying interior design in Gent, Hanneke began sculpting different materials from 2002 gradually expanding her scope of work. She is a passionate modeler of all kinds of materials and has traveled the world to show her work and her skills in many places.
She has recently begun to explore the world of graphics as well and has become a versatile illustrator.

Enguerrand David

Belgium

Enguerrand has always felt attracted to space design. Initially fascinated by architecture and historical heritage, he gradually opened up to the art of sculpture thanks to his university training as an art historian and archaeologist. He discovered the art of sculpting on sand, ice and snow in 1999. Since then, he has traveled the world in the company of colleagues who have quickly become his best friends.
Enguerrand is known for his multidisciplinary skills (illustrative representations, abstractions, landscape, etc.) and for his desire to experiment (high reliefs, false perspective effects, etc.).
He also organized and directed several small sculpture events in Belgium.

Jakub Zimacek

Czech Republic

Jakub began sculpting sand on the beaches of southern Spain during a trip in 2003. In 2005 he participated in his first international sand sculpture festival in Portugal. He creates sand sculptures for world events, winning numerous awards in international competitions.

Baldrick Richard Buckle

Great Britain

This professional sculptor, of British origin, now lives in Holland, where he began his career as a sand sculptor in 1996, founding the group Sandaholics Anonymous. He creates sculptures with the most varied materials, including snow, ice, bricks, cheese and chocolate. He has participated in the events organized in Jesolo since 2002.

Wiaczeslaw Borecki

Poland

Freelance sculptor with over 26 years of experience. After graduating, he worked in the Sculpture Department of the Poznan Academy of Fine Arts in Poland. Since 1996 he has participated in numerous sand, snow and ice sculpture festivals and competitions around the world, winning numerous awards. He also works with the materials of bronze, stone, resin and ice. His works have been exhibited in solo and group exhibitions in many European countries.

Vadim Gryadov

Netherlands

Born in Russia in 1983 currently lives in the Netherlands.
He graduated with a Master of Architecture from the Ural State University of Architecture and Arts. For the last ten years he has been living in Rotterdam with his Dutch wife and son. Since 2003 he has been making sculptures in a variety of different materials and since 2008 he has been doing it as a full time job.

Agnese Rudzite-Kirillova

Latvia

Graduated in 2007 in sculpture from the Academy of Art in Latvia, since then she has participated in many art projects, symposiums, festivals and competitions in Latvia and abroad. Sculpture is the art in which she specializes, working with very different materials, in recent years the work has intensified with "short-term" materials, such as ice, snow, sand and fire, giving the artist the opportunity to carry out projects of monumental dimensions.

Ferenc Monostori

Hungary

Ferenc was born in 1978 in Budapest. Since he was a child he has been attracted to the art of sculpting, especially human faces. He attended a sports high school, where, thanks to the few drawing lessons, he discovered he was more interested in sculpture than in sport. Later he enrolled in a two-year course in sculpture and, since then, sculpture has become his main profession. He has worked in several festivals using various materials such as stone, bronze and of course sand.