Some artists create sculptures, while Matthew Simmonds seems to carve entire worlds into stone. The artist, who has years of experience as an architectural stone carver, creates miniature architectural spaces filled with arches, columns, stairways, domes, and quiet interiors that feel almost impossible to shape by hand. His works often look like fragments of ancient temples, cathedrals, or hidden sacred spaces, all revealed inside solid blocks of stone.
Bored Panda readers may remember Simmonds from a feature we published years ago, and since then, he has continued to refine his remarkable craft. His newer pieces further explore the relationship between sculpture, architecture, light, and imagination, inviting viewers to look closely at every opening, shadow, and carved detail.
Scroll down to see some of his latest miniature architectural sculptures, and don’t forget to upvote the ones that impressed you the most.
More info: Instagram | mattsimmonds.com
#1 “Windows 22”
“Carved from a single piece of limestone, height 116cm.”
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10points
#2 “Windows 26”
“From top left to bottom right the panel subjects are:
-A view into a rotunda
-The Aztec Sun Stone
-A wasp-in-a-box
-A tribute to Piranesi's Prison series
-A Gresley A4 steam locomotive
-The doorway to to the Unfinished Chapels, Batalha monastery
-A pair of figures from the Camera Santa, Oviedo Cathedral
-A temple from Bayon, Cambodia
-Muqarnas from the Alhambra palace,
-The Apollo lunar module
-The Neue Wache, Berlin
-Limestone, 50 X 50 X depth 10cm”
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9points
#3 “Proscaenium”
“Faxe limestone from Denmark is a fossilised coral-based stone with its own very unique quality. This piece immediately suggested to me the sense of something very old, a decaying grandeur, and I immediately wanted to contrast the roughness of the material with a very clear and precise statement in the architectural composition.
Inspired by the impressive limestone Roman ruins of the Levant, notably at Jerash and Baalbek, this sculpture references the stage of a Roman theatre, with its ornamental Scaenae Frons, a columned backdrop to the stage often built on several levels.
Faxe limestone, height 45cm.”
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8points
#4 “Arezzo”
“Arezzo,” the last in the Cities of Tuscany series, inspired by the Romanesque church of Santa Maria della Pieve, with its raised choir over the crypt.
Carrara marble, height 36cm”
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8points
#5 “Single Helix III”
“Inspired by Arne Jacobsen's suspended staircase in the Royal SAS hotel in Copenhagen, this was perhaps technically a little ambitious for its scale. I wouldn't mind making a new work based on this but a little larger!
Limestone, 2021, height 21cm.”
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8points
#6 “Undercroft II”
“The last of the Four Gothic Tales. Partly inspired by the cellar of the tithe barn in Provins, near Paris and the crypt of Rochester Cathedral, England.
The use of a series of repetitive architectural elements is intended to give the sense that the space could continue beyond the confines of the stone.
Limestone, height 26cm.”
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8points
#7 “Tivoli III”
“My first excercise in making a sculpture of a single space from two pieces of stone
Carrara marble, height 25cm.”
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8points
#8 “Rotunda V”
“This small sculpture is based on a work I made years ago actually in a sand sculpture symposium, where I dug under the surface to form this space, although here the forms are finer and more refined than I was able to achieve in sand.
Designed either to stand on a flat surface or to be wall-mounted.
Limestone, 22cm x 22cm x 8cm.”
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7points
#9 “Model Of Temple Bar, London”
“Not strictly a sculpture, but rather a model of an actual building, this was commissioned in 2006 to mark the return of Christopher Wren’s Temple Bar to the city of London, and is currently in the Guildhall, London.
Temple Bar was originally built as a ceremonial gateway to the city of London, but was removed in the late Victorian era when the road where it stood was widened to accommodate heavier traffic. For many years it stood as the entrance to the Theobalds Park estate to the North of London, but fell into ruin when parts of the estate’s lands were sold. In 2004 It was dismantled, restored, and now forms the entrance to Paternoster Square next to St Paul’s Cathedral.
This model was commissioned by the Temple Bar Trust, the charity that raised the funds for the gate’s translocation, as a gift to the Corporation of London. It was carved in a single piece of New Marfil limestone, a finely grained stone which allowed for the working of some of the very small detailing required.
Limestone, height 52cm with base.”
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7points
#11 “Tempietto”
“Inspired by Renaissance drawings of the ideal church, in this piece I've tried to convey the sense of a whole architectural interior imprinted in the stone
Carrara marble, 40cm.”
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7points
#13 “A Light In Dark Places”
“In this sculpture a Gothic vaulted space with a single tall window is concealed behind a series of arches. Inspired by the Founder’s Chapel of Batalha monastery, Portugal, this work explores the unique geometry of the vaulting in that building that transfers from the octagonal inner space to the square outer wall.
Medieval church buildings can convey a deep sense of spirituality and higher meaning, despite also being symbols of power and authority from a time marked by inequality and strict hierarchies. Nevertheless, through the skills, imagination and passion of the craftspeople that built and adorned them they could express the more profound human aspirations and a connection with the divine. They remind us how important the appreciation of beauty, both inner and outer, is as a refuge to uplift the human spirit and transcend us into a space beyond the everyday world in darker times plagued by worry and uncertainty.
Limestone, height 42cm”
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6points
#14 “Firenze”
“Firenze,” the third sculpture in the series Cities of Tuscany, commissioned for the restaurant Toscano on board the new cruise ship Allura.
The work is heavily inspired by the portico of the Renaissance Pazzi chapel in the cloister of Santa Croce church.
Carrara marble, height 37cm”
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6points
#15 “Siena”
“The second in the Cities of Tuscany series. This is inspired by the interior of the cathedral, in particular showing a detail of the unique geometry of the aisle vaulting created by the unusual hexagonal crossing. It also pays reference to Nicola Pisano's pulpit.
Carrara marble, height 36cm”
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6points
#16 “Pisa”
“First of four sculptures in a new series "Cities of Tuscany" commissioned for the restaurant Toscano on board the new cruise ship Allura, sister ship to the Vista, for which I made the "Four Classical Studies".
The sculptures will each refer to the architecture of four different Tuscan cities. The first, "Pisa", is inspired by Pisan Romanesque architecture, taking elements from both the cathedral's tower and baptistry.
Carrara marble, height 37cm”
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6points
#18 “Reverse Plan: Bamberg Cathedral”
“This is similar to my “Elevation” series, although here using the church plan as a starting point. These works are unusual in that they represent real historical buildings, in this case Bamberg Cathedral in Germany. Possibly the first in a series, this piece explores the relationship between the two-dimensional architectural plan drawing and its projection into three dimensional space.
Limestone, height 51cm.”
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6points
#19 “Arbulatory Iv”
“Ambulatory IV,” the third sculpture in the Four Gothic Tales series. Here I'm looking to express something of the grandeur of the great French cathedrals, with an emphasis on the vertical and an overall simplicity of design.
Limestone, height 39cm.”
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6points
#20 “Tuscan”
“The last in the series, “Four Classical Studies: Tuscan.” I've given this more of a Renaissance expression, as Tuscan is the most recent of the orders to have been developed. Plus a couple of shots of all four of the guys together before they set sail
Statuary marble, height 37cm.”
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6points