Circle of Animals is the first public sculpture project by Chinese contemporary artist Ai Weiwei. In twelve bronze heads, Weiwei reinterprets traditional Chinese zodiacs. The works will begin a world tour on May 2, 2011 – starting in New York after a debut at the Sao Paulo biennale. The sculptures will go up at Grand Army Plaza in Central Park and remain on view through July 15, 2011. (via DB).

More images of Weiwei’s zodiac sculptures after the jump.

Noted last November, in its Hammer Museum debut, Mark Manders: Parrallel Occrrences/Documented Assignments is now on view at the Aspen Art Museum. The exhibition runs through May 1, 2011 and highlights what the artist calls his “Self-Portrait as a Building.”

More examples of Manders’ work after the leap.

Robert Bradford has made a name for himself with his recycled toy sculptures. The idea of each toy having a history, a story to tell, is actually more important to the artist than the fact that they are being re-used rather than being thrown away. The outcome is at time beautiful and detailed, most of the time life size, sometimes even larger.

Take a look at his work after the jump.

Millennium Shoes reports, “Today, artist Gabriel Dishaw from Indianapolis, Indiana, takes the artistic feature of sneaker culture to whole other level. He has created one of his most beloved sneakers of the year, the Nike Air Max 2011, from a assortment of what most people would consider ‘junk’. By using bits and pieces from old computer motherboards, typewriter cases, USB ports, chipsets, and 747 airplane oxygen masks, he has specifically portrayed one of this year’s most innovative sneaker creations.”

Apparently the sneaker inspired sculpture took 90 hours to complete. No small feat.

More images after the jump.

Damian Ortega, a mixed media artist, began his career as a political cartoonist. No surprise really that his current work explores specific economic and cultural situations related to commodity consumption. His Ulysses Way (2010) was shown by White Cube at The Armory Show.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.

View the full sculpture after the jump.

More sculpture from the Amory Show, this time from the Victoria Miro booth. Represented above is a detail of work by Japanese artist Yayoi Kusama. Check out the sculpture in full glory, and a super cool rocking horse after the jump.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.

Mai 36, of Zurich, showed Jurgen Dreshcher’s charming (if not innovative) epoxy and silver-plated Speech Bubble sculptures at the Armory show.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt.

At The Armory Show, the Marianne Boesky Gallery booth was highlighted by fiberglass works from Japanese artist Yoshitomo Nara. Maquette of White Ghost (2010) cast a striking figure on the show floor, and certainly caught our attention. Also impressive was a painted ceramic by Nara.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.

Full look at the Ghost after the jump.

Seattle’s Ambach & Rice hosted the NY debut of Dutch artist Ron Van Der Ende at this years The Armory Show. Sustainability is a simple way to characterize the work – Ron Van Der Ende employing salvaged wood, nails, and glue in captivating 3-dimensional still life. Often, the process is more interesting than the end result, however the intricacies of the bas-relief  provide not just physical, but narrative depth as well.

Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.

View more of Ron Van Der Ende after the jump.

Antena Estudio, of Mexico City, was one of the galleries showing at Impluse – a subsection of Pulse NYC hosting work less than two years old. Showing at Antena, Andres Basurto impressed with his broken bottle and poxy skulls. Stunning in color, and hung just right to capture light and shadow, Basurto’s works are named after the bottles they are produced from. For example, he’ll title a work “Corona” or sometimes more generically “Mezcal” if the brand is anonymous in the liquor.

For those interested in seeing Basurto’s work after Pulse NYC closes (March 6, 2011), a selection of works entitled Inspired by a True Story, will be on view at Lyons Wier Gallery in New York through April 2, 2011.

More skulls after the jump. Photography by Jacob Breinholt for Curated.