Master of the Micro Arts

Gattem Venkatesh is known the world over for his beautiful sculptures at the micro level. What began as a hobby has exploded into a phenomenon all its own, and his artworks have inspired countless children and adults alike to search within themselves and create their own works of art.

Venkatesh is best known for his intricate miniature sculptures carved on the tips of pencils, chalk, bangles, toothpicks, and other materials — over 500 works and counting. He won the Guinness World Record title for the world’s smallest toothpick carving of the Empire State Building, was honored in India’s Limca Book of Records for the tiniest ship model, and was awarded the National Youth Award (India) for his social work teaching art and science to more than 24,000 students at over 80 schools.

Venkatesh also holds a bachelor’s degree in architecture and completed his master’s in urban planning in 2021 at New York Institute of Technology, but art is where his heart lives. That’s what has driven him to create his unique works, ever since he was a young student in Chinadoddigallu village in Andhra Pradesh, India. During a vacation after high school when he was 14, Venkatesh created a miniature model of the Hindu god Lord Ganesha out of boredom. His parents took notice and encouraged him to continue developing his art form, and that’s where his journey began.

To celebrate the US Independence Day holiday, he created a detailed miniature of the US Capitol Building.

Venkatesh creates his miniatures using surgical blades, cutters, and injection needles to carve out the minutest of details, each giving definition and form. He regularly collaborates with architects and engineers, painters and sculptors, and even fashion designers. It’s easy to see these relationships in the pieces he carves, with each evolving as his talent and style progress.

This article appeared in Make: Vol 92.