BRIDGEHAMPTON, NY.- Renowned Danish-born, New York-based sculptor Bjørn Okholm Skaarup’s unique fusion of myth, history, and mechanical artistry continues to captivate audiences worldwide. His three newest sculptures, The Flying Turtle (Bane of Aeschylus),The Forest Bride and Victory Lap, bring ancient tales vividly to life with striking craftsmanship and thoughtful storytelling.

Currently, the sculptures are on view at Chase Edwards Gallery (2462 Main Street, Bridgehampton, NY 11932) through September. They are part of his current showcase, The Circus Comes to the Hamptons, which opened on Saturday, August 2 and drew an enthusiastic crowd of art lovers, families, and collectors.


Bjorn Okholm Skaarup, The Flying Turtle, 2025.

The Flying Turtle (Bane of Aeschylus)

The Flying Turtle brings ancient myth into the modern age with a blend of humor, myth, and mechanical wonder. Inspired by the ancient myth of the Greek playwright Aeschylus who was warned by the Oracle of Delphi that he would be struck down by a tortoise dropped from the sky, this sculpture turns an ancient anecdote into a striking meditation on destiny and invention.

Perched atop a rising column of cloudlike vapor, the turtle appears mid-flight, its wings outstretched and its shell transformed into an elaborate automaton. The open, skeletal framework and visible gearwork evoke the Antikythera mechanism – often dubbed the world’s first computer – discovered in a shipwreck from the 2nd century BCE. Equal parts myth and machine, The Flying Turtle nods to ancient tech, theatrical fate, and the enduring strangeness of the human condition.

At once playful and eerie, The Flying Turtle invites us to consider how myth, chance, and technology have always been intertwined. Skaarup’s work doesn’t just retell a tragicomic story, it asks us to think about the strange ways in which fate can find us, even in the wide-open fields.


Bjorn Okholm Skaarup, The Forest Bride, 2025

The Forest Bride

With The Forest Bride, Skaarup brings an old Finnish folk tale into three dimensions, transforming a curious little story into a sculpture full of heart, humor, and magic. At the center is a mouse in a walnut-shell carriage; elegant, poised, and oddly regal. She’s not just any mouse, but a princess under a spell, on her way to marry the man who saw past appearances to the soul within.

Drawn by five black mice and flanked by a coachman and footman (all once human, also enchanted), the carriage rolls gently through an imagined forest clearing. It’s a scene that feels both theatrical and deeply intimate, as if we’ve stumbled upon a secret moment between worlds.

Skaarup’s sculpture is full of small delights (tiny details that reward close looking) but it also holds a bigger message. Like the fairy tale that inspired it, The Forest Bride reminds us that love doesn’t always look the way we expect it to. Sometimes it comes in strange forms, led by instinct, trust, and a little bit of magic.

Victory Lap

Victory Lap is a dynamic and thought-provoking composition that reimagines the eternal struggle between humanity and the natural world. Inspired by the historic Broken Mast Monument in Sag Harbor’s Oakland Cemetery, this sculpture pays homage to the resilience and raw power of the oceans’ greatest leviathans while reflecting on the perils faced by whalers of a bygone era.

Victory Lap features a triumphant sperm whale, its formidable mass crushing a shattered whaleboat beneath it. With breathtaking detail and sweeping movement, the work captures the whale’s victorious counterstrike, a vivid allegory of nature’s indomitable spirit. This powerful scene calls to mind the epitaph of the 1856 Broken Mast Monument, which commemorates six whaling captains and their crews who perished in encounters with the so-called “monsters of the deep.”

Skaarup’s sculpture also bridges the artistic lineage of Robert Eberhard Launitz, creator of the original marble monument and protégé of Denmark’s neoclassical master, Bertel Thorvaldsen. By evoking this historical connection, Victory Lap situates itself as both a modern interpretation of neoclassical ideals and a poignant critique of humanity’s hubris in the face of nature’s might.

Standing as a testament to the dangers and heroism of the whaling era, Victory Lap serves as a tribute to those daring mariners who risked everything in pursuit of the great whales. Yet, it also challenges viewers to reflect on humanity’s evolving relationship with the natural world—a dialogue as relevant today as it was in the 19th century.

In Victory Lap, Skaarup invites us to marvel at the beauty and power of the ocean's creatures, while reminding us of the delicate balance between humanity and the forces of nature. It’s not just a sculpture; it’s a narrative of resilience, respect, and remembrance.



Best known for his iconic 15-foot, 2.5-ton Hippo Ballerina sculpture now installed at Lincoln Center, Skaarup’s work blends classical technique with mischievous storytelling, bringing his surrealist’s imagination to every piece he creates. His indoor and outdoor sculptures have been the subject of museum exhibitions throughout the world, with notable public exhibitions at the Koldinghus Museum, Kolding, Denmark; the Museo Cenacolo di Ognissanti and Four Seasons Hotel, Florence; Hotel Cipriani, Venice, the Collectivité of St. Barth, and The Bruce Museum, Greenwich, Connecticut.