Amazing Artist Uses Rubik’s Cubes to ‘Paint’ Celebrity Portraits

As if solving the Rubik’s Cube wasn’t challenging enough, one man from Melbourne, Australia decided to take his love of the iconic toy to a whole new level. Meet artist Giovanni Contardi, a guy who creates astounding portraits using – yes, you guessed it – Rubik’s Cubes!

As you will see below, Hollywood celebrities are Giovanni’s favorite subjects in his unique artworks. He’s done several of these portraits, in fact, ranging from Marilyn Monroe and Maisie Williams (Game of Thrones), to iconic music icons Amy Winehouse and Dave Grohl of the Foo Fighters, among many others.

Instead of paintbrushes and canvases, the 24-year-old artist uses 700 to 730 cubes to ‘paint’ his portraits.

Each portrait measures five feet tall.

Originally fron Italy and now based in Melbourne, the artist has since gained online fame after posting his photos on Instagram.

Giovanni started solving Rubik’s cubes when he was 7 years old.

By his early teens, he was already joining world competitions. In 2010, he won the European Rubik’s Cube Championship.

It usually takes him several hours to complete his unique masterpieces.

Giovanni shared:

“I start by printing off a photo of the celebrity I admire at the time – usually it’s someone from a TV series or film I’ve watched that week.

“I use a grid to divide the portrait into every single cube, so that is faster to reproduce. Then I get all the cubes ready in preparation before putting them into crates.

“The most enjoyable part is figuring out how to use oranges and reds to make definition in the face. That’s the most challenging thing and takes between an hour or two.”

Watch this video to see him in action:

Putting the cubes together is a relaxing experience, according to him.

“I’ve only done about 20 portraits so it’s early days. But I’m hoping I’ll be able to do some permanent installations soon in different areas around the world.

“My favourite is my latest one of Millie Bobby Brown as I’ve recently started watching Stranger Things.

“I’m planning to do Will Smith next. He’s a celebrity I’ve been wanting to do for a long time so I’m very excited.”

Now check out his other pieces here:

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To see more of his works, you can go check out his Instagram page.