Surreal, Minimalist Cityscapes Too Sublime for This World

All images by Michele Durazzi via Behance

At first glance, these striking architectural compositions by Florence-based digital artist Michele Durazzi look like abstracted photographs of real buildings—a subject that's been ripe for exploration. Eventually though, neither the believable human figures spotted in the images nor the world's growing portfolio of organically-shaped, colorless buildings (thanks Zaha!) can suppress your mental alarm that these arresting scenes are just not possible. Indeed, as Durazzi explains over email, none of the structures here are based off real-world architecture. Instead, aiming to explore "surreal minimalism," Durazzi's compositions zoom in on architectural details that are familiar yet improbable (i.e. facades with intricate paper-like folds or ginormous slits), contexualized by a seemingly authentic person, bike, boat, or vehicle. Viewers, then, are prompted to fill in the gaps, constructing for themselves a vision of what a world with Durazzi's creations might look like.