I loved this image, titled “Dancing with the Stars” — a 500-piece puzzle by Clementoni. Sadly they didn’t list a credit, but google image search turned up very similar images, by the recently passed artist Alfredo Arreguín (1935-2023). I am always mesmerized by Arreguín’s work — the jaguar puzzle by Artifact is one of my favorites — but I was puzzled (!) that Arreguín wasn’t credited for this work, and that it is actually a little different in the puzzle images I found. I have written to Clementoni, and hope to hear back that it was licensed and modified by Arreguín, or with his authorization — and not that it is an AI-generated ripoff, which I fear. )-8 Since I found several similar works, I’m hopeful the puzzle image is part of an original series.
UPDATE 1/24: confirmed by email from Clementoni that it was licensed from Arreguín!
Some of the similar works:
- “Migration” in “Beyond Aztlán” by Lauro H. Flores (2024)
- another, without a title, but maybe “Suquamish Waters” (and is that a typo for “Squamish”? or a variant spelling?) in “A Vibrant Legacy“
- “Against the Current” in “Northwest Artists Against Extinction: Honoring Alfredo Arreguín (1935-2023)“
Anyway, the puzzle intimidated me, but a Redditor did it & encouraged me to take it on, so I did, starting it before traveling & finishing it after I got back. It was really lovely.
The puzzle is listed as from their “high-quality collection”. I’m not sure I’ve done other Clementoni puzzles, but it was nice — a standard grid-cut, no false fits, solid cardboard. A little bit of a loose fit but not *very* loose; I didn’t try the “pick-up challenge” but when I started folding it to disassemble, the large chunks hung together pretty well, before giving way with just a bit of pressure.
