Robert Kvenild Art

The artist says of her work... Arrested Symphony is an exhibition incorporating sculptures, reliefs, drawings and hanging works that explore the theme of injustice that is at the roots of the predatory gem and mineral excavation industry. While at a residency in Knoxville, Tennessee, I discovered that Oakridge was only 30 miles away. Oakridge played a key role in the development of the Atom Bomb and the Manhattan Project. I began an exploration and comparison of Uranium and Emeralds. These minerals look very much alike, beautiful but dangerous on their effect on civil conflict. Colombia my birthplace, has the finest Emeralds in the world. The mining of Emeralds was an important element in the continued colonization of the region. Emeralds have helped to fund the more than 60-year conflict which has taken over 450,000 lives and displaced about 5.7 million people. Uranium has brought destruction to a level which altered the future of warfare. The developments made during the Manhattan Project led to the death of about 700,000 people and its effects are still felt around the world. I use Colombia as an example, however this situation is repeating itself in many parts of the world. Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all involved in brutal civil conflicts fueled by Blood Diamonds. This project will make visual the human cost extracted with these minerals, once exposed to the light of day they can never be unearthed. My practice is an ongoing object-based exploration through which I create artworks which are organic and improvisational constructions that are infused with hope and renewal. The hand-crafted artworks are poetically and intricately crafted, creating an intimate repository for the individual and collective memory and implement the human body as a symbol and expression of nature, vulnerability and power. The work encourages viewers to reconsider social and historical narratives especially when dealing with the aftermath of Colonialism and raises critical questions about the politics of erasure and exclusion. ESPERANZA CORTÉS is a Colombian born contemporary multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cortés has exhibited in the United States in solo and group exhibitions in venues including Smack Mellon Gallery, Neuberger Museum of Art, Bronx Museum of Art, Queens Museum, El Museo Del Barrio, MoMA PS1, Socrates Sculpture Park and White-box Gallery in New York City. Nationally Cortes exhibitions include Cleveland Art Museum, OH, CSU Galleries at Cleveland University, OH, Helen Day Art Center, VT and The Lorenzo Homar...

Flat tire - ceramic bear sculpture, taxi bear. This ceramic sculpture is from Irina’s series of Mishka. Irina’s recent practice centers on her Mishka series and puzzle-like figurat...

Anneke Bogardus "Poppy №5" 2023 Entirely hand sculpted. Raku fired. 5 1/4” tall, 13" around the widest point. Raku firing is an ancient Japanese ceramics technique. The Raku tech...

"Zuza" Ceramic Sculpture 22" x 6" inch by Lika Brutyan Medium: Clay, underglaze Lika Brutyan is American photographer, was born in a family of scientists and artists in Yerevan, Ar...

The artist says of her work... Arrested Symphony is an exhibition incorporating sculptures, reliefs, drawings and hanging works that explore the theme of injustice that is at the roots of the predatory gem and mineral excavation industry. While at a residency in Knoxville, Tennessee, I discovered that Oakridge was only 30 miles away. Oakridge played a key role in the development of the Atom Bomb and the Manhattan Project. I began an exploration and comparison of Uranium and Emeralds. These minerals look very much alike, beautiful but dangerous on their effect on civil conflict. Colombia my birthplace, has the finest Emeralds in the world. The mining of Emeralds was an important element in the continued colonization of the region. Emeralds have helped to fund the more than 60-year conflict which has taken over 450,000 lives and displaced about 5.7 million people. Uranium has brought destruction to a level which altered the future of warfare. The developments made during the Manhattan Project led to the death of about 700,000 people and its effects are still felt around the world. I use Colombia as an example, however this situation is repeating itself in many parts of the world. Sierra Leone, Liberia, the Republic of Congo, the Central African Republic and the Democratic Republic of Congo are all involved in brutal civil conflicts fueled by Blood Diamonds. This project will make visual the human cost extracted with these minerals, once exposed to the light of day they can never be unearthed. My practice is an ongoing object-based exploration through which I create artworks which are organic and improvisational constructions that are infused with hope and renewal. The hand-crafted artworks are poetically and intricately crafted, creating an intimate repository for the individual and collective memory and implement the human body as a symbol and expression of nature, vulnerability and power. The work encourages viewers to reconsider social and historical narratives especially when dealing with the aftermath of Colonialism and raises critical questions about the politics of erasure and exclusion. ESPERANZA CORTÉS is a Colombian born contemporary multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cortés has exhibited in the United States in solo and group exhibitions in venues including Smack Mellon Gallery, Neuberger Museum of Art, Bronx Museum of Art, Queens Museum, El Museo Del Barrio, MoMA PS1, Socrates Sculpture Park and White-box Gallery in New York City. Nationally Cortes exhibitions include Cleveland Art Museum, OH, CSU Galleries at Cleveland University, OH, Helen Day Art Center, VT and The Lorenzo Homar...

"Butterfly series No Il" Ceramic Sculpture 25" x 7" inch by Lika Brutyan Medium: Clay Lika Brutyan is American photographer, was born in a family of scientists and artists in Yerev...

Signed and dated. «Waited for someone, for something, for anything, for too long» was part of O. F. Hvidsten's first solo-exhibition «This will n...

Bear-ly survived - ceramic, stoneware clay, terra-sigillata, electric fired. This ceramic sculpture is from Irina’s series of Mishka. Irina’s recent practice centers on her Mishka ...

Anneke Bogardus "Poppy №4" 2023 Entirely hand sculpted. Raku fired. 5 3/4” tall, 12” around Raku firing is an ancient Japanese ceramics technique. The Raku technique is essentiall...

Unique terracotta sculpture Signed by the artist The contemplative creatures of Nili Pincas, of an extreme refinement, invite silence. This isolation of the sculpted being seizes and soothes, at the same time as it questions. Are we facing the face of anguish or introspection? The white or purple flesh, with a slightly grainy matte appearance, reveals the infinite sensuality of the artist’s touch...

Unique terracotta sculpture Signed on the base

Medium: clay sculpture, glass beads, metal beads, chains, crystal, silver leaf, metal Esperanza Cortés is a Colombian born multidisciplinary artist based in New York City. Cortés ha...