Gina Gruenberg

Artist Statement

“touch… gives us our knowledge of depth or thickness and form; we feel, we love and hate,
are touchy and are touched, through the touch corpuscles of our skin.”
The Stages of Human Life, 1921 J. Lionel Tayler

I am a somatic person. My hands inform me, help to heal others and communicate my deepest feelings. I am never more alive than when I am in the creative process, exploring, discovering and connecting ideas that may not seem obvious to others, or appear to belong together. Whether I am casting from life, working with fiber, clay or paint, I grapple with ideas like: how art and science intersect, energetic medicine, the different masks we wear, self-image, how to combine collaboration and play, and the multiple ways individuals learn.

This body of work, composed of “Direct” or “Life Casts,” was initially a collaborative effort between a life model and me, combining touch with the artistic process. Hence, an actual person became the temporary armature for the sculpture, while warm wet plaster impregnated gauze strips (the kind used for orthopedic casts) were applied directly to his or her oiled skin or clothing. Once the sections dried, they were carefully removed leaving the model’s unique energetic imprint in the cast. Later, they were joined with more plaster, to become hollow sculptures or fragments with a life of their own.

Rebirth
Plaster and painted & gilded plaster
19" x 33"(Red)
23" x35" (White)
20" x 23" (Blue)

Join us as we reconstruct sculpture

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