ARTIST STATEMENT
I make sculptures that locate emotional states within a body reimagined using magic realism and poetic figuration. I layer texture, color, and mark-making to create vivid surfaces.
Early influences include roaming the neighborhood of Northeast Kansas City with my sisters and cousins as well as exploring woods and pastures in rural Tennessee and Missouri.
Drawing, painting, and sculpting were an ever present part of my childhood. My mother was an amateur painter and my father was endlessly drawing, carving, and building things with his hands.
I first began making ceramic sculpture at the Indianapolis Art Center in 2014. Prior to that I studied classical and contemporary drawing and printmaking.
© Cris Rivas