Klik GAMBAR Dibawah Untuk Lebih Info

Sumber Asal Berita :-

The Star Online: Lifestyle: Arts & Fashion

The form-idable woman in Claudia Manperl

Posted: 24 Mar 2013 08:17 AM PDT

This sculptress' works may be fashioned from bronze, but she might say they are actually formed by emotions.

TO meet Claudia Manperl is to understand firsthand the source of her art. The Spanish sculptress, whose works mainly revolve around the theme of "the woman", is the living embodiment of the feminine energy that pulsates in her pieces. Warm, humourous and confident, yet also introspective and emotive, she seems to imbue each of her sculptures with some intangible aspect of herself, which in turn draws in and connects with the viewer.

Having recently made Penang her home, the Argentinian-born Manperl is currently showing her works at NN Gallery in Ampang, Selangor, and they are fascinating indeed.

Perhaps it is their graceful, biomorphic forms, suggesting an intimate familiarity with the body while being just alien enough to draw the eye. Maybe it is the smooth, organic curves of bronze that glisten vividly with the patina of various hues, inviting you to run your hands over them. Or perhaps, it is the ideas and stories that each sculpture seems to whisper, whether of sensuality, empowerment, sadness or playfulness.

Take, for example, the pieces Vivir (To live) and Quien tu quieras que sea (Whoever you want me to be). Both are female nudes sculpted in a semi-realistic style; yet, the former exudes strength and wild sexuality while the latter signals a sort of naive submissiveness.

Manperl says her art is the product of her feelings, as well as the energy she picks up from others.

"I believe my art stands out because people feel an emotional connection to my work, they often feel an intense reaction when they see them."

She recounts how, about 10 years ago, when her mother passed away, she couldn't produce any work for six months. Then one day, she felt the compulsion to express all her emotions surrouding the event, and produced a sculpture in two hours, which she named Sadness.

"The amazing thing was, a woman attending one of my shows saw the piece and started crying. Apparently, it was because her mother had just passed away, and that piece rekindled her feelings about it, without her even knowing what had inspired me to make it!"

It isn't so surprising, however, that Manperl's works are so intertwined with her feelings; in fact, her foray into art began with an intense surge of emotion too.

"I became aware that I wanted to sculpt about 15 years ago, when I was in Florence, Italy," she explains. "I was in front of Michelangelo's sculpture, David. I was paralysed. I realised in that moment that this was my life path, to be a sculptress."

Remarkably, Manperl was in her early 40s at the time, and had thus far been working primarily in education, music teaching and psychology. But once she felt the call of the art, she knew there was no going back, and here she is, at age 57, still enjoying and evolving her work.

"I love to create, I need to create with my hands. And I love to play; even when I was teaching, I used to play all the time. Doing what I do allows me to let go and just let the inspiration flow. My work is very spontaneous, almost like meditation," she says.

Her works, she adds, revolve around themes of femaleness because that is what she can relate to the most.

"Well, I am a woman, and I want to reflect in my work a woman's thoughts, reflections, feelings and that special magic she employs to face life."

That's not to say she only exclusively sculpts female figures. Instead, she lets the work guide her.

"I don't confine myself to one thing in my art. Sometimes, the work connects more with a woman, and sometimes a man," she explains.

Pieces like Uno es dos (One equals two), for instance, juxtapose the masculine and female forms quite clearly, creating a sense of both harmony and tension, while something like El aventurero (The adventurer) is more subtle, incorporating rigid, masculine lines into a feminine-seeming work.

Colours, too, play an important part in her sculptures, and Manperl works hard to get the right patina for each piece.

"I patinate them in different colours that seem like silk, marble or stones; this helps to create the feeling I want for each piece," she says.

This can be seen in the way the rich shade of green on Por que (Why?), a female figure curved over in contemplation, lends the piece a thoughtful, almost melancholic air; meanwhile, the gorgeous cerulean blue of Mujer del mar (Woman from the sea) – an organically flowing female nude – evokes both tranquility and energy.

Manperl's style has been compared to that of British sculptor Henry Moore, known for his semi-abstractions of the human figure that often feature flowing curves and hollow spaces. Fans of German artist Kathe Kollwitz may also see her influence in Manperl's merging of abstraction and realism.

"I'm not figurative and I'm not abstract; it all depends on which style expresses what I want to say best. I'd call my works 'neo-figurative'," she says. "My work is a constant search of the synthesis of forms in a subjective universe. Through bronze, by creatively using emptiness and fullness, curves and tensions, I play with the space."

> Intimate Forms is showing at NN Gallery (53A & 56, Jalan Sulaiman 1, Taman Ampang Hilir, Ampang, Selangor) until March 30.

Gallery hours are Monday to Saturday, 9am-6pm (free admission). For more information, call 03-4270 6588 or visit www.nngallery.com.my

No more kitsch

Posted: 24 Mar 2013 01:27 AM PDT

Original of world's 'most popular'art print sold in London.

A picture dubbed the most reproduced fine art print in the world sold at auction in London on Wednesday for almost £1mil (RM4.73mil), a record for South African artist Vladimir Tretchikoff.

Chinese Girl was bought by the chairman of Graff Diamonds International, Laurence Graff, Bonhams auctioneers said.

"It's a new world record for Tretchikoff," a Russian emigre who settled in South Africa, Bonhams head of communications and marketing Julian Roup told AFP.

Graff, a British jeweller, will put the iconic painting on public display with the rest of his collection of South African art at the Delaire Graff Estate at Stellenbosch outside Cape Town.

"The picture is going home to Cape Town, where Tretchikoff painted it. It's rather wonderful," said Roup.

Chinese Girl is a simple charcoal drawing on a brown canvas illuminated by an iridescent green-blue face, luscious black hair and bright golden tunic.

Bonhams said it is widely believed to be the most reproduced fine art print, noting Tretchikoff himself claimed to have sold half a million large-format reproductions by the end of his career.

Roup said Wednesday's sale price, which includes a buyer's premium, signalled a new recognition for an artist who before his death in 2006 at the age of 92 was often regarded as "kitsch". – AFP Relaxnews

Kredit: www.thestar.com.my

Ahad, 24 Mac 2013