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| Portrait of an Artist |
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 For sculptor Vanessa Paschakarnis, space
and form serve as a means to the desired end in her work: They encourage
viewers to“re-evaluate their existence as physical beings.” Her works, she says, allude to the “essence of an encounter – an encounter with form as a thing – and the thing as equal companion. This essence seems to be desire – the human desire to interact with in human form.” Although such an exercise can seem abstract at first, she ultimately engages the viewer by using designs that borrow from simple forms in nature. Working in stone and bronze, the assistant professor of art in Meadows School of the Arts creates pieces on a scale of the human body. A shark’s tooth enlarged takes on centurion-like proportions. A sand dollar lends its shape to a human shield. Her sculptures, Paschakarnis says, “are beings in and of themselves autonomous objects that occupy space – in the room and in the viewer’s head.” Paschakarnis, who joined SMU in 2004, is a native of Germany who also holds Canadian citizenship. She earned an M.F.A. degree from Kunsthochschule Berlin-Weissensee in Germany and an M.F.A. degree from the Nova Scotia College of Art & Design in Canada. She has exhibited her work, sculpture and drawings in Europe, the United States and Canada. Since 2002 Paschakarnis has worked for three extended periods on large-scale sculptures in Pietrasanta, Italy.  To view more of her work: http://www.v-paschakarnis.com. |
