Humannature

de Michele Oka Doner

"Reaching back to nature primordial and coming to life through existential transformation, Michele Oka Doner's sculpted figures act as human archetypes. They share the inevitability and undeniability of a natural order. The artist pares back the skin, focusing on the components that convey life. The structure of the veins and inner anatomy of the body are re-formed into rich textures of coral, roots, rock and bark that express the essential geology of the structure of the earth. HumanNature begins with her tattooed porcelain torsos, created in the mid-1960s, and culminates with the visceral power of her more recent life-size cast bronze figures. Designed by award-winning graphic designer Massimo Vignelli, this survey includes an essay by distinguished contemporary art historian Donald Kuspit."--BOOK JACKET.