Raphaele Shirley, "Cracked Arena (Dressed in White)"

Description

Raphaele Shirley, "Cracked Arena (Dressed in White)"
18 x 12 inches
Resin, neon, mirror, wood

Artist Bio: Raphaele Shirley is a Franco-American artist with studios based in Callicoon, New York, and New York City. Her work takes root in questions of space and scale, time past and future, engaging themes of dystopia, utopia, and the complexities of hope within the human experience. Drawing from elements of civilization—architecture, science, and art history—as well as from natural phenomena such as wind, water, and light, her practice undertakes a portrait of the possible: of parallel universes and transient states.
Integrating elements of chance is central to her process, granting access—through environmental or social intervention—to elemental energies and fertile zones of possibility. She approaches art in a free-handed manner, treading lightly in her attempt to harness the ephemeral, fusing minimalist aesthetics with technology while leaving space for the unexpected.
Shirley has exhibited nationally and internationally in venues such as CAS, The Emily Harvey Foundation, the Queens Museum, the Museum of the Moving Image in New York, the Hermitage in St. Petersburg, the 2nd Moscow Biennale, Art Basel Miami, and the Kai Art Center in Estonia. She has been a recipient of grants from the Wave Farm Foundation, Harvestworks, and the Norwegian Arts Council.

Artist Statement: "Cracked Arena: Dressed in White," part of Raphaele Shirley’s Cracked Arena series initiated in 2010, explores the form’s evolution through 3D printing, translucent resin, and the artist’s signature “sunshine” yellow neon. Suggesting a utopian public sculpture—monumental light seated on a basin of reflective water—it evokes visions of positive futures rooted in sustainable urban living. As an intimate tabletop sculpture, it becomes both a source of light and a vessel for dreaming, where object and reflection incline the viewer toward wholeness.