THE SCULPTURES OF MARI SERRARIS

Excerpt from opening-speech by art historian Nicole Hermans

Her sculptures are made with her strong, slender though big sculpture-hands. The power of her works is ultimately expressed by shape, by the configuration of the object itself.
Time and again, she manages to produce sculptures that originate from her inner necessity and drive. Her shapes are about thoughts or (un)conscious thought patterns that concern life itself, materialised by her hands. By all intents and purposes "Serraris" sculptures are sort of sacral: they go beyond religion and are not tied to any religion in particular. They arise from an intrinsic power, most often without literary or other references, and therefore possess sacral qualities in themselves. They radiate existentiality and sensuality: they hold testimony to human potentiality, to the imagination on elusive matters such as life and death. Through the language of shapes and forms, she attains such erotic sensations in the viewer, like warmth is experienced by the beams of the sun....(read complete text under ‘testimonials‘)

About Sculptor Mari

Mari Serraris was trained at two Arts Academies, in Arnhem and the Hague (Netherlands) for gold- and silversmithing, receiving her masters-degree in 1977. In 1994 she turned her attention to sculpting. Being a natural and a hard-worker, she became a member of Pulchri Studio in the Hague three years later (1997). She has had many exhibitions, took part in seminars for sculptors and has been published by a (local) newspaper (Haagsche Courant) and a lifestyle magazine (Stoockx). She works under the umbrella of a group of artists (www.stichting-ruimtevaart.nl). Her works are reminiscent of the great master of modern sculpture, Constantin Brancusi: achieving a particular view on her chosen subject matter through abstraction: a view on the arche or origins of fundamental topics in our human life.

The sculptures of Mari Serraris are mainly about the Origins of Life.

* Look at Arché Goné (black marble, iron ball, light) the First Conception: light!
* Totem, (bluestone) about our original good intentions.
* no title 2008, (black marble, pierre de Vinalmont) suggests a birth out of a shining oval egg.
* Dark Time, (bluestone) birth of a black hole: in the middle! as a star explodes.
* Book and Pencil, (bluestone) the 2D transfer of ideas from the 3D original idea.
* Ode to Literature, (bluestone) a blackboard, seat and the writings we learn to love.
* Hawking, (Soapstone, mokumé gané (Japanese smithing technique) Fare Well for the death of a loved one.
* Portraits in bronze, (bronze, socle: Indian marble) In honour of those who gave me Beauty, the Idea and quality for the rest of my life!

These sculptures, made of mainly bluestone and marble, wood, bronze and (precious) metals, embody our Origins and the durability of this truth.