Sharon Kopriva (American, b. 1948), Penitent Radiant and Raven Radiant

1980s-1990s, mixed media constructed with papier-mache, lace, canvas, and metallic paint, both signed and dated to posterior. This lot includes a gallery purchase receipt from 2001.

Tallest 9 x 3 1/4 x 3 1/4 in.

Kopriva gained widespread recognition when Walter Hopps curated a solo exhibition of her work at the Menil Collection in 2000. Equal parts archeological dig, torture chamber and formalist exploration, her compelling oeuvre—often consisting of eloquent meditations on the body as well as on ritual, faith and the natural world—possesses the power to bring you to a complete stop.

Kopriva’s sculptures are typically made of animal bones, teeth, fabric, clay, wood and papier-mâché. They frequently depict mummy-like church figures dressed in brocaded religious vestments, or flayed and sinewy Christian saints and martyrs. Faces usually lack features and bodies are bony and ghostly. The Houston-based artist was raised Catholic, and a 1982 trip to the ancient Nazca burial sites in Peru further established her interest in ritual imagery. Of her childhood church experiences, she recalled in an interview: “I was educated in Catholic school before the Second Vatican Council. Darkness, fear, penance—these are my earliest impressions.”

Bio courtesy of Art in America

Cracks in papier-mache as constructed.