Rise (2013)
Rise (2013)
Artist: Richard Claraval
Medium: Polystyrene and paint
Location: Germantown City Hall - People Street, 1930 South Germantown Road Germantown, TN 38138
Inspired by poet Maya Angelou’s “Still I Rise,” Rise fuses the human form with various abstract elements to elicit an emotional response from its viewers. These figures are meant to be read as a continuous motion that ends with the last one leaping free into the air, representing the hope that people will be free to reach their greatest potential.
Claraval has always been profoundly interested in the human figure and in the representation of dynamic motion. His sculptures, drawings and paintings revolve around these basic concerns, fusing the undistorted, non-truncated figure with various abstract forms. Claraval’s strongest inspiration comes from classical music.
Richard Claraval
Richard Claraval is an award winning draftsman and sculptor. His honors include a juror’s award at the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh’s Annual Exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art, and a juror’s award at a group exhibition at Panza Gallery. His drawings and sculptures have been in solo and group exhibitions in galleries and museums throughout the Eastern U.S., including The Bascom Center for the Visual Arts, in North Carolina, the Carnegie Museum of Art and the Pittsburgh Center for the Arts. Mr. Claraval’s work is in collections throughout the east, including Westinghouse Corporation, Dr. Ted Steliotes, Mr. Larry Rich, and the Friends of Art Pittsburgh. Claraval grew up in a small western Pennsylvanian town, and now resides in Pittsburgh.
