Clark’s sculptures recast the divine feminine
‘Forms of Origin’ showcase of new work by sculptor Natalie Clark
By appointment only: 917-617-1207 Through February NatalieClark.com CamilleObering.com/guesthouse By Tibby Plasse
Contributor
Sculpture has an unfaltering capacity to make lasting impressions. Natalie Clark is seeing how far she can shape time and recourse in her new show, “Forms of Origins,” at Camille Obering’s Guesthouse in Wilson.
The British/American artist splits her time between Tetonia, Idaho, and Catalonia, Spain. Both her studios are steeped in history. The Tetonia studio is a converted Mormon church, and the other is a 13th-century masia.
Much like her work and her many geographies, Clark is a dichotomy of ideas. She traces archetype narratives back to their origin story, digging into steadfast visions and shapes before diving into the bedrock of a piece to unearth its primary shape. Here, spirituality translates into a three-dimensional universal language.
Clark utilizes Carrara marble, a raw material with a Cclassical mining lineage dating back to Michelangelo. Its fine grain and luminous sheen lend a fluidity to Clark’s carvings that she hews into the divine feminine. The bronze pieces explore themes of genesis and transformation as their lines tell stories of a warrior metal throughout the ages.
Clark’s dossier of exhibitions includes all corners of the world. In 2022, her 6-meter structure made of Corten steel and Carrara marble was installed in front of the Great Pyramids for the large-scale seasonal public art display with Art D’Egypte on the Giza Plateau. Spirit of Hathor, constructed of historically masculine materials, retold feminine abstraction against Egypt’s endless skyline of antiquities.
Clark says she’s following in the footsteps of other pioneering women artists like Camille Claudel and Louise Bourgeois as she attempts to bridge past and present. She also “celebrates the enduring power and versatility of these materials while infusing them with contemporary relevance and spiritual depth,” she said.
“Carving soft undulating curves embedded into a rigid crystalline structure, hands connecting to the body, to the mind, to the material, the materials have an ancientness to them, a familiarity,” she said.
“And when the material is as pure as marble, the connection can be quite profound, channeling the angels connecting with the divine.”
Obering, gallery owner of Guesthouse, said the response to the show’s 12 bronze and marble pieces has been “profoundly raw and personal.”
“Women of all ages and backgrounds have expressed that they feel seen and better understood,” Obering said. “The marble and bronze sculptures serve as modern talismans inviting women to celebrate and reclaim their femininity, embracing independence and inner power. Men and women have referenced Clark’s work being akin to Georgia O’Keeffe and Barbara Hepworth’s ability to reinterpret patriarchal practices from a female perspective.”
Before the show opened, Clark said the work symbolizes the “celebratory, angry, confused, powerful, sexy and strong.” The work can challenge the viewer. The multiplicity that each sculpture carries in a seemingly solid object is unavoidably emotional.
“Forms of Origin” opened last month and can be viewed by appointment through Feb. 2.
For more information, go online to CamilleObering.com/guesthouse.
Contact Tibby Plasse via valley@jhnewsandguide.com.
Natalie Clark’s sculptures can be seen by appointment at Guesthouse in Wilson.
COURTESY PHOTO
