OCHI is currently presenting Spring Flowers, a group exhibition featuring the work of Karolina Maszkiewicz, a Polish-born American artist and sculptor, which will be on view through May 10, 2024.
Karolina’s sculptures often incorporate natural elements and are meant to immerse the viewer in nature. Her Sérpsates series is a meditative series of pendant mobiles. Each composition is made of collected seed pods from their native area that reflect the unique habitat in which they are found. They are then joined with stainless steel rods and transformed into a hanging kinetic sculpture. She finds beauty in the juxtaposition of natural and manmade materials, often incorporating veneer and metal to highlight the organic textures of her sculptures.
The key piece in the show is Maskiewicz’s Black Pearl from 2024, inspired by the Sicilian Island of Pantelleria made with metal mesh and wild cucumber seed pods.
Other artists featured include Joshua Aster, Debra Broz, Kristin Calabrese, Amie Cunat, Velia De Iuliis, Paige Emery, Sarah Giannobile, Peter Halasz, Ara Hao, Luke Harnden, Phaan Howng, Will Hutnick, Louise Jones, Stan Kaplan, Allison Katz, Thomas Linder, Karolina Maszkiewicz, Mabel Moore, Nicole Nadeau, Francisco Palomares, Annie Pendergrast, Lydia Maria Pfeffer, Sofie Ramos, Benjamin Reiss, Ian Stanton, Paige Turner Uribe, Angela Witmore, Hana Ward, and Jonas Wood.
Celebrating delightful bursts of vernal energy Spring Flowers blooms after a long Sun Valley winter. In neat arrangements placed throughout the gallery, artists explore myriad themes that expand upon the symbolic power of the flower. Flowers represent life and death, healing, and spiritual rebirth. They stand in for all of nature and for all the love one has to give. Flowers offer insight into cultural constructs and ecological discourse. They are used for medications, meditations on temporality, and for wildly escapist fantasies. Ikebana, garlands, wreaths, pattern and decoration, Art Nouveau, scientific illustrations, memento mori, and beyond—the artists included in Spring Flowers rewild and reimage a bouquet of floral motifs. Spring Flowers proves the persistence of flora and heralds the arrival of new creative seasons.
OCHI is located at 119 Lewis Street in Ketchum, Idaho.
ABOUT Karolina Maszkiewicz
Karolina Maszkiewicz is a Polish-born American artist currently based in Los Angeles. Karolina’s childhood was imbued with creativity and craftsmanship, as her family was deeply involved in artistic endeavors. Karolina’s early experiences shaped her current artistic aesthetic – from sewing clothes to crafting furniture, which was often a necessity in the Post-Communism era in Poland. After attending the Fashion Institute of Design and Merchandising in the late 90s, she eventually found her true calling as a sculptor. While studying with modernist sculptor Brad Howe in Malibu, Karolina’s interest in kinetic sculptures was sparked. She was drawn to their ability to evoke motion and interact with their environment. Inspired by her love of nature, Karolina’s work reflects the serene landscapes of her childhood and her experiences exploring the deserts and mountains of California.
Her sculptures, often incorporating natural elements, are meant to immerse the viewer in nature. Through her Sepsates series, Karolina meditates on humanity’s often overlooked connection to nature, transforming foraged seed pods into striking sculptures that command attention and reverence. She embraces trial and error when at work, and allows her intuition to guide the composition of each piece. She finds beauty in the juxtaposition of natural and manmade materials, often incorporating veneer and metal to highlight the organic textures of her sculptures. Karolina finds inspiration in the pioneering female sculptors of the 20th century, such as Niki de Saint Phalle, Ruth Asawa, and Louise Bourgeois. She also admires the fiber sculptures of Magdalena Abakanowicz, whose monumental creations elicit a sense of primal mystery and wonder.
Karolina’s work can be found in galleries such as Twentieth in Los Angeles, Tappan, and Harbinger LA. Her upcoming endeavors include an art residency at Parco de Sesi on the Sicilian island of Pantelleria, where she plans to create a sculpture using natural elements found on the island. Additionally, she aims to refine her painting and drawing skills, exploring new materials and techniques to further enrich her artistic practice. Karolina’s future plans also include a possible semester in Florence to immerse herself in the rich artistic traditions of Italy, ultimately infusing her sculptures with inspiration from around the world.
Published By: Aize Perez
