TANYA RAGIR
Tanya Ragir Biography
ARTIST STATEMENT
My life and my work are about overcoming limitations. Some are cultural, some political, some sexual – many are self imposed.
I embrace the gravitas, the depth and breadth of the beauty of women, which is limitless. Growing up a dancer, and being a woman, informs everything I do as a sculptor. Movement and form is my language and vocabulary.
The loss of my father recently had a profound affect on me and on my work. I am aware of my own mortality in a way I have never been before. This catalyzed my current work, The Warrior Series, which centers around states of being – facing internal/external barriers, struggle and loss.
In the figurative realm, George Segal, Manuel Neri and Stephen De Staebler had an enormous impact on my development as a young California figurative artist.
Parallel bodies of work, which explore interiors of form, were deeply influenced by Georgia O’Keefe and Edward Weston. In this work I deconstruct the body to go beyond the limitations of figure-as-nude. Much of the work is inspired by the sensual relationship between landforms and human forms. By framing details of the figure, as if through a lens, then changing the scale, one can have both a more intimate relationship to the form and separation from it’s human reference.
Although these bodies of work may seem unrelated, they enable different aspects of who I am as an artist and a woman. One is deeply personal and narrative, and the other reflects a pure love of form. Both are centered around the feminine experience.
I sculpt in clay. Pieces are fired or cast in bronze, aluminum, stainless steel and
polyester resin. Sizes range from inches to monumental. The work is produced in either limited editions of nine, or as unique pieces.
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2015 Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles, CA
2012 Gallery E, Los Angeles, CA
2011 DeVorzon Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
2004 Fresh Paint Art Advisors, Culver City, CA
2003 Bakersfield Museum of Art, Bakersfield, CA
BGH Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
2000 “Interiors” T.A.G. (The Artists’ Gallery), Santa Monica, CA
1995 Burbank Creative Art Center, Burbank, CA
1993 Cerro Coso Community College, Ridgecrest, CA
1992 “The Feminine Landscape,” Heritage Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1991 L.A. Nicola, Los Angeles, CA
1990 Bruchion Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
1976 Cooper House Gallery, Santa Cruz, CA
CURRENT GALLERY REPRESENTATION
Art Cube Gallery, Laguna Beach, CA
Decker Studios Art Gallery, N. Hollywood, CA
DeVorzon Gallery, Beverly Hill, CA
Fresh Paint Art Advisors, Culver City, CA
Glass Garage Gallery, Los Angeles, CA
Gloria Delson Contemporary Arts, Los Angeles, CA
James Gray Gallery, Santa Monica, CA
Art LA www.artla.com
Artful Home www.artfulhome.com
CURRENT MUSEUM COLLECTION
Rose Museum at Brandeis University Waltham, MA
Total Art Museum Seoul, Korea
PUBLIC COLLECTIONS AND EXHIBITIONS
Bakersfield Museum of Art Bakersfield, CA
Columbia College Chicago, IL
Joffrey Ballet Company of Chicago, Chicago, IL
Jewish Home for the Aging – “Mother & Child” Reseda, CA
Art in Public Places for the City of Brea, “Artisan Walk”, “Avalon’s Legacy” Brea, CA
Art in Public Places for the City of Brea, “A Moment in Time” Brea, CA
Art in Public Places for the City of Brea, Colonial Walk, “Vicky” Brea, CA
Cultural Philosophic Center, “Cradle” Stockholm, Sweden
Cerro Coso Community College Ridgecrest, CA
Memorial Commissioned by Max Factor Family – Jewish Home for the Aging
AWARDS
2012 Fine Art Connoisseur and California Art Club 101st Gold Medal Exhibition “Excellence in Sculpture” Autry Museum, CA
2011 Best in Show, “In Bloom: A Garden Art Sculpture Event” Sponsored by HCS Family Services and Whole Foods Oakbrook Center, Oakbrook, IL
2000 National Sculpture Society Silver Medal and John Cavanaugh Memorial Award, “NSS 2000 Annual Exhibition” Brookgreen Gardens, SC / New York, NY
1996 John Cavanaugh Memorial Award for Figurative Sculpture “North American Sculpture Exhibition,” Foothills Art Center Golden, CO
1991 Cash Award, “California Small Works,” California Museum of Art
Santa Rosa, CA
1976 Grand Prize, “Museum Without Walls,” Juried Exhibition – Pacific Garden Mall Santa Cruz, CA