Chris Kozel was born and raised on Long Island and has resided in Manhattan for over thirty years. She studied art at Syracuse University and earned her BS at SUNY at New Paltz, majoring in painting and art education. Chris began sculpting at The Sculpture Center in New York City and learned marble carving in Tinos, Greece and continues to sculpt at the Art StudentÃs League and in Pietrasanta, Italy.
"Pelagic Architecture (Sculptures)":
There are certain objects and environments that inspire a sculptural experience. Since childhood I have been preoccupied with the beach. I am always enchanted by the forms shed by the sea, worn in the sand, like ancient vestiges in a vast museum. These relics, reminiscent of prehistoric creatures inspire my sculpture. Through analysis of the perfect homes of underwater inhabitants, I explore my theme of pelagic (of the ocean) architecture. By carving stone I can transmogrify sea forms and immortalize my perceptions in marble. Working with my hands enables my mind to continuously swim into focus. For me, stone is a very comforting material; its solidity keeps me grounded; its density keeps me balanced. As I consider the qualities of a stone; there is a play of acceptance~acceptance of a material of resistance or non-resistance, of either hanging on or letting go.
Personal Hagiography (Collages):*
Each of these works symbolically portrays ancient and contemporary females as goddess-icons: as the essence of birth, death, love, spirituality and philosophy.
While creating these pieces these girls emerged quite intrinsically for me, as past lives unfolded and memories of ancient images of matriarchal deities and mysterious idols surfaced. Through the use of fragmented paper and other devices, prisms of radiant light, dramatic color and texture illuminate and come together to create a jeweled and dreamy atmosphere. Each goddess comes forward in her own element, energized by flowing water, rich earth, precious metals and stone, giving unity to life in nature. One collage entitled Transcendence, is characterized by a crucified "ms.siah", which reflects my interpretation of the ageless and universal struggle of human beings with objectivity and victimization. My compositions transform into reliquaries which manifest women monumentally transcending these states in order to survive on their own terms. Each work represents females embodied in their own life-affirming spirit and their own religion. Empowered within their own environments, these goddesses transcend material existence and give life to my ideas of immanence.
*life history or story that idealizes or idolizes a person, saint or venerated being.