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The inspiration for artist Tamara Kostianovsky’s fabric sculptures comes from an unlikely place. As a young girl, she worked in a surgeon’s office where she encountered the human body in ways most of us never do, seeing the world beneath the skin—veins, ligaments, muscles and chunks of fat. The colors, texture and movement fascinated her.
That experience led Kostianovsky to explore themes of the human body, the natural world, consumption and ecology in her artwork, which has included anatomical sculptures of birds, whales and meat.
Kostianovsky likes the contrast of using soft materials to create detailed anatomical figures that challenge the viewer to consider the wonder and complexity of the natural processes of life. As an added dimension, she uses discarded fabric, sometimes from her own wardrobe, to create her designs.
The artist’s tree stump sculptures are similarly detailed. For these pieces, Kostianovsky sought to memorialize her late father using strips of fabric from his clothing. Just as the body returns to nourish the earth, the fabric of her father’s clothing shaped and sustained the earthbound sculptures. For more information, visit www.tamarakostianovsky.com.