Maria Koshenkova

Maria Koshenkova produces amorphous glass and steel sculptures which address the human condition and the fragility of the body through notions of corporeality, tenderness, and care. Working within an aesthetics of science fiction and futurism, her works are built less as fully-formed figures in the traditional of portraiture than as an inventory of abstract and often damaged parts. Melted and seemingly vulnerable organic shapes refer piecemeal to the body's breakdown and its interior spaces, conjuring images of the heart, liver, stomach, or intestines. These glass forms are paired with the industrial mechanisms of support manufactured for healthcare and domestic use. Steel armatures resembling wheelchairs, walkers, and assorted hospital equipment cradle the adhered piles of blown and hand-formed glass. The fusing of the two materials through heat and a shared color palette results in sculptures which are strikingly human yet enigmatic.

Koshenkova received degrees from the Saint Petersburg Stieglitz State Academy of Art and Design, Kalmar University, and the Royal Danish Academy. In 2022, she participated in the Danish Pavilion at the 59th Venice Biennale alongside Uffe Isolotto. Koshenkova has been awarded the Jutta Cuny-Franz Foundation Talent Award, the Hempels Glass Prize, and the Hejian Craft Glass Design Innovation Competition's Award for Excellence. Her sculptures are in the collections of the Toyama Glass Art Museum, the Perm Foundation, and the Glasmuseet Ebeltoft, among others.

Submitted by Hostler Burrows x HB381