Circa Gallery Welcomes Luminous Sculptures by Karian Amaya

Karian Amaya’s sculptural work at Circa Gallery features white marble and luminous copper—evoking the setting sun and rising moon

Photos provided by Circa GalleryCirca Gallery, which has been exhibiting exquisite work by emerging and established contemporary artists for more than 30 years, recently went online exclusively—with selected works available for in-person viewing by appointment only. The gallery’s current exhibition, “light under the stones,” on view through November 2, provides the extraordinary sense of calm we all need right now.

The sculptural work, by Karian Amaya (Guadalajara, Mexico), is highly conceptual and features a limited color palette of white marble and luminous copper. Intended to embody Amaya’s concerns about the ecological impacts of mineral mining on the environment, the work nonetheless elevates these materials to a poetic stillness.

Her round copper shapes set into rough marble bases (she uses found or discarded marble) evoke the setting sun and rising moon. Wood-framed copper sheets, engraved with a single word, highlight the poetry inherent in her work.

Her primary influence, Amaya has said, “is the landscape, especially the desert landscape. I’m also interested in the changes that occur in the landscape due to the extraction of minerals as well as the relationship of women with nature. In my current pieces, I explore materials such as copper and marble; I am interested in their materiality and the poetics that they contain from their formation on earth and their transformation for industrialization.”

Because copper oxidizes naturally, Amaya’s pieces age in relationship with their collectors, evolving over time in concert with their home settings and owners.

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