Manuel Neri

 

 

This morning as I sat savoring the last drops of my tasty French roast, I was inspired by a section on the American sculpture Manuel Neri, in Artworks magazine.
Neri is an incredibly talented, passionate man. A truly GREAT artist.

He is known for his life size sculptures of Women, which he does mainly in plaster, and sometimes in bronze or marble. Each one is a metaphor for life and it's complications. An ever immortalized adventure. His women accept who they are. Strong and powerful, yet fragile and vulnerable. They embrace both times of joy and times of pain, which I think is a good reminder to us all to keep our heads up and to look to the light, when all that we may see around us is a place dark and unknown.

Neri says his use of the female figure

“has to do with the role art is playing in society – it deals with everything, our fears, etc. I wanted an image that represented all of mankind, and for me, the female does that. Man may have the power, but women have the magic.

Ohhh I love that. "Women have the magic" thanks Neri :)

It is very easy to be moved by these beautiful sculptures, and after looking at one, I felt a strong desire to see more. Neri has spent years intensely studying the female form, and the use of color and materials. By drawing and painting in preparation for each piece, he has analyzed how shape and hue fit together and says that

"this work is not a blueprint, instead an avenue to find feeling in the female figure."

I found myself wondering what other sources of inspiration were behind his amazing masterpieces, and this led me to Mary Julia Klimenko.
A stunning woman, with long dark hair and large captivating eyes, she is a poet. She is his muse. In fact their relationship historically may be one of the best examples of an artist and his muse.
Over the last 34 years, they have developed a relationship so strong, so desirous. Their appetite for each other is uncontrollable.
How exciting a life they must lead. I am always attracted to these type of relationships, ones that drive and motivate everything within you. A life that is certainly never boring.

They live in a converted church close to the waterfront in Benicia, California. The sun streaming in through the stained glass windows as Mary Julia stands

"naked and trusting"

before her artist and love. He now knows every detail of her body with his eyes closed, she is merely a reference. One that he could never have too much of.

When she is not posing she wears a kimono and writes her poems with a longing affection. They are always about Neri.

"I am your music
I am the words through which you pass to get to the lake
The lake accepts us totally and there we commit
All the acts of humans"

Ahh what pure emotion, derived from a tension so thick.

I can imagine myself in a vintage kimono, cigarette delicately positioned in between my lips, writing my own poetry on an antique type writer and drinking the freshest China tea. A perfect moment anytime. Day or night. Yes please.

I am SO happy I picked up Artworks this morning. It was just the inspiration I needed, and now I can familiarize myself with yet another artistic genius, Manuel Neri and his spectacular muse.

<3

(Images from artshiftsanjose.com and images.artnet.com )