Art Release | August 2021

The Sculpture Series; A love letter to all humans with larger bodies- rejected and underrepresented by our current social paradigm.

“Each sculpture venerates the celestial mounds and valleys of the female form.”

— Elisa Valenti

Throughout our evolution, humans have inherently learned to be attracted to various forms of beauty as it once meant survival of the species.

Rooted in our biological nature, symmetrical facial features and pronounced body parts signified fertility or virility and were therefore regarded as the epitome of beauty.

But as generations evolved, we became influenced by other factors besides our natural instincts. In the modern age, what we see and are conditioned to believe on a daily basis has sculpted our current ideals. My work seeks to challenge that conditioning.

I depict the female nude almost exclusively in my work. She has been judged, scrutinized, and represented as subpar through the lenses of male artists and viewers for generations.

From the 7th century B.C. onward, the Greeks, for example, considered the representation of the human figure, and above all, the male figure, as the perfect subject for expressing an aesthetic and philosophical ideal in art.

The female figure, on the other hand, did not appear in Greek sculpture until the 6th century B.C. and depictions of women were often limited to scenes on painted vessels of ordinary life in their roles as mothers, wives, or courtesans.

In sculptures, women were presented dressed in wet clothing that revealed the shape of the body while hiding its defects, evoking the physical desire for beauty.

Unlike the sleek, sculpted bodies of the Greco-Roman era, however, I find the most inspiration from the Venus of Willendorf because her body resembles my own.

While this once-revered symbol of beauty, fetish, and fertility no longer aligns with the prevailing standards of beauty today, the bodies that resemble it didn’t go away.

They still exist.

“My ongoing series pays homage not only to this robust, historic figure with ample breasts, a round abdomen, and wide hips, but also, all bodies like it.”

— Elisa Valenti

Through my work, I propose a new ideal that allows for the inclusion of a diverse array of forms, shapes, and sizes by creating images to celebrate the female nude regardless of any flaws and without idealized proportions.

I decide what is suitable, celestial, or worthy, as the harbinger of the dawn of a new age. In my paintings, drawings, and sculptures, my ultimate aim is to guide your eyes to see beauty where you may not have seen it before.