Auriea Harvey’s
Readyto Die
A chamber of passage, where artworks become offerings.A solo exhibition at Heft, on view through Oct 9th.
See the ArtworksIn this solo exhibition, Auriea returns to mythologies in her own likeness: part self-portrait, part vessel, part mythic double.
Monuments, statues, vessels, carvings, and intimate talismans will inhabit a chamber of passage – an environment shaped by death, rebirth, memory, and transformation.
The talismans – handheld sculptural artifacts and vitrines, each with a digital companion – are known as The Amulets. This limited series of works are the central collection of this show, and to collect one of these offerings is to bear an essential element from Auriea’s practice.
Major Marble Works
Monuments
These are monuments of Lore and Life: each figure representing a lineage that both reflects and extends Auriea’s world. Every work began with 3D scans and modeling, and then was carved from stone in Italy, milled on a seven-axis machine and finished by her hand. They arrive at the gallery shortly, with an installation ceremony led by Auriea on October 1st.
Mother /Child
Bianco Carrara marble
38 x 22 x 19 in
A mother bends over a child, the two carved from a single block so neither can be lifted away from the other. Soon to be adorned with hand made leather and stone bead strands, this is the full expression of Auriea’s Mother / Child sculptural form.
The MotherI Will Be
Statuario marble
46 x 20 x 18 in
A pregnant figure caught mid-turn, facing a lineage that will not arrive. This large-scale wall-mounted marble relief is an emblem of motherhood that looms even for those who take a different path.
Objects for Passage
TheAmulets
Amulets are conceived as protectors: intimate enough to be held, yet carrying the mythology of the entire exhibition. Their keeping, by all who bear them, forms an eternal bond with Auriea’s practice and affords special benefits when collecting additional works.
This is a limited series of unique, hand-finished sculptures in marble, ceramic, and pewter. Each sculpture will be paired with a digital counterpart – a spatial Gaussian-splat portrait recorded on Ethereum.
View the Amulets
Adorning a Feast of Treasures
Vessels
Cups, jars, candles, and urns fit for both a Feast and a spotlight. Taking these working forms, each sculpture is a contemporary incarnation of ancient myths – the keepers of offerings, the holders of bounty, the keys to a safe return back to this world.
All vessels are made using casting wax hand-poured and sculpted over a 3D-printed PolyCast material that together can be used in a lost-wax process to create a unique bronze sculpture that replaces the Vessel’s current state. All bronze adaptations are completed by the gallery and artist at additional cost. Below is an example from this exact process, showing the intended patina.
Available Vessels
Protecting All Who Enter
Guardians
Two reliefs stand at the threshold of the chamber, protecting entry to a sacred space. Milled from baltic birch ply and finished by hand, these sentinels come in sets of three – facing outward to watch those who come rather than what’s inside.
