Biography

RAIN KIERNAN

American Carver

“I am a reducer. I scrape down and excise rather than model or build up,” says Rain Kiernan an American sculptor who works in marble, bronze, stainless steel and alternative media, including fiber glass and cement.

She imagines the life, even if it is only the idea of life, that exists within each piece of raw material. Discovering what lies within the material brings her as much satisfaction as seeing the finished work.

Rain is drawn to abstract forms; she covers a wide range in scale from large outdoor works to small interior sculpture. Kiernan's forms are both free-form and derivative, characterized by her unique style which features powerful, but sensuous curves, relieved by supporting planes.
Rain’s pieces primarily depict women in abstract form that merely suggests shape, posture and symbolism.Pure and elemental, her art touches the senses with compelling beauty. The simplicity in each of her pieces highlights the complexity of thought behind its creation. She may be a reductionist in approach, but her craft certainly does not reduce the female form to its fundamentals; rather, it arouses and excites the senses and imagination in the symbolic possibilities it possesses.

The artist works both in the United States and in Italy, often traveling to Tuscany. She especially enjoys Pietrasanta, a region she wonderfully describes, “Pietrasanta is to ardent sculptors what Paris is to passionate eaters: There is simply no place better to be.” Sculptors have flocked to this region for centuries in search of their famous marble quarries and the company of other artists. Rain’s first journey to the internationally renowned artist colony in 1993 impacted her career and opened her eyes to the luminous possibilities of marble and the fellowship of artists.

Rain truly understands her function as an artist, and enjoys working with a variety of media and respects the properties of each stone. While understanding her ability to peel away layers to expose what lies beneath in each project, she simultaneously adds an entirely new coating to her life. From this perspective, one imagines that the life, if coiled within spare and simple lines, the hidden complexity of Rain Kiernan’s sculpture is paradoxical. How is this profusion of expression movement, light, texture, emotion, history and possibility among them conveyed with such sheer economy of statement? Rain communicates a wealth of information with a scarcity of words, not unlike her artwork.

Gallerie Je Reviens is pleased to present her work for your consideration and viewing pleasure.