Koplin Del Rio is pleased to present Diving Into the Wreck, an exhibition of works by Czech born, Seattle-based artist Klara Glosova. This is the artist's first solo exhibition with the gallery. Comprised of a series of monotypes, new paintings and sculptural works, Diving Into the Wreck is centered around water, the body and the subconscious. States of emotional and environmental variance are conveyed through a group of monotypes, the Ama Divers series, where the atmosphere ranges from cool depths, darkness & solitude, to weightless suspension & a surfacing towards light. At the bottom of the sea, in tranquil salty solitude, the artist locates richness in contrast to destruction and uninhabitability at the surface. In this series the viewer may recognize the familiar insulation of being held by water in all its serene yet churning life force, the intimacy of humans and nature in harmonious states and the emergence of treasure which is so often gleaned at the depths.

"Some artists have an idea beforehand of what their work is going to be about. I often don’t know; I have to find out as I go along. I follow my intuition and pay attention to the things I’m drawn to, then follow those threads like an unraveling ball of yarn. But even this is not that simple, and sometimes I’ll talk myself out of following up on the hunch. My “reasonable” brain is always ready to argue why I shouldn’t do it; it can take me months, or even years, to give in.

A few years ago I stumbled upon images of traditional Japanese pearl divers, known as ama. Diving without protective gear and supplemental oxygen, they descend into great depths and frigid waters. From my own perspective they appear resilient and fearless, yet at the same time so very vulnerable.

I made a print, a monotype, based on one of the images. I then hesitated; the culture and tradition, so foreign to me, seemed inaccessible, beyond my reach, yet something within the images triggered in me a deep desire to push myself further, to descend deeper into this strange blueness– perhaps they contain a link to some primordial mythology from the very beginning of time, a connection to my own archetypal yearning for the fluid union, to be “one with the world.”

I dove in and one by one, print by print, a story unfolded as I went along. The dive became a metaphor about going down, deep into my own subconscious. It got dark, and I was facing things I was afraid of, my own fears, facing things I didn't want to see.

Throughout this process, the poem Diving Into the Wreck by Adrienne Rich was like a soundtrack playing in the back of my mind." -Klara Glosova