Verushka Mezaks

Born : Riga Latvia 1941 1961 -

Diploma of Art - Royal Melbourne Institute of Technology

Represented in private collections through out Australia, New Zealand, Hawaii, Japan, Malaysia and Germany

‘Art has always been a vital part of my life - whether in the areas of fashion design - illustration- painting- teaching art to tertiary students - advertising and finally a progression to sculpture. Having had the good fortune to travel frequently as a young person I was able to visit many of the great museums and galleries of the world and see the incredible creativity of human beings from all cultures over thousands of years.

In the early years I was entranced by the renaissance with its unbelievably rich vision and colour. During these years I was learning and storing it away. In my early thirties I felt a strong need to change direction. I found myself gravitating towards books on sculpture. One day a friend gave me a book on the great twentieth century Italian sculptor Marino Marini. That was it. I gave up my job and began to sculpt.

Over the years I have worked on large pieces in clay, plaster, marble and bronze. I leant to carve in marble in Carrara, Italy alongside the artisans who realized large works from Maquettes by sculptors such as Henry Moore. My work at this stage was mainly of the female form as I find curves more interesting than angular shapes. Over the years I have developed a strong interest in Eastern art - in particular Japanese. My Sumo Wrestlers evolved because I was attracted to the exotica of their hair styles and costumes which have remained unchanged for hundreds of years. The Sumo Wrestlers also provided me with a subject that was round and curved and of course something that was slightly comical with their posturing.