Richard Claraval

Similar to the way a Jazz performer uses a familiar song as a starting point for improvisation, artist Richard Claraval uses the human figure as inspiration for creating Abstract Expressionist gesture in his charcoal drawings and adding abstract forms to his polystyrene sculptures. These extend the figure physically, emotionally and philosophically. Sometimes these gestures and shapes eurhythmically echo the figure, a la the draperies and landscapes of Renaissance and Romantic art, and sometimes they make visible the beautiful lines inscribed in space by dancers and athletes. Being enamored of both the Renaissance human figure and Abstract Expressionism, Claraval seeks a fusion of the two. Both are deeply involved with the kinesthetic sense. Just as one “feels into” the of a figure moving through space, the sense that one is moving with the arcs and slashes of Abstract Expressionism is clear. Having a strongly romantic bent, Claraval’s work is often passionate and intense, and Classical music is a main reason for this and one of his biggest inspirations. https://. -----------------
Claraval's honors include a juror’s award at the Associated Artists of Pittsburgh’s Annual Exhibition at the Carnegie Museum of Art and a juror’s ...

Indiana University of Pa., BA Fine Art

2018 Panza Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa. Solo Exhibition
2017 The Space Upstairs, Pittsburgh, Pa. Duo Exhibition
2016 Spinning Plate Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa Solo Exhibition
2016 Gallery NK, Washington, D.C. Duo Exhibition
2015 Spinning Plate Gallery, Solo Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pa
2014 Spinning Plate Gallery, (curator and participant) Pittsburgh, Pa., Group Exhibit, upcoming
2014 Westmoreland Museum of American Art, Associated Artists of Pittsburgh Annual, Greensburg, Pa., Group Exhibit
2014 Pittsburgh Cultural Trust Gallery, Three Rivers Arts Festival Juried Exhibition, Pittsburgh, Pa, Group Exhibit.
2014 Spinning Plate Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa., Solo Exhibit, upcoming
2013-2014 Bascom Center for the Visual Arts, Highlands, NC, Group Exhibit, American Art Today: Figures
2013 – 2014 Southern Alleghenies Museum of Art, Ligonier, Pa., Regional Group Exhibit
2013 Imagebox Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa. Solo Exhibit,
2013 Spinning Plate Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa. Solo Exhibit,
2013 ARTica, Pittsburgh, Pa., Solo Exhibition
2013 Gallery 4, Pittsburgh, Pa., Group Exhibit
2013 Modernformations Gallery, Pittsburgh, Pa. Solo Exhibit