September 5 – October 31
Opening Reception: Friday, Sept 5th, 5:00 – 8:00 pm
Mark your calendar for this special exhibit of wonderful sculptures created by artist Dora Natella. Natella served on the faculty of Indiana University, South Bend for over 18 years. In her work, she maintains an allegiance to a legacy of the figurative tradition from the Renaissance but with openness to contemporary modes of expression.
The human body is the main focus of Natella’s artwork, it is also the central subject investigated by artists throughout history. Personal narrative, memory, the sculpture process and the artists’ perceptual choices, all contribute to the construction of a deeply personal, contemplative and feminine point of view.
Dora Natella was raised and educated in Italy where she studied sculpture in the classical tradition at the Academy of Fine Arts in Naples. She later moved to the United States for advanced studies in bronze casting techniques, and for the opportunity to immerse herself in a new culture with fewer direct connections to a classical past. She went on to earn an MFA in sculpture at Western Michigan University, and continued a practice that included both teaching at the collegiate level as well as her own work in the studio.
Dora Natella was at the peak of her career as a sculptor and educator when her life was upended. Shortly after the unveiling of The Spirit of Indiana, she was diagnosed with advanced ovarian cancer. Despite a poor prognosis, she would not give in; she survived several near-death experiences in her cancer journey. Following a hopeful turn in her healing process, she was involved in a tragic car accident on April 11, 2023, that took her life only a few miles from her home near South Bend, Indiana.
The emptiness left by her death is being filled by her powerful art. An archive of her life’s work is now being curated by her son, Andrea, so that her creative spirit may continue to be shared with the world.
Dora was courageous and persistent. Like many artists, she lived through moments of intense financial hardship. She once put a second mortgage on her home to create an outdoor sculpture titled Gaia, which embodies the state of our collective home, earth. As a student of the Renaissance figurative tradition, her work was controversial to the provincial viewer. And as one of the few female sculptors in today’s society she experienced discrimination firsthand in a man’s world. It was through her art that Dora could address these struggles.
Dora was unique. Her work celebrates the human form and these forms are imbued with deeply personal narrative but they also speak to more universal themes of identity, sexuality, feminism, and motherhood. She left a legacy of beauty that will move people for generations to come.
Dora Natella working on “The Spirit of Indiana”
“Endurance”, 32 x 8 x 6, cast bronze, by Dora Natella
“Winique,” 25 x 17 x 13 inches in ultracal with pigment, by Dora Natella,