Artist and MFA student Clarice Cuda opens her midway exhibition ‘MotherForce’ Oct. 28 in the Grant Hall Gallery. The exhibition runs through Nov. 8, with an opening reception during the UNLV Artwalk Nov. 1. A closing reception will be held 6-9 p.m. Nov. 8.

About the Artist

Cuda is a multidisciplinary artist who enjoys detailed and repetitive practices. She explores female narratives through process-driven work that emphasizes materiality. She received her BFA in Sculpture and Painting in 2019 from UNLV where she is currently working towards her MFA in Art. Her installations and performances have been exhibited nationally, including at Life is Beautiful (Las Vegas) and Art Basel Miami.

Artist Statement

MotherForce is a symbol of generative energy; an intersection of creative practice through the frame of motherhood. I examine the complexities of creative labor both transforming and informing identity. Here, my personal experience of giving birth serves as a catalyst which investigates the struggle and beauty that coexist with creation and mothering. In Cut, strips of black-painted canvas intertwine to form tightly gathered, repeating knots, creating a compact half dome that extends outward from the wall. The rounded shape mimics the form of a pregnant woman approaching childbirth. A cascade of black human hair interspersed with thin gray strands flows from its center while sharp precise angles underscore how growth and tension coexist within a single body. Cut’s fullness and repetition highlight the essence of fertility.