Slaves of JO Installation

Simone Kestelman is a sculptor and multi-media artist working in glass, ceramics, and photography. Her work speaks to archetypal themes of life, death, love, violence, and ambition. Her visual language is universal, an emotive vehicle for all that cannot be articulated through words. Striking juxtapositions abound in the sculptures: a ceramic red balloon, a glass swing encasing barbed wire, a foot stool covered in razor blades. Kestelman’s visceral material interventions upon everyday objects project a quiet urgency regarding issues of sexual violence, particularly against women and children. Kestelman began working in ceramics at the age of seven in her hometown of Niteroi, Rio de Janeiro, Brazil. From a young age, she became acutely aware of Brazil’s social issues, set against a lush cultural backdrop of art, soulful music and vibrant geography. Yet, currents of violence and extreme socio-economic inequality flow beneath the surface.