Artist Statement
My past work centered around the figurative act of brushing aside pieces of loose soil to expose artifacts of symbolic truth, memory, and wonder. I embraced anthropological tools to ground my explorations, revealing carefully carved clay artifacts and sculptural resemblances of the natural world.
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This love for mimicry, known as Trompe L'oeil, has since culminated in the creation of miniature dog figurines. Inspired by my own magical borzoi, Brescia, I now sculpt and paint little figurines of people's beloved pets that I share with the borzoi sighthound community.
Bio
Kittara Marina McSwiney was born in 1998 in Fairbanks, AK. Throughout her life, McSwiney has been infatuated with capturing the natural world and questioning the role of humanity. Naturally, she was drawn to sculpture and ceramics as a means of replicating nature and pursued archaeology with fervor. These interests were cultivated by her academic pursuits at the University of Oregon, where she completed her Bachelor of Science in both Art and Anthropology in 2020.
While completing her degree, McSwiney explored exhibition design and art conservation practices through an internship with the Preparatory Department at the Jordan Schnitzer Museum of Art. These experiences fostered an interest in installation and art preservation. She has since worked in the framing and gallery industry, helping other artists showcase their work.
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Kittara has found her passion in sculpting miniatures and is currently running her own Etsy shop, creating custom-painted borzoi dog figurines.