RIKA KOVA
artist statement and cv
There is a different life somewhere out there. Life with early mornings before sunrise when you run outside to get eggs out of the chicken house to make omelets for breakfast. There is a life where you milk a cow before having a glass of milk. A life where you pick the vegetables in the garden for your salad and slaughter the cow if you want meatballs for dinner. There is a life with long evenings by the fire followed by songs and fairytales. There is a life with constant but pleasant troubles and everyday hard work. A happy life though, and happy people.
"...the fact that I was born and raised on a farm in Siberia..."
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I was born and raised on a farm in a small town in southern Siberia. Growing up so close to nature and depending on it physically and emotionally forever imbedded the need to be around it. I lived in big cities in the past decade, and after school was over, I craved to go to a much quieter and less crowded place. I moved into a tiny home on wheels and drove around the country for months to "figure out life."
I remember I started school dreaming of becoming a designer but still wanted to be an artist. In my head, those were two completely different things: too precise versus too abstract. Not immediately after graduation, but quite recently I realized that if I am still building and designing at the age of 60, then I am a very lucky human. So, there were no more questions about what I wanted to do in life. Making sculptures helps to reveal my inner state and bring more abstract forms into reality in 3D. At the same time, object design helps to think in favor of humanity: how exactly a given object can make the life of the person holding it better. I want to combine these two together.
Like once upon a time, living on a farm, we tried to use everything we had in everyday life. Nothing was created for no reason, nothing was thrown away, and every object had a second life in it.
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EDUCATION
2023 SOHO.MBA Certificate, Sales and Marketing, Online
2022 B.F.A. School of the Art Institute of Chicago, Chicago, IL
2020 A.A. Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
2016 ESL Certificate Harry S Truman College, Chicago, IL
2013 B.A. Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (RANEPA), Russia
PROFESSIONAL EXPERIENCE
2023-now Ceramic artist and sculptor; Ceramic studio owner, Scottsdale, AZ
2020-2022 Ceramic artist and sculptor, Chicago, IL
2020-2021 Independent art residency and research project:
building out a camper van, living on the road full-time, Chicago, IL
2016-2020 Freelance: paintings, sculptures, photography, and wall art, Philadelphia, PA
COMMUNITY SERVICE
2019-2020 Museum of Contemporary Art Chicago, Event planner & host, Chicago, IL
2019 KCRS Foundation: Event planner, Oakland, CA
ACADEMIC AWARDS
2021 CARES Grant, Chicago, IL
2020 SAIC Presidential Scholarship, SAIC Support Grant, SAIC Transfer Partner Award, Chicago, IL
2020 PAFA Dean's Scholarship (invited), PAFA Presidential Scholarship (invited), Philadelphia, PA
2019 NCECA Multicultural Fellowship, Cincinnati, Ohio
2018 Matriculated College Student Scholarship at Peters Valley School of Craft, Layton, New Jersey
SOLO EXHIBITIONS
2021 The Flashback, Sky Lounge at 465 North Park Building, Chicago, IL
GROUP EXHIBITIONS
2023 Rays of Light, Art D'Core Gala Exhibition by Artlink Inc., Phoenix, AZ
2022 New Exposition, Alma Arts and Interiors, Chicago, IL
2022 EC(H)O Fashion Show, Ada Street, Chicago, IL
2022 Fables, Povos Gallery, Chicago, IL
2022 The Visual Arts Exhibition, Jonh David Mooney Foundation, Chicago, IL
2022 SAIC Senior Undergraduate Exhibition, Sullivan Galleries, Chicago, IL
2022 NCECA Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition, Blue Line Arts Gallery, Roseville, CA
2022 Threaded Together, Alma Arts and Interiors, Chicago, IL
2019 Bridges, Pennsylvania Academy of Fine Arts, Philadelphia, PA
2019 Annual Art Exhibition, Community College of Philadelphia, Philadelphia, PA
PUBLISHINGS
2022 BeMyVan, Humans of Vanlife: Rika Kova’s Story:
https://bemyvan.com/blog/humans-of-vanlife-rika/
2022 NCECA 2022 Catalogue, Multicultural Fellowship Exhibition:
https://www.bluelinearts.org/nceca-2022-exhibitions
GALLERY REPRESENTATION
2022 Alma Arts and Interiors, Chicago, IL
COLLECTIONS
2020-2022 Various Private Collections, Chicago, IL
If you are trying to convince yourself to say "yes"
The answer is "no"
If your true inner self says "yes"
You don't need to convince yourself.
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