(1925-1996)
In her sculptures, Marianna Pineda addresses the universal human themes of creativity, family life, and the various stages of existence. The artist combines an exploration of the female form with her own life experiences as a human and as a woman. Eve Celebrant, a part of a series of the same title, is a visually powerful image of the pre-biblical Eve, who with her arm extended offers a fruit of knowledge and abundance, and yet with her open palm seems to warn us. The strong African features of her face, her garment clinging to her body and revealing the full forms underneath, and her outwardly extended limbs all combine to create a beautiful, graceful, and larger than life female figure. A sense of motion is underscored by dance-like gestures typical in other works by the artist, who described herself as a choreographer instilling a sense of movement in and between her figures. Situated outdoors, the green-patinated bronze Eve merges with Nature's colors and thus emphasizes the human connection with the Earth.
(posthumous cast, 2001–2002)