Araña

Cristina Córdova, Araña, 2004, hand built clay and stains, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lorne E. Lassiter and Gary P. Ferraro, 2021.59
Cristina Córdova, Araña, 2004, hand built clay and stains, overall: 27 14 × 15 18 × 9 38 in. (69.2 × 38.4 × 23.8 cm), Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Lorne E. Lassiter and Gary P. Ferraro, 2021.59

Artwork Details

Title
Araña
Date
2004
Dimensions
overall: 27 14 × 15 18 × 9 38 in. (69.2 × 38.4 × 23.8 cm)
Credit Line
Gift of Lorne E. Lassiter and Gary P. Ferraro
Mediums
Mediums Description
hand built clay and stains
Classifications
Subjects
  • Figure
Object Number
2021.59

Artwork Description

Cristina Córdova shapes earthly matter into mythic figures. This uncanny Araña (Spanish for spider), with its androgynous human torso on seven spindly legs, startles all sense of reality. The artist, who currently lives in the Blue Ridge Mountains of North Carolina, grew up in Puerto Rico, where she was drawn to the prevalent icons of Catholicism—figures that bind together the contradictions of agony and ecstasy, corporeal and magical. Here, Córdova has begun a story and invites you to finish it. 


This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World, 2022

Works by this artist (1 item)

Ercole Barovier, Nicolo Barovier, Mosaic Glass Goblet, ca. 1914-1928, blown and hot-worked glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of John Gellatly, 1929.8.469.9
Mosaic Glass Goblet
Artist
attributed to Ercole Barovier
attributed to Nicolo Barovier
Dateca. 1914-1928
blown and hot-worked glass
Not on view

Exhibitions

Quilt featuring the portrait of a woman
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World
May 13, 2022April 2, 2023
This Present Moment: Crafting a Better World showcases the dynamic landscape of American craft today.

More Artworks from the Collection

Preston Singletary, Safe Journey, 2021, cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of the James Renwick Alliance in honor of the 50th anniversary of the Renwick Gallery and the 40th anniversary of the alliance, and museum purchase through the Kenneth R. Trapp Acquisition Fund, 2021.82A-C, © 2021, Preston Singletary
Safe Journey
Date2021
cast and sand-carved glass on wooden pedestal
On view
Marvin Oliver, Salish Clam Basket, 2008, glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Sharon Karmazin, 2021.28
Salish Clam Basket
Date2008
glass
On view
Killer Whale Hat
Date2002
blown and sand carved glass
Not on view
Ché Rhodes, Untitled, 2007, glass, Smithsonian American Art Museum, Gift of Merrily Orsini and Frederick Heath, 2021.57A-D
Untitled
Date2007
glass
On view