Thought-provoking beauty, Tanya Ragir.

Tanya Ragir was born and raised in Los Angeles, California. By age fifteen she was honing her skills in drawing and sculpting the human figure. Her studies in anatomy even included sketching cadavers at the USC medical center. Tanya also studied many forms of dance: modern, jazz and ballet. She was performing in a ballet company before attending college. This extensive dance background continues to inform Tanya’s sculpture practice.
After graduating, from UC Santa Cruz in 1976 with a B.A. in Art and Dance, Tanya began working in the commercial mannequin industry as a figure sculptor and eventually founded her own mannequin business. While excelling in a career as a mannequin sculptor, she simultaneously maintained a fine art practice.
She’s focusing more on ceramics now and is famous for pieces that center on the female form. Using a variety of mediums and styles, her work takes its inspiration from the sensual relationship between land form and human form. Many of her pieces are sculpted in clay and then fired or cast in bronze, aluminum, stainless steel, and resin.
Tanya’s sculptural work is now internationally collected and resides in permanent museum collections as well as private collections. Her artwork has ranged from classical to avant-garde, always evolving and morphing in response to the climactic events of her life. The female form is a constant presence in her work, as is movement. Different bodies of work have explored the expansion of feminine energy in different directions, both internal and external, personal and allegorical.
If you take a peek at Tanya Ragir’s SNS site, you feel as if you’re stepping into the intimate world of a remarkable artist that rarely gets seen. From the images of a softly formed clay female torso in progress, to details of an outstretched hand that resembles a forlorn tree branch, Tanya’s sculptures radiate raw, natural, and thought-provoking beauty.
Having been a highly commissioned and nationally and internationally recognized sculptor during most of her professional life, Tanya’s perseverance and talent have enabled her to pursue her artistic passion on her own terms.
Tanya currently lives and works in West Los Angeles, where she maintains a thriving studio practice as well as an intimate circle of students, friends and peers.
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