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Ares, God of War - Image 1
Ares, God of War - Image 2
Ares, God of War - Image 3
Ares, God of War - Image 4

Richard Cleaver

Ares, God of War

2009

Ares, God of War — thumbnail 1
Ares, God of War — thumbnail 2
Ares, God of War — thumbnail 3
Ares, God of War — thumbnail 4
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Richard Cleaver

Ares, God of War

2009

Physical Qualities Ceramic, fresh water pearls, Swarovski crystals, wood, metal, gold leaf, and oil paint, 38 x 9 x 8 in. (96.5 x 22.9 x 20.3 cm.)
Credit Line Gift of the Artist
Object Number 2010.56
Eastern and Western religious iconography, autobiography, and history inform Richard Cleaver’s ceramic sculptures. After building his figures, the Baltimore-based artist carves into the clay and uses oil paint, gold leaf, and semi-precious stones to embellish their surfaces. The forms reinterpret earlier traditions of ritual statuary with narratives that come from Cleaver’s life and dreams. Ares, God of War is the artist’s response to a disturbing nightmare of war, death, and destruction. Wasps hover around the figure’s flame-covered torso like military aircraft, while secret compartments open up to reveal skulls and a scene of three men fighting—a contrast to the orderly images of soldiers at the hands and feet of the main figure.
The Baltimore Museum of Art by gift, 2010; the Artist
Kristen Hileman, Baltimore Museum of Art, "Baker Artist Award Winners 2010," April 7, 2010 - June 27, 2010

Artist

Richard Cleaver

born Camden, NJ 1952

Meet Richard Cleaver

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