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Debra Balchen is a Chicago area artist who specializes in sculpture, drawing, painting, and art glass. Debra was raised in Chicago and has also lived in New York, Italy, South Africa, Kenya and Egypt.
Working in a variety of mediums and incorporating the rich cultural diversity discovered while living overseas for 2 decades, Debra utilizes figural narrative as her primary language. Debra wants to engage the viewer in a tactile sense, seeking an emotional connection through a dynamic, shifting interpretation of traditional and alternative uses of material.
Sculpting is a process of connection; working from life, the subjects expose their inner landscape through figural gesture and visceral expression. Vulnerability, the immediacy of the material and interpreting the beauty each life possesses become the language that reaches out through every pose.
My work has been described as Lyrical Expressionism
dynamic, lively, strong, yet romantic
I try to utilize figurative narrative as my primary language
I am a maker
I like to use the human form, woven, mixed and surprising
I want the viewer to be drawn in
to look
feel
touch
and then look again
-Debra Balchen
Watch the studio visit with Debra Balchen on Facebook:
https://www.facebook.com/zhoubcenter/videos/10156525716614339/
https://www.facebook.com/zhoubcenter/videos/10156525716614339/