Support Gülnar's FIGURATIVE SCULPTURE FUND

Dear Arts Supporter,

The Figurative Sculpture Fund helps me continue a dedicated studio practice that cultivates & advances contemporary figurative sculpting in the Hudson Valley, NY. It allows continued funding of studio initiatives & processes, including artist fees & related expenses*. Thank You for supporting an independent sculptor's mission.

With much gratitude,

Gülnar Babayeva

Figurative Sculptor & Designer

gulnarbabayeva.com

@caspianmuse on Instagram

Caspian Müse Studio on Facebook

GÜLNAR's MISSION

My love for figurative art propels my mission to make figurative sculpture visible and adequately represented in local galleries & art venues by inspiring new interest in figurative sculpting and making it accessible to the art community & public while pursuing its inclusion and advancement in educational art organizations. Recently, I curated, directed and designed an invitational sculpture exhibition, The Other Dimension, Jul 9 - Aug 28, 2022, which featured works, inclusive of figurative sculpture, by Hudson Valley sculptors at a local gallery in Olivebridge, NY.

I am an Associate Member of the National Sculpture Society and an active member of WAAM & ASK's Gallery Committee & newly elected Board of Directors. Additionally, I have been awarded the 2022 NYSCA Individual Artist Grant to create a new body of work with the intent to cultivate figurative sculpture in the Hudson Valley area. The ongoing Figurative Sculpture Fund allows me to continue my mission uninterrupted in 2023 and forward.

How is your contribution to the Figurative Sculpture Fund utilized?

I intend to kickstart the Caspian Müse Studio in a dedicated physical location and expand its reach to the public. Currently, I create at a local ceramics studio in Kingston, NY.

All funds go towards the startup cost of setting up an alternative sculpture studio and its maintenance over time. This includes rent & utilities, studio equipment: kiln for firing ceramic artwork, turntables, shelving, bases for human models and sculptures; supplies for mold making like plaster, resin, clay for sculpting, paints, wood, armature; some power tools; model fees; online/offline workshops; including necessary technologies to explore digital sculpting and artist fees.

Depending on the studio's size, I plan to offer private and group figurative sculpting sessions, in-person workshops, and open studio hours for everyone interested in exploring figurative sculpture. I am here to guide your sculpting journey while we practice our observational skills and learn to appreciate the transcendent potential held by human/animal vessels.

My ultimate vision is to make sure the figurative sculpting practice is being cultivated and advanced locally, in the Hudson Valley, where we model a dedicated studio environment with an enthusiastic, diverse & evolving sculptor community.

ARTIST BIO

Gülnar Babayeva is a figurative sculptor & designer at @caspianmuse studio. Originally from Azerbaijan, she moved to New York’s Hudson Valley in 2010 to study art & design thanks to a local American family's generosity. She earned two associate degrees from SUNY Ulster in 2012: AA in Fine Arts and AS in Advertising Design & Graphic Technology. She was awarded the State University of New York Chancellor’s Award/Medal for Student Excellence the same year. Babayeva holds a Bachelor of Arts degree in American Studies from the Azerbaijan University of Languages.

She practiced observational figurative sculpting with master sculptor Tricia Cline at Woodstock School of Art and has been sculpting since 2012. Focusing on her sculptor identity during the pandemic led to Babayeva’s debut solo sculpture exhibition – R e v i v a l – at the Arts Society of Kingston in June 2021. Her sculptures are being actively exhibited in group and juried exhibitions locally + virtually and have been acquired for private collections.

Babayeva’s love for figurative art propels her mission to make figurative sculpture visible and adequately represented in local galleries & art venues by inspiring new interest in figurative sculpting and making it accessible to the art community & public while pursuing its inclusion and advancement in educational art organizations.

Most recently, Babayeva curated, directed and designed an invitational sculpture exhibition, The Other Dimension, Jul 9 - Aug 28, 2022, which featured works with figurative/representational focus by seven Hudson Valley sculptors at a new local gallery in Olivebridge, NY.

Babayeva was awarded the 2022 NYSCA* Individual Artist Grant for her proposal to cultivate figurative sculpture in Hudson Valley. She is creating a new body of figurative work – primarily ceramic sculpture – and vessels at the Cornell Creative Arts Center’s Ceramics Studio in Kingston, NY. *New York State Council on the Arts

She is an associate member of the National Sculpture Society, as well as an active member of local art organizations such as Woodstock Artists Association & Museum | WAAM, and part of the Arts Society of Kingston | ASK’s Gallery Committee & newly elected Board of Directors. Currently, Babayeva creates at the CCAC’s Ceramics & Sculpture Studio in Kingston, NY, and offers portrait & animal sculpting workshops.