Yenny Cocq has been with Artfinder since 2015 and has had no shortage of success! As one of our top sculptors and with nearly 100 five-star reviews, it’s clear that her signature bronze figurines have just the right formula.
But Yenny is more than just her Artfinder shop — she has earned many awards for presenting her art in shows, a portfolio of global art collectors and is even featured in a brand new exhibit.
Yenny’s latest project is a sculpture exhibited in the permanent collection of the Benson Sculpture Garden in Colorado, U.S. Her sculpture was unveiled on July 13th, so we decided to nab some time with Yenny to learn what this new exhibit means to her.
How did you go about working on this project? Did the curators of the park approach you and have you heard of the park before?
In 2018, I was juried in to participate in the annual Loveland Sculpture Show. It is one of the largest and most prestigious sculpture events in the U.S. and is a milestone achievement in itself for sculptors nationally. Another even bigger milestone for me after the 2018 event was to be selected by the board and jury to propose a sculpture for the Benson Sculpture Garden. I was thrilled when my sculpture pair ‘Caress’ was subsequently commissioned for inclusion in the park this year.
Can you tell me about your sculpture? What will it represent and will it be similar to your pieces on Artfinder?
This project gave me the opportunity to enlarge my little figurative sculptures. I have worked on my couple and family sculptures for over 10 years. During this time, they have gone through many levels of refinement. It is always important to me that the emotional mood is resonating with the viewer, so I wanted to ensure that the larger sculpture retained the same endearing body language as my smaller pieces.
‘Caress’ has been my most popular small sculpture pair. I think my collectors like the deeply caring gesture of the arm and the obviously loving bond that emerges between the individual figures. I have my small sculpture ‘Caress’ on Artfinder and I am planning to have a 10” and also a 20” version available for the show. They will be available on Artfinder as well. Most of my sculptures are designed to pair them with smaller child figures to be placed in-between or on either side of the parents’ figures. Most collectors start with the couple and sometimes they add children over time, or they commission me to create a family portrait of their whole family from toddlers to grandparents. And don’t forget the dog, cat or birds!
What inspired the sculpture?
Simply LOVE, it’s all about love.
Love, the invisible bond that exists between all of us. Love brings us together and unites us as a family and a community. Love pulses through my heart and hands as I create. Love fuels the arts and resonates with the viewer. Love ignited my passion for sculpting my little people as a symbol for companionship and family.
The first figures I created from bronze were quite rudimentary and unrefined, more like sausages than the elegant figures I am now known for. I was living in the wonderful city of Copenhagen during the time, where I owned an art gallery. The Scandinavian aesthetic left its mark on my signature work, strongly influencing my designs to this day. Over the years my understanding of love deepened, and as a result my sculptures became more refined, expressing non-verbal forms of communication in subtle yet powerful ways through quiet introspection and body language. I hope that the sublime emotional expressions I convey through my figures are felt by the viewer, evoking an emotional response — the warmth of love and feelings of joy.
Over the years, my loving couple sculptures grew into families, and further grew into multiple families, with pets as well. I am honored to join the Loveland community to display my iconic ‘Caress’ pair in a larger than life size form as part of the Benson Park Sculpture Garden permanent collection. Now they can spread their powerful message of love through the park, the community, and the world. Love for sculpture, love for the park, and love for the city of Loveland brings the community together.
How will your sculpture fit in among the garden? Will it be there permanently?
‘Caress’ has found a permanent home in the Benson Sculpture Garden. Long after we are all gone, they will still be sitting there unless someone moves them. Bronze is permanent and won’t decay or burn. My abstraction of the human form is a contemporary piece for the predominantly more traditional feel of the park. The new expansion of the park allows to show larger and more contemporary works.
What does it mean to you to be featured in a public art exhibit like this?
This is a definite highlight of my career so far. Lots can happen and I am excited! I am thrilled to have worked with the wonderful and talented bronze foundry professionals in Loveland. They are looking forward to more big ones, too. Creating large bronze sculpture takes a team and I found the best!
Do you hope to continue to do projects like this one?
Definitely! It is a start to focus on larger sculptures that could be placed in public settings like parks, hospitals or community centers. Also, as romance and weddings are obviously the theme, I have a request for a life-size pair for a romantic hotel where weddings are their main focus. Another example would be an annual addition of a child or pet sculpture to demonstrate a growing family and thus prospering community. It’s a whole mix and match concept and I love to play with it and so do my collectors.
Cover image via Yenny Cocq
