More about the Artist.....

Lila Klapman

Lila Klapman has been sculpting figures in clay for the past fifteen years.

For most of her life, she has shared her time between California and Hawaii.

 She has always been a dancer, but she began a serious study of the

human figure 30 years ago as she learned massage and various movement 

disciplines while living at Esalen Institute in Big Sur. She led workshops 

there for many years. Working physically with bodies, both in motion 

and at rest, developed her eye for the subtleties of bone structure, posture,

 line and movement. Her hands became sensitive and aware anatomically 

from many years of massage.

In 1992 she discovered clay, and all of her past experience funneled

into her sculpting. She has had a fulltime career in sculpture ever since. 

Although primarily self taught, Lila has sought out and studied with 

some of the best American figurative sculptors alive today, including 

Fritz White, Martine Vaugel, Richard MacDonald, and Stanley Bleifeld.

 When asked to describe her process as she worked, she answered: 

“Like massage, when I sculpt the clay it becomes muscle, bone, 

and breath beneath my fingers, uncovering itself and becoming 

alive as I work.  For me, there is no separation between who 

I am and what I create. These figurative forms in inspired movement, 

are me- my spirit- living in this place, breathing this air. 

I love the graceful beauty of the human form. I let the expression, 

the movement, flow in me, inviting the dance to happen. 

Only instead of dancing my body, I dance the clay. Being focused 

and mindful as I work, I feel totally alive, grounded and connected 

to my core, yet vulnerable and open. That open surrender brings 

me closer to the energy- the spirit- that moves through everything.”

Lila’s limited edition bronze sculptures have been featured in 

galleries and in numerous private collections throughout the 

United States and Europe. They express her intimate knowledge 

and experience of a body inspired to move, to dance, 

and to joyously affirm life.

Gallery Locations