Functionality Meets Transcendent Beauty In This Artist's Forms

Born in Siberia, sculptor Rika Kova navigated her way to Arizona and a career as an artist through a series of life choices that can only be described as nonlinear—which feels right given the nature of her work. From a Scottsdale studio she’s aptly named One Happy Artist, she produces curvaceous pieces that marry functionality with transcendent beauty. From voluptuous candleholders to stools, side tables, vases and coffee tables, each of Kova’s ceramic artworks embodies her guiding principles of minimalism, honesty and what she calls a “sharing of the light.” She explains: “I think of that light as some higher power or gift. Once you notice it, you can choose whether to work on it and grow, or not.” Kova chose growth, and her work has expanded accordingly. Take her recent collaboration with friend and artist Brian Chaaban, whose bronze work pairs enchantingly with Kova’s self-described clay “blobs.” The work, the collaborations and the ongoing classes she offers in her studio all combine for the kind of light and growth that spurs Kova’s craft.