Kirsten Kokkin: Motivated by Movement
By Suzanne Smith Arney
Kirsten Kokkin is a native of Norway who divides her time these days between that country and the U.S. Her bronze sculpture figures range from twelve inches tall to monumental, and communicate with lyrical grace the power of human emotions. Her first sculptural efforts that elicited admiration were marzipan flowers made when she was seven. Art was an effective language throughout a childhood she describes as "isolated." Acutely sensitive, she found verbal language an inadequate medium for her thoughts and observations. Gifted at drawing and painting, however, she realized early on the positive responses which those activities generated. Life in the capital city of Oslo was stimulating and her mother nurtured an appreciation for a rich cultural life. Kokkin now considers her sense of linguistic isolation as "a good thing" for having developed her artistic sensibilities. She also enjoyed travel, and when she was eight, a trip to Munich's Alte Pinakothek "made an impression on my soul. There was a world out there that spoke like I did, the world of art."
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