ARTIST STATEMENTTobias Tovera is an American visual artist whose work explores the intersection of nature, art, and consciousness. By experimenting with alchemical materials and processes, Tovera creates what he calls “transmuted spaces,” places where energy can shift, change, or renew itself. From the diffusion of mineral pigments to the permutation of base metals, his work reveals the connection between the physical, metaphysical, and elemental realms, through which new forms are created. His process is an attempt to capture physical and psychic topographies, informed by the way natural materials interact, transform, and self-organize. Each layer that is formed, each element introduced, is part of an intuitive interaction between Tovera and the materials themselves: a performative ritual that embodies his meditative states. ABOUTTobias Tovera was born in Sacramento, California. He studied at the California College of the Arts, the San Francisco Art Institute, and the TransArt Institute in the United Kingdom. His work has been exhibited in solo and group shows in the United States, Asia, and Europe, and is part of numerous private, public, and corporate collections. He is the founder of the Ark Project, an international artist residency program. He has been awarded residencies at Lucid Art Foundation, Root Division, and NES Iceland, and has been published in American Artwork, Studio Journal Knock, Studio Visit, and Art Voices Magazine. Tovera lives and works in the Mojave Desert of Southern California.