Enigma: Bronze Sculptures by Oceana Rain Stuart
Enigma: Bronze Sculptures by Oceana Rain Stuart features a collection of bronze sculptures from several of the artist’s series: Beautiful Aspects of Darkness, Fragments, and Eternity, as well as the original works from the lunar and deep-space missions.
Her work reflects on the qualities that shape humanity and the resilience of the human spirit while exploring the interplay between the conscious and subconscious. Stuart employs unique molding techniques and surface treatments that subtly blend realism with surrealism. Renowned for her emotionally charged, symbolic sculptures, she has become one of today’s leading realistic figurative sculpture artists.
Stuart is a figurative bronze sculptor based in the San Francisco Bay Area. She has exhibited in numerous accredited museums and galleries, including the National Sculpture Society, Leonardo da Vinci Society, Natural History Museum, Wausau Museum of Contemporary Art, Museum of Contemporary Art Sicily, and the Louvre; and featured in several prominent publications, including the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona: Escultura, and Leonardo: A Book of International Art Masters.
Lunar Legacy
On February 22, 2024, Intuitive Machines’ IM-1 lunar lander, Odysseus, successfully landed on the Moon’s south pole—the first U.S. lunar landing since 1972.
Among the 12 payloads was the Codex Nova collection, featuring artworks from the Lunar Codex Museum of Art, including Stuart’s bronze sculpture Reminiscence. Stuart is one of the pioneering female artists to have artwork on the Moon. This mission, now recognized as a de facto Artemis Accords Heritage Site, preserves the IM-1 Lunar lander and its contents as part of humanity’s cultural legacy.
In total, 22 of Stuart’s bronze sculptures are part of the Lunar Codex Museum, with future missions planned for the Moon, deep space, and Mars. The next mission, destined for the Lunar surface – carrying 22 of her works, is scheduled for January 2025.
