Metis Atash

The Work of Metis Atash Metis Atash is internationally recognized for her striking sculptures that merge spirituality, contemporary culture, and luxury craftsmanship. Her Buddha series, meticulously adorned with hand-applied Swarovski crystals, transforms traditional iconography into luminous, contemporary statements. Each work reflects a balance of symbolism, individuality, and modern elegance, captivating collectors and audiences worldwide.

Metis Atash, For the Love of Fashion- Coco Chanel, 2021, Fiberglass, Acrylic Paint, 140,000 Swarovski Crystals, 36 X 28 X 17 In.

Metis Atash, Elephant, Henri Matisse Sheaf, 30,000 Swarovski Crystals, 13.5 x 11 x 17.5 In.

Metis Atash , Kusama Vuitton, 2025, Fiberglass, Acrylic Paint, 30,000 Swarovski Crystals, 17.5 x 14 x 12 In

Metis Atash , Saint Laurent Mondrian, 2025, Fiberglass, Acrylic Paint, 30,000 Swarovski Crystals, 17.5 x 14 x 12 In.

Metis Atash, Mademoiselle Chanel, 2025, Fiberglass, Acrylic Paint, 30,000 Swarovski Crystals, 17.5 x 14 x 12 In.

AVAILABLE WORKS

Metis Atash's Punkbuddha sculptures merge punk rebellion with Buddhist serenity, symbolizing a quest for spiritual purity amidst material chaos through dazzling Swarovski crystals, punk mohawks, and high-fashion motifs. They represent the balance between inner peace and external expression, connecting ancient wisdom with modern culture, luxury, and individuality, inviting reflection on how to find freedom and happiness in both spiritual and physical realms.

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Metis Atash’s creations combine conceptual, minimalist, and pop art traditions. They unite pop aesthetics with deep, spiritual and sensitive meanings in today’s society in a way that is accessible to the fast-pace, modern society. Metis Atash is as dynamic as the pieces that she meticulously sketches, constructs, and brings to life. German by nationality but truly a citizen of the world, Metis’s vast global travel to places far and wide eventually lead her to the inlet of Miami. After successfully operating her own investor relations consultancy boutique in Munich, Germany, in August 2007, Metis - who graduated in political economy - turned her devotion and passion for art, design and fashion into the creation of one-of-a kind sculptures, that have come to redefine the meaning of living.

Metis sculpts with various materials from fiberglass to iron, cement and wood. All her pieces are subject to a multi-step process and Metis herself is involved in each single step. All pieces are carved to reveal every detail in character, quality and craftsmanship. Dripped in thousands of Swarovski crystals Metis’s creations are married to breath taking visual. Her fierce entrepreneurial spirit and gift for business has lead to the meteoric rise of her work in visibility among design and architectural circles. Metis’s primarily intention is to create breathtaking sculptures without sacrificing artistic values. Thus her pieces are a perfect mix of traditional subjects combined with modern styles... completely unique in form yet approachable for daily use. Each piece is one-of-a-kind and provides the living space with a very distinct aura. “Spaces are like humans. The more personality they have, the stronger they are. In the way that fashion accentuates each individual’s appearance, my creations award living spaces a very unique and special charisma too. I perceive my art as Haute Couture. The creations are not committed to a special style and taste, but rather showcase a breathtaking mix of trends that mark our past, current and future period”.

METIS ATASH Transcendent Beauty

By Denise Gerson Former Associate Director, Curator, Lowe Art Museum, University of Miami Metis Atash’s exquisite Punk Buddha figures radiate a presence far greater than their size within the architectural spaces where they are admired, coveted, and collected. The German sculptor, who is currently Miami-based, embarked upon a career in art only after completing a degree in political economics in her native Germany and subsequently achieving success in investor relations consultancy. Arguably, the formality of her education and the inventiveness that she brought to business helped inform the creativity and meticulousness with which she conceives and executes her acclaimed Swarovski-encrusted sculptural projects. Even as Atash acknowledges the wide-eyed reaction of gallery and art fair-goers when they first spot the bejeweled Buddhas resting cross-legged on shelves or pedestals, she asks us to suspend our belief in the beauty of their sparkling materiality, long enough to embrace their totemic essence. This is no mean feat, given that, at first glance, her painted and crystal forms seem seductive objects of contemporary desire. Still, Atash rejects facile interpretation of her art, preferring to explore the philosophical core that transcends the glittering commercial aspect of her work. Fundamental to the artist’s thinking is her embrace of the universal ‘Law of Attraction’, a philosophy that holds we attract what we desire , and her faith in the Law’s necessary ‘duality in life,’ or simply put, knowing what we do not desire brings each of us closer to knowing what we really want. These twin concepts, which inform the foundation of her life and work, are represented by her Buddha figures. Atash began her philosophical journey on the tiny Indonesian island of Bali, which the artist regularly visits to oversee the production of her fiberglass molds of softly rounded, gesturing and praying, child-like Buddhas. The labor-intensive art-making process concludes in Atash’s Miami studio, where, after she sketches the intricate designs onto the molds, a team of assistants help her paint and then encrust each one with multi-colored Swarovski crystals that number in the thousands. Reflecting Atash’s attraction to and respect for Haute Couture, as well as contemporary art history, each Punk Buddha, large or diminutive Baby, is named for an iconic figure in fashion and art, whose highly recognizable styles inspire the patterns that she incorporates onto the Buddhas’ robes. These range from Basquiat to Balmain, Warhol to Hermes, Kusama to Chanel. Yet these motifs, which elicit many a smile from the cognoscenti, do not alone characterize Punk Buddhas, for running from the top of the skull down the back of the head, is a Mohawk-of-sorts, a row of ornamental spikes that lend the figures an edgy, mysterious presence. While Atash considers the dramatic quasi-hairstyle -- related to the Punk Rock movement of the 70s and 80s – as being emblematic of freedom of choice and expression, the projections expand iconographic thinking about the work, tempting interpretation. Perhaps their fierce presence is intended as subtle rebuke to those who would wantonly handle the precious objects. Look again, and the curving, spiky coronas, seen in profile or casting shadows, are transformed into benevolent halos. Ultimately, these intriguing barbs may well serve to remind those who would reduce Punk Buddhas to an expression of 21st century cultural consumerism, that these seated forms are also powerful totems, capable of both dazzling the eye and stirring the soul.

Artist Statement

My creations embody everything that I revere as a human being. The series of lacquered Buddha sculptures bathed in Swarovski Crystals, strong-minded Russian dolls and ancient skulls spiritual fiberglass Heads, revealing a clean polyurethane look and garnished with precious stones or vicious spikes, and every part of who I am as a person is about love. Love is the significance of life. It only grows by giving it, releasing it, without limits, without restriction but trust, honesty, fairness and commitment to yourself and all around you. Love is also the energy of Bali – the source of my pieces. People in Bali choose to be authentic and walk through life with a wide-open heart – always ready to give and receive. They know and understand that the mind creates the world; that what you see arises with your thoughts and if you speak and act with a confused mind, trouble will follow you as certainly as a cart follows the ox that pulls it. But if you speak with a clear mind, happiness will follow you as certainly as your own shadow in sunlight. To understand our own thinking is to understand all thinking. The mind falls in love with itself, and this amazing love affair is not just the end of war, it’s the beginning of a whole new paradigm. It creates out of a space that is so unlimited in its self-love that it doesn’t ever have to be told or proven or seen. It is its own experience. And it’s happy—in that all. Anger teaches anger. Fear results in more fear. Only accepting what is and loving each and every bit of is will lead to inner and outer peace. This is the ancient law and my inspiration for my work and my life. Pema Chödrön, one of the most significant spiritual leaders of our time once said: "When you begin to touch your heart or let your heart be touched, you begin to discover that it's bottomless, that it doesn't have any resolution, that this heart is huge, vast and limitless. You begin to discover how much warmth and gentleness is there, as well as how much space. Your world seems less solid, more roomy and spacious." This is what art is about – creating something that allows your heart to feel spacious and free; stepping into the unknown and bringing something new into existence. It is about the unbridled heart that is so free in who it was created to be that it is unstoppable. Yours truly, Metis