Inner Fort: A Sanctuary Within
By Robert LaPorta
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What happens when we turn inward and give ourselves the gift of quiet contemplation?
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The Inner Fort series is an invitation—an opportunity to rediscover the sanctuary within. These intimate sculptural environments, composed of found and natural materials, create a visual and emotional space for reflection. Each piece offers a retreat, a place where time suspends, and the imagination is free to wander.
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Rooted in my background as an artist, architect, editor and producer, the Inner Fort emerges from a fascination with materiality, scale, and the interplay between built and natural environments. Each sculpture begins with the composition of a landscape—stones, driftwood, and artifacts carefully collected from the California shoreline and the Sierra Nevada mountains. Nestled within these terrains are architectural interiors, scaled to suggest a sense of presence—tiny sanctuaries crafted from objects that feel as if they were discovered within the world itself. Fire pits, benches, and shadowed alcoves invite the viewer to inhabit these spaces, to step into an imagined refuge.
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Inner Fort is more than an aesthetic exploration; it is an offering of stillness in a chaotic world. Just as a childhood fort was a place of safety and wonder, these sculptures serve as reminders of the spaces—both physical and internal—where we gather ourselves, reflect, and reimagine.
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Each assemblage can be displayed on a tabletop, a custom base, or a wall-mounted pedestal, existing as both an object and an experience. The work asks a simple but profound question:
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Where is your inner fort?