This is the Real World featuring Lina Condes & Karl Lagasse

Lina Condes Lina Condes is a contemporary American-Ukrainian artist known for her distinctive stick-figure sculptures. She earned her MFA in Fine Arts, Interior and Furniture Design from the Kyiv University of Technology and Design. Born in the countryside of Cherkasy, Ukraine, she grew up in a family of professors of physics and mathematics, an environment that sparked her early fascination with structure, materials, balance, and the physical world—ideas that would later inform her sculptural practice. At the heart of Condes’ practice is an exploration of mental states, emotions, energy, and consciousness. Her figures often appear suspended between physical strength and emotional vulnerability, reflecting the constant balance between the material and the spiritual. Her interest in yoga, meditation, and spirituality has increasingly influenced her approach, bringing ideas of inner balance, mindfulness, connection, and positive energy into her work. The simplicity and openness of her figures evoke a sense of movement and freedom, while their gestures and proportions suggest moments of reflection, harmony, and human connection. For Condes, sculpture becomes a way of exploring the relationship between the body, mind, and spirit. She approaches metal and wood as though they were bronze and marble, transforming industrial materials into vessels for emotion, energy, and contemplation. Her work ultimately seeks to communicate a sense of lightness, optimism, spirituality, and good energy—an invitation to pause, reconnect, and experience the world from within. Karl Lagasse Karl Lagasse is a renowned Franco - American contemporary artist and sculptor, best known globally for his iconic “One Dollar” sculpture series. Born in Paris on April 4, 1981, into a family of artists with French and Armenian roots, he rose to prominence for translating pop iconography and American symbolism into striking, thought-provoking metal sculptures. By 2009, Artprice ranked him among the top 10 sculptor artists in the world under 30. A profound turning point in Lagasse’s life came after a violent street confrontation in which his life was saved under extraordinary circumstances. Following this experience, which he describes as a miracle, Lagasse found Jesus and experienced a deep spiritual awakening. This encounter with faith profoundly influenced his perspective on life, purpose, and creativity. His journey from the streets of Paris to a renewed spiritual path became an important part of his personal story, adding a deeper dimension to his exploration of freedom, identity, hope, and the human experience through art. Today, Lagasse’s work continues to merge the energy of street art with contemporary sculpture, drawing upon popular culture, urban aesthetics, symbolism, and his evolving spiritual perspective. His art reflects both the intensity of his early experiences and a continuing search for meaning, transformation, and transcendence