The Magic of Everybody’ Darling by Dubai Artist Petra Kaltenbach

Petra moved to Dubai in 2004, where she witnessed rapid growth. This influenced her art theme of transformation immensly. With her background in graphic design, she transitioned into painting and video art often intertwining her paintings with embedded technology such as QR, AR, NFT, UV-printing and 3D-printing.

Petra’s core theme is transformation and her main motif is the pomegranate. This fruit has been with her for many years as a symbol of love, health, wealth, the feminine, and the divine. These are all great transformative powers…

In 2016, Petra was shortlisted by the International Emerging Artist Award – IEAA. In 2016 and in 2018, her video art was accepted to be shown on the façade of the Burj Khalifa in Dubai. That same year, she was awarded the title of the best UAE-resident artist at World Art Dubai. She was also sponsored by Canon, who gave her a year-long sponsorship due to her work with their printing technology. The artist collaborates with Canon, Landmark Group and other industry on special projects by incorporating her pomegranate and the UV-printing technology into her her art.
Since 2019, Petra has been part of the curatorial team at World Art Dubai, one of the biggest art fairs in the Middle East. In 2023, she became their art advisor and started sculpting.

CONCEPT_STATEMENT

EVERYBODYs DARLING© is Petra Kaltenbach’s latest sculptural series, transforming the pomegranate — one of the most potent symbols in mythology and cultural history — into a contemporary, highly aesthetic art object. For Petra, the pomegranate embodies love, health, abundance, beauty, and divinity. For nearly a decade, she has explored the theme of transformation through the interplay of physical and digital art. With this series, her iconic motif enters the three-dimensional realm for the first time, shaped through state-of-the-art 3D printing technology.
The EVERYBODYs DARLING© pomegranate is a love-dispensing entity: light, charming, and playful at first glance, yet emotionally charged, symbolically rich, and instantly recognizable. Its kissing form radiates joy and connection, while its humorous interpretation of the pomegranate’s love-related symbolism gives the sculpture a unique twist and strong visual identity.

At the same time, Petra situates the sculpture within the ancient myths of the pomegranate, including the idea that it may have been the original ‘forbidden fruit’ offered to Eve.
Currently realized as a monochromatic 15-cm edition, the more striking sizes of 30-, 60- and 100-cm versions open up new artistic possibilities: hand-painted surfaces, UV-printed layers etc. Each sculpture becomes a distinctive collectible, positioned clearly within the premium contemporary art segment.
EVERYBODYs DARLING© is an iconic piece for collectors who seek transformation, emotion, and contemporary art united in a powerful, memorable object.

EVERYBODYs DARLING©
The sculptures are avaiable in 3 sizes:

• The small size, 15cm, is coming in almost every Pantone color, indoor only
• The 30cm sizes are individually painted,
  indoor only
• 60 cm and bigger like 100 cm size is indi-
  vidual designed as well, for indoor and
  outdoor
• other sizes on request only

Art as Transformation, Technology as Tool

Petra Kaltenbach is an artist who paints and creates from a place of deep awareness. Guided by intuition and shaped by her connection to nature and the unseen, her work explores the human condition through layers of meaning, form, and symbolism. Since moving to Dubai in 2004, Petra has been fascinated by the theme of transformation—both in the rapidly evolving city around her and in the inner shifts that allow humans to break free from limiting beliefs and find freedom.
Her recurring symbol is the pomegranate—an ancient fruit rich with meaning across cultures, representing love, beauty, health, and abundance. In Petra’s work, it becomes a vessel for transformative energy and a bridge between East and West.
In her latest series, EVERYBODYs DARLING©, Petra brings the pomegranate into the physical realm through hand-crafted sculptures, using advanced techniques like UV-printing and 3D-printing to push the boundaries of contemporary art. Each piece radiates joy, connection, and optimism—offering a kiss of love to the viewer.
Petra’s work is rooted in structure and symbolism, responding to our hyper-connected, over-digitalized world with tangible, emotionally resonant forms. Whether through digital media, augmented reality, or sculptural works, her art is an ongoing exploration of change, presence, and the power of transformation.

GENESIS

In 2021, Petra created the artwork “FALLING IN LOVE” expressly for the Al Murraba Art Festival in the Ajman Museum. She had long harbored the desire to fashion a series of paintings that would capture the love-spreading pomegranate in various contexts and interpretations.
However, her initial foray into this artistic journey unexpectedly led to the birth of a brand-new sculpture series, inspired by the notion of the kissing pomegranate, and she is now exploring its divine aspects.

BE MY DARLING

from the series EVERYBODYs DARLING©
BE MY DARLING is an iconic, eclectic sculpture by Petra Kaltenbach that captures love in its purest, most playful form. A melting, kissing pomegranate becomes a winking symbol of affection and passion — a 1:1 translation of meaning into form. Its almost comic, exaggerated gesture makes the sculpture instantly recognizable, approachable, and emotionally resonant.
The form of the melting fruit conveys sweetness, vulnerability, and full surrender. It transforms the timeless symbol of abundance, beauty, and passion into a playful, tangible artwork that invites the viewer to smile, feel, and let go.
As a collectible, BE MY DARLING combines iconic design, humorous conceptual art, and exceptional craftsmanship. The blend of cutting-edge 3D printing and artisanal finishing ensures each piece is a unique, exclusive object of contemporary art.
Size: diameter approx 20 cm, sizes are scalable, avaiable in different colors

GLOW, DARLING, GLOW
from the series EVERYBODYs DARLING©
Size: diameter 35 x 35 x 35 cm (box)
Material: 3 D-print (resin and recycled plastic),
fluorencing arylic box with engraved pattern (this collects light on the edges) with inboxed hand-painted sculpture
Weight: approximately 5 kg
Motif: CLOUD SEEDING, clouds are carrying pomegranates seeds like dreams into the world. The hand of Fatima is a protecting symbol and takes care of the dreams.
Motifs are different and vary from the engravings and the enclosed Darling sculptures. They can be engraved individually for example a hand-written love letter from the client

DIVINE DARLING
The pomegranate has long stood as a sacred symbol across cultures—representing abundance, love, fertility, and the mysteries of creation. In my sculpture DIVINE DARLING, I reimagine this ancient fruit as a divine messenger, bridging the earthly and the celestial.
The addition of wings transforms the pomegranate into more than a symbol of life—it becomes a symbol of transcendence. The wings suggest movement, freedom, and the soul’s ability to rise beyond limitation. In this work, the fruit is not grounded, but lifted—elevated into the realm of spirit.
The DIVINE DARLING is a visual meditation on transformation and the innate divinity within us all. In this series, I examine the divine aspect of the pomegranate. It invites the viewer to reconnect with their inner abundance, their longing for expansion, and their capacity to fly—spiritually, emotionally, and imaginatively.

Petra Kaltenbach

Facebook: Petra’s ART
Instagram: petra_kaltenbach
LinkedIn: Petra Kaltenbach
Web: www.petrakaltenbach.com
Webshop: petrakaltenbach.store
Email: petra@petrakaltenbach.com
Mobile: +971 / 50 / 873 8672