Land of light: Gold-Smidt Assembly explores applications of silver in Soho

This past weekend, Danish gallery Gold-Smidt Assembly was responsible for a beguiling show of sculpture and wall pieces from a host of ascendent, international artists, located in a grittily stripped-back space on Greek Street in London's Soho. In addition, acclaimed multi-disciplinary artist Tupac Martir – dubbed a 'light magician' in our own hallowed pages, and an affiliate of Alexander McQueen, Givenchy, Beyoncé and the V&A, among many others – was drafted in as the show's creative director, providing the austere lighting design.

Entitled 'SØLV' – Danish for silver – the exhibition collated works exploring the precious material's characteristics, specifically rendering it in hitherto unusual forms and channelling its inherent connections to the atmospheric light of the Nordic region. The show featured eight artists: Akiko Hoshina, Matthew Chambers, Hilda Hellström, Maria Bang, Stine Jespersen, Louise Hedegård Madsen, Manuel Canú and Tom Price.

Given the diverse collection of names, the offering was inevitably broad, from Hoshina's organic, almost Palaeolithic, trio of sculptures; through Jespersen's repetitiously abstracted wall-hangings; Madsen's rather delicate, bulbous floor installations; and the tactile, monolithic slabs set about the low-lit space by Price (himself afford 'headliner' status by the fact that his work is held in the San Francisco MoMA, Denver Art Museum and the Amore Pacific Museum of Art in Seoul, among many others).

Gold-Smidt Assembly is headed by Sissel Fuglsand-Smidt, a Copenhagen-based curator and creative consultant. 'Our focus is on distinctive stylish pieces that provide a dynamic visual experience,' explains the gallery of its remit. 'We work with skilled international artists and artisans who know how to extract untapped potential in familiar materials such as gold, textiles, ceramics, metal, anthracite, resin and tar'; an approach perfectly empahsised in this lustrous, and all too fleeting, exhibition.

The exhibition collated works exploring the precious material’s characteristics, specifically rendering it in hitherto unusual forms and channelling its inherent connections to the atmospheric light of the Nordic region. Pictured from left: Salty Tops, by Louise Hedegård Madsen, 2016; Synthesis L1, Synthesis L2 and Synthesis L3, by Tom Price, 2014; Sweet Panels, by Louise Hedegård Madsen, 2016

The show featured eight artists: Akiko Hoshina, Matthew Chambers, Hilda Hellström, Maria Bang, Stine Jespersen, Louise Hedegård Madsen, Manuel Canú and Tom Price. Pictured from left: Healed Fragtures ll (Diagenesis series), Hilda Hellström, 2015; Soft Hemisphere, Louise Hedegård Madsen, 2016; Botanical Ornament (series), by Manuel Canú, 1016

Given the diverse collection of names, the show’s offering was inevitably broad, from Jespersen’s repetitiously abstracted wall-hangings to Madsen’s rather delicate, bulbous floor installations (and much more).

Gold-Smidt Assembly is headed by Sissel Fuglsand-Smidt, a Copenhagen-based curator and creative consultant. ’Our focus is on distinctive stylish pieces that provide a dynamic visual experience,’ explains the gallery of its remit.

INFORMATION

For more information, visit the Gold-Smidt Assembly website

Photography: Sylvain Deveu