In Balance: Kalliopi Lemos searches for equilibrium at Gazelli Art House
The work of the Greek-born, London-based artist Kalliopi Lemos has always erred on the polemic side. Her 2013 installation I am I, Between Worlds and Between Shadows, for instance, depicted half female, half animal steel sculptural beings, maimed and displayed in an abandoned lyceum to highlight human rights abuses the world over.
Her latest exhibition, 'In Balance' at London's Gazelli Art House, takes a calmer approach to an innate struggle known to all: namely our daily battles in an increasingly pressurised world.
'Balance is connected with the meaning of gravity,' explains Lemos. 'If we think for a minute about scales, there is a point along an axis where it is connected with the ground, with the Earth. On either end of this axis there are two different objects that are balancing themselves against each other, like two children sitting on a seesaw in a playing ground, experimenting with their weight and force against one another.'
From the beginning her work makes reference to the dualities and pressures of life; the psychological and physical pain one suffers in the quest for a conscious existence. Large seed-like sculptures fill the lower gallery floor, each seemingly on edge and ready to tip over. 'I am concerned with the inner balance of the human being,' she explains, 'our vulnerability and our defences, our struggles and tensions and how we deal with them to try and maintain equilibrium.' The scale sculptures in particular allow visitors to engage with their different weights and positions, trying to strike a balance within the physical constraints imposed by the artist.
Seeds are a recurring motif in Lemos' career, appearing time and time again in different iterations, materials and colours. Here they take shape using reeds, aluminium and bright yellow skins or stainless steel structures. 'The meaning of the seed, the miniature element within which all life is contained, really fascinates me,' explains Lemos. 'For me, it represents the creation, the world with all its miracles.'
Lemos’ award-winning video At the Centre of the World (2015) features in the exhibition too, depicting a woman trapped inside a cage-like iron sphere, struggling to escape and forced to accept her situation. Her steel sphere is on display on the upper gallery, lending its own dark counterbalance to the relative brightness of the seeds below.
INFORMATION
’Kalliopi Lemos: In Balance’ is on view until 24 April. For more information visit the Gazelli Art House website
ADDRESS
39 Dover Street, London, W1S 4NN
Wallpaper* Newsletter
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox
-
Utilitarian men’s fashion that will elevate your everyday
From Prada to Margaret Howell, utilitarian and workwear-inspired men’s fashion gets an upgrade for S/S 2024
By Jack Moss Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Vipp’s Scandinavian guesthouse offers a sleek setting amid a wild landscape
Vipp Cold Hawaii is a Scandinavian guesthouse designed by architecture studio Hahn Lavsen in Denmark’s Thy National Park
By Sofia de la Cruz Published
-
Gerhard Richter unveils new sculpture at Serpentine South
Gerhard Richter revisits themes of pattern and repetition in ‘Strip-Tower’ at London’s Serpentine South
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Peter Blake’s sculptures spark joy at Waddington Custot in London
‘Peter Blake: Sculpture and Other Matters’, at London's Waddington Custot, spans six decades of the artist's career
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Oozing, squidgy, erupting forms come alive at Hayward Gallery
‘When Forms Come Alive: Sixty Years of Restless Sculpture’ at Hayward Gallery, London, is a group show full of twists and turns
By Hannah Silver Published
-
New glass sculpture creates a verdant wonderland at Apple’s Cupertino HQ
‘Mirage’ at Apple Park is the work of Zeller & Moye and artist Katie Paterson, a shimmering array of glass columns that snakes through the grounds of the company’s monumental HQ
By Jonathan Bell Published
-
Man Ray’s sculptures go on show in New York
‘Man Ray: Other Objects’ opens at Luxembourg + Co, New York, revealing their author’s ‘artistic revolution’
By Hannah Silver Published
-
The best London art exhibitions to see now
Your guide to the best London art exhibitions, as chosen by the Wallpaper* arts desk
By Hannah Silver Published
-
Erwin Wurm’s pop-coloured fantasy land at Yorkshire Sculpture Park
In Erwin Wurm’s first UK museum show, ‘Trap of the Truth’, the artist transforms Yorkshire Sculpture Park into a slightly warped wonderland (10 June 2023 – 28 April 2024)
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published
-
Sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro transforms Fendi’s Rome HQ into a theatre of myth and magic
Fendi’s Roman HQ sets the scene for ‘Il Grande Teatro delle Civiltà’ a major show by Italian sculptor Arnaldo Pomodoro, who has also created a one-off edition of the house’s iconic Peekaboo bag. Read more in the July 2023 Issue of Wallpaper*, on newsstands 8 June
By Harriet Lloyd-Smith Published