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.
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. Pictured: At The Centre Of The World, 2015. Courtesy of the artist
Large seed-like sculptures fill the lower gallery floor, each seemingly on edge and ready to tip over.
Seeds are a recurring motif in Lemos' career, appearing time and time again in different iterations, materials and colours. Pictured:Yellow, 2013. Courtesy of the artist
'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,' explains Lemos. Pictured: Yellow, 2013. Courtesy of the artist
'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.' Pictured: Stainless Steel Seeds, 2016. Courtesy of the artist
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.
Pictured: Stainless Steel Sculptures, 2016. Courtesy of the artist
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
-
Prodrive updates its sleek racing simulator with new craft and fresh techRace at home in style with the latest version of Prodrive’s racing simulator, now equipped with Bang & Olufsen sound
-
A local architect’s guide to Joshua TreeMirtilla Alliata di Montereale shares her favourite things to do to slow down, look closely, and discover Joshua Tree through a more intentional lens
-
Art meets perfume in cross-disciplinary fragrance series Nez 1+1Talents from film and fragrance come together to create Ansongo, the latest scent resulting from a creative matchmaking project by perfume revue Nez
-
What is recycling good for, asks Mika Rottenberg at Hauser & Wirth MenorcaUS-based artist Mika Rottenberg rethinks the possibilities of rubbish in a colourful exhibition, spanning films, drawings and eerily anthropomorphic lamps
-
San Francisco’s controversial monument, the Vaillancourt Fountain, could be facing demolitionThe brutalist fountain is conspicuously absent from renders showing a redeveloped Embarcadero Plaza and people are unhappy about it, including the structure’s 95-year-old designer
-
See the fruits of Niki de Saint Phalle and Jean Tinguely's creative and romantic union at Hauser & Wirth SomersetAn intimate exhibition at Hauser & Wirth Somerset explores three decades of a creative partnership
-
Technology, art and sculptures of fog: LUMA Arles kicks off the 2025/26 seasonThree different exhibitions at LUMA Arles, in France, delve into history in a celebration of all mediums; Amy Serafin went to explore
-
Inside Yinka Shonibare's first major show in AfricaBritish-Nigerian artist Yinka Shonibare is showing 15 years of work, from quilts to sculptures, at Fondation H in Madagascar
-
Inside Jack Whitten’s contribution to American contemporary artAs Jack Whitten exhibition ‘Speedchaser’ opens at Hauser & Wirth, London, and before a major retrospective at MoMA opens next year, we explore the American artist's impact
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s ParkTwenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhoodTschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
