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.
-
Postcard from Design Week Lagos 2024
Reporting from Nigeria’s capital during Design Week Lagos 2024, our correspondent shares his view from the streets and explores the role of design in economic evolution
By Ugonnaora Owoh Published
-
Meet the 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner: Livyj Bereh from Ukraine
The 2024 Royal Academy Dorfman Prize winner has been crowned: congratulations to architecture collective Livyj Bereh from Ukraine, praised for its rebuilding efforts during the ongoing war in the country
By Ellie Stathaki Published
-
Out of office: What the Wallpaper* editors have been doing this week
The Wallpaper* editors are a busy bunch. From tingling their tastebuds in London, Speyside and Hong Kong to watching obscure Estonian animations, here's how they've been spending their time
By Charlotte Gunn Published
-
Frieze Sculpture takes over Regent’s Park
Twenty-two international artists turn the English gardens into a dream-like landscape and remind us of our inextricable connection to the natural world
By Smilian Cibic Published
-
Harlem-born artist Tschabalala Self’s colourful ode to the landscape of her childhood
Tschabalala Self’s new show at Finland's Espoo Museum of Modern Art evokes memories of her upbringing, in vibrant multi-dimensional vignettes
By Millen Brown-Ewens Published
-
Wanås Konst sculpture park merges art and nature in Sweden
Wanås Konst’s latest exhibition, 'The Ocean in the Forest', unites land and sea with watery-inspired art in the park’s woodland setting
By Alice Godwin Published
-
Pino Pascali’s brief and brilliant life celebrated at Fondazione Prada
Milan’s Fondazione Prada honours Italian artist Pino Pascali, dedicating four of its expansive main show spaces to an exhibition of his work
By Kasia Maciejowska Published
-
John Cage’s ‘now moments’ inspire Lismore Castle Arts’ group show
Lismore Castle Arts’ ‘Each now, is the time, the space’ takes its title from John Cage, and sees four artists embrace the moment through sculpture and found objects
By Amah-Rose Abrams 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