Oren Pinhassi presents ‘non-binary’ sculptures at London’s Edel Assanti gallery

The Israeli artist Oren Pinhassi has created sculptures around the world. Whenever he has an exhibition abroad, he doesn’t ship pieces from his studio in East Harlem. Instead, he goes to the country of the exhibition and spends a chunk of time toiling away in the new environment, forming and moulding each and every piece anew. It’s his way of grounding his pieces in their geographical context and exploring the ways in the local environment shapes the way he works.
For his latest show, at Edel Assanti gallery in London’s Fitzrovia, he spent a month in Suffolk creating objects that appear to be familiar archetypes – a palm tree, a chair, or a towel, for example. However, a moment’s concentration transforms them into something completely different. One realises that the palm tree is actually made from steel umbrellas of varying sizes, stacked in a blooming formation; the chair resembles a reclining woman with protruding, misshapen breasts; the towel is grotesquely coiled like a snake. It is this ambiguity and perpetual sense of becoming that Pinhassi exploits, as suggested by the exhibition’s title, ‘Second Nature’.
There’s a palpable erotic energy, with a pair of glass-fronted urinals facing each other, and the palm tree pieces suggestively titled ‘One in the mouth and one in the heart’. A pair of freestanding pavilions, meanwhile are partially lined with glass panels that have been meticulously smeared with swirls of Vaseline, walking a fine line between privacy and voyeurism. Pinhassi embraces the sexual element of his work, though he insists that its ‘queerness’ comes not from these connotations alone. Rather, he stands for a rejection of traditional boundaries: in architecture, in nature, and in the body.
‘I seek to break down binary categories,’ he declares. Interestingly, much of his earlier work featured ‘a lot of wood, and right angles’ – and it was a frustration with the rigidity of the material that drove him to explore the shapeshifting potential of plaster, sand and burlap, which feature prominently in this exhibition.
While there are readymade elements in Pinhassi’s work – the skeletal structures of children’s umbrellas, for instance are used to form the palm trees – there is also ample evidence of the human hand on their primordially rugged surfaces. He calls his sculpting process one of ‘repetitive touch’ – working away at the plaster with his hands a little at a time – no two objects he creates are ever exactly the same. It is this dance between familiarity and ambiguity that informs Pinhassi’s artisanal approach.
Within the ground-level space of the gallery, Pinhassi’s sculptures are carefully placed to guide viewers through a ‘forest’ of nebulous forms. Ultimately, it’s the visitor’s reaction that interests him most, and what this says about the relationship between one’s physical environment and one’s behaviour. ‘I want to see how people instinctually use this space to execute my choreography.’
Urinal (London 1) and Urinal (London 2), glass, steel, plaster, burlap, sand and pigment. Photography: Studio Will Amlot. Courtesy of Edel Assanti
Flanked by two smaller sculptures that nod to towelling, ‘One in the hand and one in the heart’ has a steel frame comprising the skeletal structures of readymade umbrellas, overlaid with plaster, sand and burlap. Photography: Studio Will Amlot. Courtesy of Edel Assanti
INFORMATION
‘Oren Pinhassi: Second Nature’ is on view until 15 August. For more information, visit the Edel Assanti website
ADDRESS
Edel Assanti
74A Newman Street
London W1T 3DB
Receive our daily digest of inspiration, escapism and design stories from around the world direct to your inbox.
-
RIBA Stirling Prize 2025 winner is ‘a radical reimagining of later living’
Appleby Blue Almshouse wins the RIBA Stirling Prize 2025, crowning the social housing complex for over-65s by Witherford Watson Mann Architects, the best building of the year
-
A24 just opened a restaurant in New York, and no one knows it exists
Hidden in the West Village, Wild Cherry pairs a moody, arthouse sensibility with a supper-style menu devised by the team behind Frenchette
-
Yinka Ilori’s new foundation is dedicated to play and joy: ‘Play gave me freedom to dream’
Today, artist and designer Yinka Ilori announced the launch of a non-profit organisation that debuts with a playscape in Nigeria
-
Leo Costelloe turns the kitchen into a site of fantasy and unease
For Frieze week, Costelloe transforms everyday domesticity into something intimate, surreal and faintly haunted at The Shop at Sadie Coles
-
Can surrealism be erotic? Yes if women can reclaim their power, says a London exhibition
‘Unveiled Desires: Fetish & The Erotic in Surrealism, 1924–Today’ at London’s Richard Saltoun gallery examines the role of desire in the avant-garde movement
-
Tiffany & Co’s artist mentorship at Frieze London puts creative exchange centre stage
At Frieze London 2025, Tiffany & Co partners with the fair’s Artist-to-Artist initiative, expanding its reach and reaffirming the value of mentorship within the global art community
-
Em-Dash is a small press redefining the indie zine beyond nostalgia
The South London publishing studio's new imprint 'Practice Meets Paper' translates a chosen artist’s practice into print. Wallpaper*s senior designer Gabriel Annouka speaks with the founders, Saundra Liemantoro and Aarushi Matiyani, to find out more
-
‘It is about ensuring Africa is no longer on the periphery’: 1-54 Contemporary African Art Fair in London
The 13th edition of 1-54 London will be held at London’s Somerset House from 16-19 October; we meet founder Touria El Glaoui to chart the fair's rising influence
-
‘Sit, linger, take a nap’: Peter Doig welcomes visitors to his Serpentine exhibition
The artist’s ‘House of Music’ exhibition, at Serpentine Galleries, rethinks the traditional gallery space, bringing in furniture and a vintage sound system
-
Who was Denton Welch, the cult writer and painter who inspired everyone from Alan Bennett to William S. Burroughs?
Cult queer figure Denton Welch was a talented, yet overlooked, artist. Now an exhibition of his work at John Swarbrooke Fine Art aims to change that
-
Frieze Sculpture is back – here's what to see in Regent's Park
Frieze Sculpture has returned to Regent's Park. As London gears up for Art Week, here's what to see on the fringes