The art of the perfect fit

Review: Magali Reus at the South London Gallery

Posted by D.R.A.W in Featured · June 2018

The first major solo exhibition of London-based Dutch artist, Magali Reus - As Mist, Description – was one of very fine detail in sculptural form.

The first major solo exhibition of London-based Dutch artist, Magali Reus – As Mist, Description – was one of very fine detail in sculptural form. Great, meticulous care taken in the making seemed to carry the seeds of an internal anachronism (we think that artisanal care is a thing of the past, not normally applied to contemporary structures/machinery such as these, which were made using elaborate casting and moulding techniques).

Reus is certainly an accomplished maker/artist so it’s a superb show from the ‘making’ point of view, but fails to communicate much, whether intentionally ambiguous or not, visitors didn’t seem to engage with the works or spend more than a few seconds in front of each.

This is a recent (2017) body of work by the Dutch artist, each piece is well spaced out from the others, and devised as if it was seen ‘in progress’ – either mid-activity or abandoned after usage. Vaguely reminiscent of Helen Marten’s work, which equally tends to create sculptural works which draw your gaze in using the power of endless details found in mainly recognisable objects, whose function has been annulled or altered.

We feel the words used by the Guardian’s Chief Culture Writer Charlotte Higgins to describe Marten’s work (in 2016) could be applied to this show: “If you submit yourself to this art – approaching the sculptures like free verse whose meaning you might rather absorb than decode – you realise you are in a place unlike any you’ve entered before, where a distinctive mind has messed with the world of objects and meaning, creating her own strange, compressed archaeology, which you are invited to expand into imaginary life.”

This abstraction ends up taking you to another dimension, but one we feel quite devoid of emotions.

             

Notes from DRAW · 02.06.2018

Read More

Spotlight on: Accra, Ghana

DRAW Recruitment have been fortunate enough to be asked to work on two new roles in Accra recently, so we wanted to shine a light on this fascinating city, which is a melting pot of cultures and ethnicities and find out what it has to offer. Once labelled “Africa’s Capital Of Cool” by the New…

AWITA Sponsored Memberships

DRAW are incredibly proud to support this years AWITA Sponsored Membership programme. AWITA strives to support the talent pipeline through professional development, mentoring and networking. Fifteen sponsored memberships are available annually to encourage the widening participation and diversity…

Working in the Arts: From Boutique to Blue Chip – Celia Kinchington

Working in the Arts: From Boutique to Blue Chip, moving from a small team to a large business can be intimidating, and feel well beyond your comfort zone if you don’t have that experience. We caught up with Celia Kinchington who made that move on a grand scale, to hear how she handled this…

Working in the Arts: Victoria Clay

This month’s Working in the Arts segment focusses on Victoria Clay who is the Junior Cataloguer and Valuer for the Paintings and Jewellery departments at Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers. Where do you work? I work at Catherine Southon Auctioneers and Valuers. What is your job title? I am…