Helwaser Gallery is pleased to present the second solo exhibition of new works by artist Christina Kruse (b. 1976, Germany). "Christina Kruse: Plasterheads" will be on view through July 30th, 2021 at the gallery’s Madison Avenue space, and will introduce the artist’s latest sculpture works. Over the last decade, the artist has developed a distinct visual language within her practice. Often resembling abstracted human figures, her sculptures are defined by a combination of organic, rounded shapes offset by strong rectilinear forms.
For this exhibition, Kruse has developed a large-scale installation which will be displayed in the first room of the gallery. Displayed on a collapsible table, the installation is likened to a miniature world, where multiple figure-like maquettes are scattered across various miniature architectural elements. Rendered in different positions and poses, the maquettes resemble human figures caught in various acts: climbing in and out of the structure, looking up or down, in search for something. Yet, the figurines don’t interact with each other. Described as a metaphorical playground of the inner psyches, Lunapark (2021) attests to the artist’s interest in the deeper psychological states that motivate and shape the world that their human counterparts inhabit. For Kruse, each of the elements within the entire installation, including its materials, serve as a deeper metaphor that expresses the structure of the world that we inhabit. By choosing to use plaster and soapstone as primary materials to construct the maquettes, both of which are easily shaped, Kruse highlights the very malleability of human nature itself. Set against the infinite expanse of the table construction, these maquettes seemingly capture the endless permutations of behavior that result when they are connected by space and time.
Also on view is a second installation consisting of a group of four sculptures. Presented in the second room of the gallery, Will o’ the wisp (2021) evokes the imagery of a still landscape. In contrast to the thin, elongated forms found in Lunapark, these sculptures engender a feeling of solidity through their volume and weight. Created through the use of materials such as wood, marble, plaster, and soapstone, these sculptures poetically underscore a sense of settlement, steadiness, and fixity. Accompanying these sculptures are also a second freestanding sculpture The Directionalist (2021), and a hung wall sculpture Intermission (2021). These works expand on the formal and metaphorical binaries that can be found between the dynamics of the two antimonious installations —play/rest, chaos/order, and instability/balance. Building on her fascination with interior and exterior states of being, Kruse’s latest works trace a connection between the formal practice of sculpture, and the psychological conditions of continuous becoming.
Helwaser Gallery
833 Madison Avenue, 3rd FL NYC
Open House
Saturday, June 26, from 12-5pm
(The artist will be present)
Saturday, July 11, 12-5pm
RSVP: https://helwasergalleryscheduling.as.me/ChristinaKruse
Title
Christina Kruse: PlasterheadsType
ExhibitionWebsite
Organizers
From
May 19, 2021 12:00 AMUntil
July 30, 2021 12:00 AMVenue
Helwaser GalleryAddress