Sculpture News by LKFF

Mijntje Lukoff is proud to present

PRESENCE - Opening at LKFF on 8 November, 2012

« PRESENCE » is a gathering of human figures, carved in wood, modeled in clay, painted, cast in bronze or in silver. LKFF Art & Sculpture Projects selected three striking sculptors, each recognized for their interpretation of the human being:

Sean HENRY (UK), Mario DILITZ (CH) and Caspar BERGER (NL)

The tradition of portraits goes back a very long way. Many contemporary sculptors perpetuate this tradition, while only a few go beyond the mere representation of an individual. Far from falling in the «Tussaud-trap», Sean Henry portrays the anonymous, his very straightforward depiction of appearances invests his figures with an almost palpable psychological presence; meanwhile, Henry leaves the surfaces of his painted bronzes rough, his application of color confident and painterly. Mario Dilitz’s wooden figures polarize. There is a strong contrast between their aesthetic beauty and the content of the issues, where a profound confrontation with the vagaries of human existence takes places. Caspar Berger questions the link between the image and the soul, his portraits based on molded humans question the link between the copy and the original, the dead material and the living body.

Opening on November 8th, 2012. Save the date!

Markus Hofer until 20 October, 2012

Don't miss the sculptures and installations by Vienna-based artist Markus Hofer (Austria, 1977-...). On view until October 20 at LKFF Art & Sculpture Projects.

Hofer develops his work around cognitive dissonance. One could say he is a heir to the Dada movement. Each sculpture disturbs the eye and generates confusion through a new form of «trompe-l’oeil», urging the visitor to look, to stop for a moment, then look again.

Hence the title of this new show the «Tour of Reality». Everyday objects come to life, grow and intertwine. The artist takes pleasure making havoc of their reality, often with a touch of humor, or sometimes through a mild form of irritation. The objects are carefully selected and acquire a fresh layer of meaning as the result of his sculptural interventions. Our usual patterns of perception are turned upside down but also expanded and put in a new context.

Sculptures become «active matter», as he sometimes calls them, referring to their independence and their dynamic components, which reinterpret subject matter and give the appearance of being in perpetual motion; evolving from one meaning to the next.
More info...

Arnaud Rivieren at the Galerie Nationale

Dubai-based sculptor Arnaud Rivieren works solely with industrial scrap and mainly with stainless steel. Called by the press "a scientist of spatial subterfuge, a doctor of dynamics, [and] the crown prince of the circle".
Rivieren is so entranced by the creative possibilities of steel, he regularly truffles the scrap heaps and steelyards of the UAE in search for raw material. Sourcing pieces of recycled steel that have already served a practical purpose, he then painstakingly works his materials through a lengthy, organic transformation, giving them new life in the process and ultimately reforming them into stunning angular shapes that contort, curve, twist and revolve into sculpture.

His work is currently presented at La Galerie Nationale in Dubai in their new show "Art Generation", a joint exhibition by Piero Alessandrini and Arnaud Rivieren. The central focus of the show will be to contrast and draw parallels between the two artists, whose body of work is informed by different eras; Alessandrini is a world-renowned architect and furniture designer who first gained recognition in the sixties, whilst Rivieren has forged a career in the current day. More info...

Arnaud Rivieren, Untitled, steel, triptych 84x30x17cm each, 2012

Giuseppe Bergomi takes over the center of Pietrasanta

The human figure remains at the center of Giuseppe Bergomi's (born in Brescia, 1953) art. The artist pursues, through his paintings and sculptures, his quest of eternal beauty in our daily reality. After winning the prestigious "Premio Pietrasanta e la Versilia nel Mondo" award in 2010, the artist has been offered the Piazza del Duomo (Pietrasanta, Italy) from September 8 to January 6, 2013. Two major bronze and steel installations, curated by Lea Mattarella and Claudio Strinati, are presented to the public for the very first time.
The show continues in the nearby church of Sant-Agostino, where various medium and small bronze and terracotta sculptures are exhibited, along with some early drawings and studies. More info...