An ode to contemporary sculpture
This week, I'm sharing 5 artists whose work can be enjoyed by all.
Reading time: about 4 minutes.
Earlier this week, a couple of friends came over for dinner. At a certain point in the evening, the conversation made its way into art and I was asked to share some pieces I’ve enjoyed.
This one came to mind.
I saw it at a fair and it took me by surprise, I loved its playful nature and ease. What’s not to enjoy about a vase turned on its head? No further explanation needed, just the chance to see an ubiquitous, familiar object in a new and unexpected way.
A lot of contemporary art makes you feel like you have to be an insider to get it. Then, there are the pieces that are immediately fun, accessible, engaging. While I appreciate both of those categories, this week I’d like to focus on the latter.
In the past few years, throughout the art I’ve seen in fairs, museums and galleries, I’ve seen a lot of playful sculptures that have stuck with me. Ceramic seems to be a very versatile medium.
So, I wanted to round up some personal favorites and share them with you. (Dinner will not be provided.)
While putting this list together I reached out to Katayoun Pedrami, whose gallery represents some of the most intriguing contemporary sculptors I’ve come across (like Eileen Cohen Sussholz and Tarek Shabout, whose work you’ll see below).
I asked her if other visitors passing by Pedrami Gallery’s booth at a fair have the reactions I’ve had. It seems they do:
“What I find compelling is how the initial shock or surprise of their pieces draws people in — but then the more you engage with the work, the more you appreciate how seamlessly the artist’s power of visualization and performance come together.”
“Collectors, I believe, appreciate artwork that invites questions, sparking curiosity and conversation. Many collectors take pride in presenting pieces that challenge conventional perceptions.”
She makes a good point. While the upside down vase is a beautiful, pleasing object to look at, I am more intrigued by knowing that someone had this idea — and then proceeded to execute it.
After looking at it more up close, I noticed its entire weight lies squarely on a couple of tulip heads, placed facing straight down, in the middle, concealed by the rest of the flowers around them — making it look overall like it’s floating on air.
There’s still plenty I haven’t seen, mind you, but here are 5 artists whose work I’ve loved so far.
Tony Matelli
This is the same guy who made the upside down vase. These weeds were on show at Art Brussels, the contemporary art fair that takes place here every April.
You can see its placement here: near the left wall, emerging out of the ground like a true weed in the wild. Except unlike weeds you might come across while hiking, this one was on sale.
Eileen Cohen Sussholz
What’s a coat hanger doing next to a ball and a swimming fin and a bike helmet? We don’t know, but they’re fun to look at. It looks like that pile of stuff gathering dust in your basement.
Eileen moved to Belgium from South Africa some twenty years ago and loved it so much she stayed. I’ve seen a few different versions of these batches of hers, and there’s always something unexpected about them.
Carole Feuerman
Look she’s wet! Because she just came out of the pool! But she didn’t really, because she’s not real. She’s a sculpture!
I love it so much. This type of hyperrealism is always mesmerizing to see in person. Carole Feuerman is an American sculptor who does smaller pieces like this one, as well as oversized swimmers often placed outdoors.
I encountered this lady while visiting the private collection of Galila Barzilai, which you can visit too when it will be open to the public again on October 12th (tour tickets here).
Tarek Shabout
One of these looks like a cardboard box with cut pieces of paper, the other looks like a teapot with saucers and cups placed atop a newspaper, on top of another cardboard box.
But it’s all ceramic, baby. It’s glossy and cold to the touch.
What struck me about this piece, aside from the material-that-looks-like-another-material effect, is the level of detail involved. You can see the artist added a label, some scotch tape on the side and that part on the right, where the box is coming undone.
Absolutely brilliant.
Isabel Ritter
If I’d seen these a few years ago I might not have appreciated them as much, but now I really do like them and could see myself putting a few of these up on my walls — perhaps a bowl of untangled bananas in the kitchen?
I got to hold one of these, and they are extremely heavy.
To me, these pieces represent the essence of contemporary art: challenging norms; finding a new way of looking at something that’s been around forever. Making the ordinary intriguing.
Contemporary art is about the imagination, the idea behind the piece rather than the final result.
The artists I’ve listed here all had an idea that was out of the ordinary, and I find that both admirable and fascinating.
What’s going on?
Art on Paper, the drawing fair bringing together art from both inside and outside Belgium, is happening next weekend.
Museum Night Fever, that one night a year when museums are open late and they bring in DJs and the world is a better place, is happening October 19th.
Olivia Laing, one of my favorite art writers, is coming to speak at the Bozar to promote her new book on October 21st.
Villa Empain just opened a new exhibit on Pierre Alechinsky, taking visitors through the body of work of one of the most admired abstract artists in modern art history.
The Royal Museum in Antwerp just opened a new exhibit on Belgian painter James Ensor, which I’ve already heard good things about.
Enjoy your weekends,
Ana