Elisa Braem: Amarillo Púrpura is on view at Galería Fermay, Palma
March 25 – May 26, 2023
Galería Fermay is pleased to present Amarillo Púrpura, a solo exhibition by Elisa Braem.
Elisa Braem is a sculptor that primarily works with ceramics. The artist finds in the sedimentary nature of the clay a beautiful analogy that takes her to space-time notions and allows her to explore ideas related to the history of cultures. Using such an organic material with such a great amount of traceability enables her to incorporate concepts related to sustainability and the impact of human activities on the environment.
The artist approaches ceramics from a conceptual perspective by combining the medium’s technical possibilities with a poetic, almost anthropological dimension. Through her work, Braem artistically negotiates the reality surrounding her and investigates questions that point to her fascination with human relations with the environment. This exhibition also includes works made on metal which constitutes a move forward in her exploration of the artistic qualities of different materials.
Amarillo Púrpura takes as a starting point the always complex and ever-changing relation between human beings and nature —from the ancestral need of societies to humanize nature through the invention of myths and religions until the domestication of plants and animals. While humanity grew and developed in harmony with the environment, the industrial revolutions and the technological developments that happened from the 17th century onwards meant an unprecedented technological advance that took societies to fantasize about living with their backs to nature. With the current project exhausted and evident environmental damage caused by human activity, we find ourselves in a crucial moment that requires a change toward structures that promote diversity and sustainability.
More specifically, this exhibition takes its inspiration from the natural world; the plants, the flowers, and in its most refined expression, the gardens. The history of the garden is intimately related to the history of humanity—from its historical remains, historians and archeologists extract information about ancient civilizations to understand their level of cultural, economic, and political sophistication. The garden is, without doubt, a repository of privileged information about the capacity of societies to manage natural resources such as water through mathematics and engineering. Of course, it refers to the knowledge of botanics. Gardens are also spaces where ideas about spirituality, religiosity and philosophy have sprung; public or private spaces dedicated to contemplation or leisure with a profound sense of aesthetics.
In this line, there is a clear scenographic element that accompanies us all through the exhibition, a desire that responds to the artist’s wish to imagine a form of a garden in which her sculptures echo from a distance. Like a garden, the elements that conform this presentation function as a unit as well as it keeps its own idiosyncrasy.
Elisa Braem proposes a series of sculptures that, while we can recognize certain attributes such as stems or petals, there are also revealed to us as paradoxical constructions. The result is autonomous forms that follow their internal logic, which is preceded by a process of reflection regarding matter, technique, and concept. In this case, the abstract language is mixed with figurative elements that result in a very fertile realm for plastic experimentation and stimulates the beholder’s imagination. The artist is interested in what is almost imperceptible —a flash of light or the stealthy movement of the plants following diurnal cycles.
Elisa Braem (Ostend, 1991) graduated and took a MA in Sculpture at the Royal Academy of Art and Design en Amberes, Belgium (2015-2016). In 2016 also took an MA in Cultural Theory, Anthropology, Goldsmith, University of London. (UK, 2016). In May 2023, she will take a residency programme at Cerámicas Suro en Guadalajara, México, and in 2021 she was at Guldagergaard International Ceramic Research Center (Denmark). Exhibitions include TACA solo exhibition (Mallorca, Spain, 2022), Terreny, a group exhibition curated by Cristina Ramos (Mallorca, Spain, 2021), Hit Me On The Head I Got Ohh! private showcase curated by Antoni Ferrer (Palma, Spain, 2021), Hangar Lisboa (Portugal, 2019), Internacional Ceramic Bienal, Museum of Manises (Valencia, Spain, 2019).
Contact
info@galeriafermay.com
Galería Fermay
Pare Bartomeu Pou 42
E-07003 Palma
Spain
Photos by Lluís Bort
