Artist: Magali Reus
Exhibition title: Night Plants
Curated by: Nadia Veronese
Venue: Kunstmuseum St. Gallen, St. Gallen, Switzerland
Date: June 3 – October 22, 2017
Photography: © Plastiques Photography, all images copyright and courtesy of the artist, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen and The Approach, London
The Dutch artist Magali Reus (*1981, The Hague) develops complex sculptural works that evoke existing objects such as containers, folding chairs, or horse saddles and make them appear potentially functional.
Due to their idiosyncratic design and nuanced materiality, her objects have a decidedly fetishistic quality. Reus’s working method proves to be extremely detail-oriented. In their refined design, her sculptures seem familiar but at the same time extremely idiosyncratic. They distill formal influences and art-historical references from Minimal and Postminimal Art into multilayered formal combinations that point both to industrial production and personal experience.
Magali Reus, who lives and works in London, has participated in numerous international solo and group exhibitions at venues including the Fondazione Sandretto Re Rebaudengo in Turin, the Westfälischer Kunstverein in Münster, and the Sculpture Center in New York. Her series Parking was previously shown in the exhibition Post/Postminimal in 2014 at the Kunstmuseum St. Gallen. Now, in cooperation the Stedelijk Museum in Amsterdam, this young artist will be presenting her first solo exhibition at a Swiss museum.
Magali Reus, Harlequin Darts, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, perforated, dyed leathers and suedes, hessian, laser cut rubber, metallic leatherette, polyester webbing and rope, rubber dipped threaded steel rod, passivated steel, fixings, 124 x 257 x 118 cm
Magali Reus, Harlequin Darts, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, perforated, dyed leathers and suedes, hessian, laser cut rubber, metallic leatherette, polyester webbing and rope, rubber dipped threaded steel rod, passivated steel, fixings, 124 x 257 x 118 cm
Magali Reus, Night Plants, 2017, exhibition view, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Magali Reus, Night Plants, 2017, exhibition view, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Magali Reus, Propeller E.K., 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, copper powder, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, sand blasted laser cut aluminium, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt engraved wood, upholstered, woven, braided, natural and dyed leathers and suedes, polyester rope, fixings, 124 x 235 x 118 cm
Magali Reus, Night Plants, 2017, exhibition view, Kunstmuseum St. Gallen
Magali Reus, Understudy, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, phosphated and powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, padded and dyed leathers and suedes, linen, padded polyester, cotton, 129 x 269 x 139 cm
Magali Reus, Understudy, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, phosphated and powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, padded and dyed leathers and suedes, linen, padded polyester, cotton, 129 x 269 x 139 cm
Magali Reus, Understudy, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, phosphated and powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, padded and dyed leathers and suedes, linen, padded polyester, cotton, 129 x 269 x 139 cm
Magali Reus, Understudy, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, phosphated and powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, padded and dyed leathers and suedes, linen, padded polyester, cotton, 129 x 269 x 139 cm
Magali Reus, Understudy, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, phosphated and powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled, debossed, laser engraved, screen printed, padded and dyed leathers and suedes, linen, padded polyester, cotton, 129 x 269 x 139 cm
Magali Reus, Arbroath Smokie, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, powder coated aluminium and brass, stapled, debossed, laser engraved dyed leathers and suedes, g outdoor fabrics, zipper, PVC, C-type print, shoe lace, eye bolt, 124 x 235 x 134cm
Magali Reus, Pecan Sleepers, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, iron filings, copper powder, lead shot, jesmonite, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, stapled and laser engraved natural and dyed leathers and suedes, mesh, hessian, denim, cotton, fixings, stainless steel wire, copper ferrules, 122 x 220 x 93 cm
Magali Reus, Hawthorn, 2016, Sprayed plywood, blackened socket bolts, fibreglass, cast, polyester resin, pigments, iron powder, air brushed laser cut steel, phosphated steel, stainless steel wire rope, ferrules and end stops, 120 x 175 x 9.2 cm und 8.5 x 22 x 2.5 cm
Magali Reus, Hawthorn, 2016, Sprayed plywood, blackened socket bolts, fibreglass, cast, polyester resin, pigments, iron powder, air brushed laser cut steel, phosphated steel, stainless steel wire rope, ferrules and end stops, 120 x 175 x 9.2 cm und 8.5 x 22 x 2.5 cm
Magali Reus, Hawthorn, 2016, Sprayed plywood, blackened socket bolts, fibreglass, cast, polyester resin, pigments, iron powder, air brushed laser cut steel, phosphated steel, stainless steel wire rope, ferrules and end stops, 120 x 175 x 9.2 cm und 8.5 x 22 x 2.5 cm
Magali Reus, Toucan Brow, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, aluminium powder, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, phosphated steel rod, magnets, stapled, debossed, embroidered dyed leathers and suedes, quilted ripstop, mesh, perforated polyester, denim, zipper, tinted PVC, 116 x 219 x 120 cm
Magali Reus, Toucan Brow, 2016, Fibreglass and cast polyester resin, pigments, aluminium powder, lead shot, powder coated steel tubing and laser cut steel, blackened socket bolts, washers and nuts, burnt and engraved wood, phosphated steel rod, magnets, stapled, debossed, embroidered dyed leathers and suedes, quilted ripstop, mesh, perforated polyester, denim, zipper, tinted PVC, 116 x 219 x 120 cm