Artist: Piotr Łakomy
Exhibition title: Chapel
Organized by: Stereo
Venue: ECHO, Cologne, Germany
Date: March 12 – April 23, 2022
Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artist and Stereo
Note: Exhibition floor plan is available here
„Ghosts do not feel wind, rain, or frost – the flesh needs a roof overhead”
– P. Ł.
In his artistic practice, Piotr Łakomy explores the relationship between the human body, architecture, and the environment. The artist uses both organic and industrial materials in his work, often focusing on aluminum honeycomb – a material traditionally used in the aerospace and construction industries which he employs in a way that suggests natural formation. Apart from the formal properties of the honeycomb, Łakomy considers its cellular structure a pattern that symbolizes the potential for dwelling. The artist’s overall interest in architecture relates to the basic forms of shelter – by using ostrich eggs, which frequently appear in his work, Łakomy refers to the sphere as a fundamental architectural form.
“Chapel” features a suite of new works by the artist, which are a continuation, development, and supplement of his previous solo exhibitions. The essence of Łakomy’s work seems to be the slow build-up of threads and relationships that make up one common narrative. This accumulation is reflected in the formal aspects of his new works, which are denser and more complex than ever. They also seem to be more connected to the earth, most likely due to the use of concrete. One of the works includes a small drone found by the artist under a tree in a park. A broken mechanical bird. Deeply interested in combining the natural and the artificial, Łakomy constructed his chapel-like work for and over this object. After all, the artist designs refuge architecture for the vulnerable, hurt, and weak „clients” – both vertical and horizontal, living and dead.
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Piotr Łakomy (b.1983) lives and works in Poznań, PL. Recent solo exhibitions include Le Creux de L’enfer, Thiers, FR, 2021; GGM, Gdańsk, PL, 2021; Stereo, Warsaw, PL, 2021; Simian, Copenhagen, DK, 2020; Koenig 2, Vienna, AT, 2020; SKALA, Poznań, PL, 2020; Avant-Garde Institute, Warsaw, PL, 2019; Centre for Contemporary Art FUTURA, Prague, CZ, 2019; The Sunday Painter, London, UK, 2019. Selected group exhibitions include The Living House, Kunstverein Braunschweig, DE, 2022; Who Are We Are Who, Braunsfelder Family Collection, Cologne, DE, 2021; Harvest the crust from your eyes, Slash, San Francisco, USA, 2020; Metamorphosis. Art in Europe Now, Foundation Cartier, Paris, FR, 2019; Orient, Kim Contemporary Art Center, Riga, Latvia, LV, 2018; Half-Truth, Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture, Warsaw, PL, 2017; Views Art Prize, Deutsche Bank Foundation Award, Zachęta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, PL, 2015; Private Settings, Museum of Modern Art Warsaw, PL, 2014.
