黑料不打烊

A skilled and imaginative storyteller, Klara Kristalova draws inspiration from music, current events, and her daily surroundings to create figurative ceramic works that often mirror imagery from myths and old folk tales, and address themes surrounding oppression, anxiety and the sub-conscious. Exuding both an innocence and horror, Kristalova's uncanny sculptures portray adolescent girls and boys, often marked with exaggerated features or in the midst of transformation, and bring to mind memories of childhood fantasy, dreams and nightmares. 

Through the medium of ceramic, described by Kristalova as having once been 鈥渟een as a low material, and not serious enough, especially when glazed,鈥� the artist forms micro worlds with her sculptural figures and 鈥渞elates to a sculpture tradition that has its roots several hundred years in the past. In this tradition the three dimensional artwork is seen as a means of three dimensionally 鈥榚ducating鈥� the viewer in a realm inhabited by both the viewer and the artwork simultaneously through their common physical relationship to the room,鈥� as noted by art critic Anders Olofsson. For her exhibition at Lehmann Maupin, Kristalova presents new works in various mediums including ceramic, bronze, and works on paper in a setting envisioned to reflect the artist鈥檚 concept of an unsettling space. Kristalova has crafted the environment to create a surreal atmosphere that places viewers in a flux between a dreamy and surreal place, and an ordinary space where conversations and interactions occur. To achieve this effect, the artist has focused on lighting and has furnished the gallery with second hand furniture found at local flea markets.