WHITE RIB, 2022, Handbuilt stoneware, mixed material, 150 x 110 x 50 cm. Photo Anna Sigge. @fotografannasigge
EVA HILD STERNUM 18.8 – 17.9 2022
OPENING 18 AUGUST 5-8 PM @ HUDIKSVALLSGATAN 6, STOCKHOLM
GSA Gallery is proud to present Eva Hild’s solo exhibition – STERNUM – showcasing the newest and most ambitious developments within her recognizable sculptural practice, alongside a new facet, comprised of textiles and ink on plaster works.
STERNUM – a title chosen by the artist – is an anatomical term, synonymous to breastbone: a long, flat bone located in the central part of the chest and part of the rib cage, thus protecting the heart, lungs, and larger blood vessels. Hild perceives it as the centre of the body, not only physically but also emotionally. As such, while her visual vocabulary is organic and generally non-figurative, the personal experience of a broken sternum acted as both a literal and metaphorical starting point for this exhibition. As always in Hild’s practice, experiences feed into initial ideas, while these crystallize and develop fully only once she tackles the clay and has a physical encounter with the material.
Even though the artist works in various materials, the viewer might be most familiar with either white or black stoneware pieces. To put forward Hild’s range, our presentation brings together an array of materials, scales, and manners of display, including large stainless-steels and hand-built stoneware sculptures from different series (Ribs, Spines, Holes). Alongside the three-dimensional works, a selection of textiles and ink on plaster pieces complete the universe designed by Hild for the viewer. These wall-mounted plasters and textiles are on display for the first time. They appear as an extension of Hild’s sculptural practice, their expressions being closely linked.
An essential aspect in understanding these visually sublime works is that none are clearly narrative but are informed by an amalgam of past experiences; however, some, like the torso pieces, can become more descriptive. The latter is explained by Hild’s broken sternum – during the recovery period, she encountered physical limitations that forced her to work on the floor, with flatter, widespread forms. The round-shaped sculptures range between calmer or more powerful variations, enclosing different types of cavities, wave motions, or bumps – always in an idea of dualism between volume and void, inside and outside, content and form, feeling and shape, impression, and expression.
Regardless of the medium, the artist’s working process is always slow and meditative – she has previously called her works “emotional self-portraits”. Furthermore, all works “exist” in a type of constant flow, where each appears as a continuation of previous ones, and all are open to interpretation. The various cavities, bumps, round shapes – they offer endless possibilities.
We warmly invite you to come and discover the diversity of perforated coils, ovoid folds, concave, pulled and stretched spherical surfaces, torso and rib shapes, dyed and handsewn fabrics, and ink-painted plasters – all executed with unimaginable technique and precision.
