Liste 2021
Kira Freije
Kira Freije
Kira Freije links the material language and process of sculpture-making to written poetic structure. Meaning occurs through sculptural constellations of the universally recognisable and memory driven; the figure, the domestic, the natural world. Permeating all these subjects is the feeling of desire concealed. The complexities of intimacy, faith, power and protection inherent in ideas of the ‘invisible’ are searched for and sharpened through the work.
The poses of Freije’s figures are often theatrical and evocative, however, the interrelation between her figures is ambiguous. The unsettling qualities to Freije’s constellations are, in part, due to the visitor oscillating between a witness and accomplice. Very much like in theatre, Freije’s installation and scenography hints at an outside world but her figures are either sheltered by or trapped within their stage.
In Freije’s sculptures, similar to poetry, there is an inherent ambiguity: A word can change its meaning in shifting contexts. Freije’s sculptures follow a similar logic, each figure functions like a comma or hyphen and their meaning tilts depending on the viewer’s proximity and complicity with them.
This presentation is exemplary of Freije’s practice and presents her fascination with long established material practices such as; metal casting, forging and glass blowing. For Freije, materiality is inextricably linked to subject matter. Her forms champion human complexity and relations. They are simultaneously fast and slow, extroverted and sheltered, and endeavour to convey a very simple pertinent opinion of the artist: an individual harbours the power to change and directly affect their surroundings.
Created specifically in response to Freije’s presentation at Liste, writer and poet Vanessa Onwuemezi reads her new poem BE OVERCOME. Vanessa Onwuemezi is interested in expanding the reach of the prose form through collaboration. Onwuemezi’s work has appeared in Prototype, frieze and Five Dials. Her story At the Heart of Things won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Dark Neighbourhood, Onwuemezi’s first collection of short stories, will come out this October with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
The poses of Freije’s figures are often theatrical and evocative, however, the interrelation between her figures is ambiguous. The unsettling qualities to Freije’s constellations are, in part, due to the visitor oscillating between a witness and accomplice. Very much like in theatre, Freije’s installation and scenography hints at an outside world but her figures are either sheltered by or trapped within their stage.
In Freije’s sculptures, similar to poetry, there is an inherent ambiguity: A word can change its meaning in shifting contexts. Freije’s sculptures follow a similar logic, each figure functions like a comma or hyphen and their meaning tilts depending on the viewer’s proximity and complicity with them.
This presentation is exemplary of Freije’s practice and presents her fascination with long established material practices such as; metal casting, forging and glass blowing. For Freije, materiality is inextricably linked to subject matter. Her forms champion human complexity and relations. They are simultaneously fast and slow, extroverted and sheltered, and endeavour to convey a very simple pertinent opinion of the artist: an individual harbours the power to change and directly affect their surroundings.
Created specifically in response to Freije’s presentation at Liste, writer and poet Vanessa Onwuemezi reads her new poem BE OVERCOME. Vanessa Onwuemezi is interested in expanding the reach of the prose form through collaboration. Onwuemezi’s work has appeared in Prototype, frieze and Five Dials. Her story At the Heart of Things won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Dark Neighbourhood, Onwuemezi’s first collection of short stories, will come out this October with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
20.09.21—26.09.21
Messe Basel, Hall 1.1, Messepl. 10, 4005 Basel, Switzerland
> Installation views
Kira Freije links the material language and process of sculpture-making to written poetic structure. Meaning occurs through sculptural constellations of the universally recognisable and memory driven; the figure, the domestic, the natural world. Permeating all these subjects is the feeling of desire concealed. The complexities of intimacy, faith, power and protection inherent in ideas of the ‘invisible’ are searched for and sharpened through the work.
The poses of Freije’s figures are often theatrical and evocative, however, the interrelation between her figures is ambiguous. The unsettling qualities to Freije’s constellations are, in part, due to the visitor oscillating between a witness and accomplice. Very much like in theatre, Freije’s installation and scenography hints at an outside world but her figures are either sheltered by or trapped within their stage.
In Freije’s sculptures, similar to poetry, there is an inherent ambiguity: A word can change its meaning in shifting contexts. Freije’s sculptures follow a similar logic, each figure functions like a comma or hyphen and their meaning tilts depending on the viewer’s proximity and complicity with them.
This presentation is exemplary of Freije’s practice and presents her fascination with long established material practices such as; metal casting, forging and glass blowing. For Freije, materiality is inextricably linked to subject matter. Her forms champion human complexity and relations. They are simultaneously fast and slow, extroverted and sheltered, and endeavour to convey a very simple pertinent opinion of the artist: an individual harbours the power to change and directly affect their surroundings.
Created specifically in response to Freije’s presentation at Liste, writer and poet Vanessa Onwuemezi reads her new poem BE OVERCOME. Vanessa Onwuemezi is interested in expanding the reach of the prose form through collaboration. Onwuemezi’s work has appeared in Prototype, frieze and Five Dials. Her story At the Heart of Things won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Dark Neighbourhood, Onwuemezi’s first collection of short stories, will come out this October with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
The poses of Freije’s figures are often theatrical and evocative, however, the interrelation between her figures is ambiguous. The unsettling qualities to Freije’s constellations are, in part, due to the visitor oscillating between a witness and accomplice. Very much like in theatre, Freije’s installation and scenography hints at an outside world but her figures are either sheltered by or trapped within their stage.
In Freije’s sculptures, similar to poetry, there is an inherent ambiguity: A word can change its meaning in shifting contexts. Freije’s sculptures follow a similar logic, each figure functions like a comma or hyphen and their meaning tilts depending on the viewer’s proximity and complicity with them.
This presentation is exemplary of Freije’s practice and presents her fascination with long established material practices such as; metal casting, forging and glass blowing. For Freije, materiality is inextricably linked to subject matter. Her forms champion human complexity and relations. They are simultaneously fast and slow, extroverted and sheltered, and endeavour to convey a very simple pertinent opinion of the artist: an individual harbours the power to change and directly affect their surroundings.
Created specifically in response to Freije’s presentation at Liste, writer and poet Vanessa Onwuemezi reads her new poem BE OVERCOME. Vanessa Onwuemezi is interested in expanding the reach of the prose form through collaboration. Onwuemezi’s work has appeared in Prototype, frieze and Five Dials. Her story At the Heart of Things won the White Review Short Story Prize in 2019. Dark Neighbourhood, Onwuemezi’s first collection of short stories, will come out this October with Fitzcarraldo Editions.
