BUILDING Gallery presents Before Thunder, After Dark by contemporary artist Leiko Ikemura

BUILDING gallery presents Before Thunder, After Dark, the first solo exhibition by Japanese-Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura to be held in Italy, curated by Frank Boehm. On display from September 4^th to December 23^rd, 2021, on the occasion of Milan Design Week 2021, the project is a broad overview of the work of Ikemura and gathers a selection of 50 artworks realized between the 1980s until today. The exhibition, which unfolds through the gallery's four floors, presents a number of highly significant historical pieces to the public for the very first time, along with more recent works specifically created for BUILDING. Among these, a glass sculpture that was produced in collaboration with some of Venice's oldest, most important glassworks. The exhibition is organised under the patronage of the Consulate General of Japan in Milan and with the collaboration of the ‘Japan in Italy’ cultural association.

Leiko Ikemura's oeuvre is characterised by a complex, haunting visual language. In her works, initially mostly figurative and, in recent years, increasingly abstract, she focuses on humanity and its position in the universe. Female figures, a recurring motif in her work, are mostly portrayed free of any spatial context, set in semi-abstract landscapes that are more emotional than physical in nature. They are the protagonists of timeless images that focus on the contemporary visual perception of the human figure, expressing a personal representation of existential states. Viewing them is an intimate experience that conveys a longing for wholeness.

Ikemura’s expressive universe ranges from drawing to watercolour, painting to photography. She creates sculptures primarily in terracotta, ceramics and bronze, and more recently also in glass. The individual pieces are highly autonomous, and even the small formats exert a strong presence. In the various areas of BUILDING, the works are installed in thematic groups that trace the development of the artist's visual vocabulary, starting with a group of large-format charcoal drawings of the 1980s, shown here for the first time, through the delicate and nuanced shades characterizing the works from the 1990s to the intense, bright colors of the most recent canvases.

The exhibition also includes a glass sculpture created specifically for the occasion. This precious addition to the exhibition sprang from the collaboration between BUILDING and the Venetian artistic glassmaker Berengo Studio on the occasion of the curatorial cycle hosted a year ago at BUILDING BOX, entitled ‘From sand, artworks in glass’.

September 4th - December 23rd, 2021

opening to the public: Saturday, September 4th, 2021, from 10AM to 7PM 

extraordinary openings: September 5th and 6th, 2021, from 10AM to 7PM

BUILDING

via Monte di Pietà 23, Milano

Tue - Sat, 10AM – 7PM