LONDON.- Ronchini Gallery presents ‘O’, the second solo exhibition of works by the artist Adeline de Monseignat at the gallery. ‘O’ explores the multitude of ways in which cycles manifest themselves in nature and mythology including the cycles of life and death, birth and rebirth, the cycle of the seasons and the cycles of fertility and growth. Featuring a video work as well as new marble sculptures and photographic prints, this multi-media exhibition will also continue the artist’s personal investigation into the shape of the sphere as a signifier of infinity and continuity within a cyclical format.
In The Flesh is a series of sculptures that turn the geometric shape of the sphere into a visceral and bodily form by adding a simple crease, or fold, as if it is flesh. This crease embeds itself in the pure, smooth form of the sphere, breaking the bounds of the classical shape, and adding an individualistic and tangible representation of the human form.
The crease on the sculptures is mirrored by the artist’s own body, which is featured in the black and white film by the same title. In the film, the artist represents a female chimera of human flesh, with marble skin which further emphasizes the boundaries beween the human and the inanimate. The artist moves around a stunning marble quarry in the film, which questions the materiality of the organic matter as well as the viewer’s own physicality.
Film stills will be printed to provide a quiet and reflective response to the moving image, yet they are filled with an implied boundless energy that is invoked from the presence of the human form. The cold, rock-hard marble is juxtaposed with the soft and supple female form in an evocative way that can be seen as a more salacious nod to the title of the exhibition.
The sculptures and stills are anchored by the dynamic and powerful Penelope’s Wheel II, a large scale light installation made up of 12 frosted glass globes, or ‘moons’ consecutively glowing one after the other, emulating the passing of time. The title comes from the myth of The Odyssey, where Penelope waited for Ulysses to come back home for 20 years, this piece was made as an homage to her virtue of patience and the themes of hope, frustration and faith.
Adeline de Monseignat (b. 1987, Monaco) is a Dutch-Monegasque artist who lives and works in London and Mexico. She received a BA in Language and Culture from University College London and and MA in Fine Art from City & Guilds of London Art School. She was a winner of the Royal British Society of Sculptors Bursary Award in 2013, and was featured as one of ’40 New Artists in the UK’ by the Catlin Guide. She has been included in numerous important solo and group exhibitions including: L’Attesa, Exchiesetta, Polignano a Mare (solo, 2017); Substance, Mannerheim Gallery, Paris (2017); Sigmund’s Shorts, Freud Museum, London (2016); Beyond Borders, Blain Southern, London (2016); UK/Rain, Saatchi Gallery, London (2015); Home, Ronchini Gallery, London (solo, 2014); L’Origine, Miau Miau Gallery, Buenos Aires, Argentina (2014); Body Boundaries, Radiator Gallery, Long Island, NY (2014); Objectify, High House Gallery, Oxford (2013); and Wild Life, Galerie Im Regierungsviertel, Berlin (2010); amongst many others.
