NEW YORK, NY.- Lehmann Maupin announced representation of New York-based artist Oren Pinhassi, who creates sensuous sculptures and large-scale installations that explore the politics of architectural spaces as they relate to the human body. His anthropomorphic sculptures, often standing up to eight feet in height, examine individual vulnerability and fluidity within the built environment, probing new possibilities for coexistence.
In September 2024, the gallery will open an In Focus presentation of Pinhassi’s work at our New York gallery. The exhibition comes on the heels of a string of institutional shows in 2023 featuring Pinhassi’s work, including This is a Rehearsal at The Chicago Architecture Biennial and Moveables at ICA Philadelphia. Pinhassi is co-represented by Edel Assanti in London and Commonwealth and Council in Los Angeles.
“Oren’s thought-provoking and visceral works redefine our relationship to our architectural environments and the body, and we’re thrilled to welcome him to our program. In its bold exploration of the built environment, Oren’s work has a strong affinity with our program, and we look forward to sharing his work with our global audiences.” — Jessica Kreps, Partner
Pinhassi, who received his MFA from Yale University in 2014, has developed a distinct visual language that combines the superfluous and ergonomic with the utopian. Mimicking familiar images—such as a palm tree, a shower, or a chaise lounge—Pinhassi’s sculptures break down binary categories between people and objects. This implied borderless polyamory carries a pattern of erotic transmutation that guides the formation of new understandings in which object, architecture, and the body flow seamlessly into one another in free association.
Pinhassi is drawn to organic materials for their shape-shifting potential and works primarily with sand and plaster. Akin to the work of Arte Povera artists, this use of non-traditional materials is an integral part of Pinhassi’s practice. Part of his sculpting process consists of the repetitive layering of burlap, plaster, and sand over welded steel skeletons, revealing the touch of the artist’s hand across every piece. The results are totemic-like figures that collapse preconceived notions of private and public space and our agency within them, heralding a futuristic hybridity.
