Kris Lemsalu
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Kris Lemsalu (born 1985, Tallinn) is a contemporary artist based in Tallinn, Estonia and Vienna, Austria. She studied art at the Estonian Academy of Arts, the Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, and the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna. Eccentric with color and material, she uses props, costumes, and other natural materials to portray her artwork. In these installations, Lemsalu sculpts an installation that "gives birth to a world of shamanic force, visionary weirdness, and collective revival."[1] By playing with traditions, Lemsalu blurs the origin and scenically removes their dogma.[2] She avoids "concrete labeling, simultaneously showing us the absurdity of as well as the effectiveness of rituals. From this collective transformative euphoria emerges a belief in the possibility of human redemption."[2] "A punk pagan trickster feminist sci-fi shaman, Kris Lemsalu gathers together both collected and crafted objects into totemic sculptures and hallucinatory environments, animated with performances by the artist and her coterie of collaborators;" her work being shown in many places, including Berlin, Copenhagen and Tokyo.[1] In 2015, she participated in Frieze Art Fair New York, where her work Whole Alone 2 was selected among of five best exhibits by the Frieze New York jury.[3]
Lemsalu attained a bachelor's degree in the ceramics department in 2008 at the Estonian Academy of Arts in Tallinn. During 2009–2010 she studied at The Royal Danish Academy of Fine Arts, Department of Design in Copenhagen, and during 2010–2014 at the Academy of Fine Arts Vienna.[4][5] With this education, she developed a political approach in her art which centers "around the harmonious integration of the individual with their surroundings."[6] Integrating her studies, Lemsalu can be found experimenting with traditional techniques to create multilayered works. Her staged installations combine delicate porcelain sculptures cast as animal and human body parts or objects of clothing with found natural materials like fur, leather or wool. Furthermore, her objects of choice mix sculpted ceramic parts and hand-sewn draping with all the matter in consumer society such as CDs, flowers, baskets, boots, clothes, balloons, car doors, pocket change, paint, etc. – with no end to the list. There is an accent in each of her pieces which is the focus of "a narrative haunted by the past presence of a body."[6] These can act as self-sufficient narratives, or alternatively as a stage for Lemsalu's performances, the sculptures sometimes becoming a part of her costumes and props. For her recent works, the artist collaborated with musicians adding a further element to her performances.[7]
Career
Lemsalu's ouvre is eccentric and independent, she creates abstract objects and figures to communicate inner states of mind and elaborate on the human condition in the modern, challenging world. "Her practice reflects the same bricolage of references and materials as her polymorphous, interspecies, transgender punk personnage."[6] She is known in Estonia and internationally.[8]
Lemsalu uses porcelain, fur, wool, textile, plastic, silicone, ready-mades as the material of her work. Lemsalu's work displays attention to color, and effects of the surface, an interest in archetypical and symbolic motives, and also an ironic and reflexive relationship to her medium, with scenographic and absurd humor.[9] Her art includes self-portraits and photo scenes in addition to her abstract sculptures. Her artistic message is focused on the individual and the existential reaction of the individual towards the world.[10]
Aside from installations, musical performances also play an important part in Lemsalu's oevre. For example, “Going Going” at the Performa biennial in New York (2017), “In Heaven Everything is Fine” in KOKO, London (2017), “The Birth of Venus” (2010) and collaboration with art group Gelitin. In public Lemsalu often appears costumized. The documentation of her installations and costumes are published in “Kris Lemsalu” (published by Temnikova & Kasela gallery, 2015) and "Kris Lemsalu. Birth V – Hi and Bye" (published by Estonian Centre for Contemporary Art, 2019).
Venice Biennale
Kris Lemsalu's exhibition "Birth V – Hi and Bye" was at the Estonian pavilion in Venice biennale 2019. Lemsalu characterized the city of Venice "as a living creature, perpetually decadent and yet endlessly revived."[11] Unlike her earlier works in which Lemsalu focused on engaging death as the main topic, in her Venice Biennale show, she was "more concerned with life – although death wears a carnival mask in Venice anyway."[12] During this time, Lemsalu worked along with group of people including "the curator Maria Arusoo, the poet Andrew Berardini, the mentor Sarah Lucas, the researcher Irene Campolmi, her friend/collaborator Tamara Luuk and performers who brought the inaugural ritual to life during the opening of the Biennale."[13]
Awards
- 2020 Grand Prize, Cultural Endowment of Estonia
- 2016 'Artist's salary' – Ministry of Culture of Estonia 3-year long grant supporting artists at their creative peak
