This exhibition spotlights the ambivalent nature of objects. Four artists draw attention to objects in their physical evidence, as they are. But surface and appearance are only the beginning. Looking at the works prompts us to question whether there is such a thing as a true nature of objects or materials.
The motifs in the works of Lia Kazakou (Greece, 1980) at first seem clear and identifiable – fragments of clothing, the front view of a dress, a single sleeve, the folds around two buttons. Yet the way the artist portrays the items imbues them with ambiguity. The framing is very specific, with a “harsh” cut that highlights the abstraction of the work, the way the lines develop, or the shadows that are cast. Kazakou is based in Thessaloniki and regularly shows her work in exhibitions in Greece and Germany.
One of the paintings by Jenny Eden (United Kingdom, 1978) is called Hunebed – after the Dutch word for dolmen – as a way of suggesting a tomb-like chamber. The central area shows a ruptured space that could represent animal or human innards, a dissection opening out and tunneling backwards. Yet other ways of reading the figuration are also possible, an important quality of the painting. It never comes to rest, instead presenting a shape in motion, and it is full of contradictions in terms of psychology, being gentle and raw at once. Eden is a lecturer at the Manchester School of Art, and she is co-director of Oceans Apart, a gallery in Salford dedicated to contemporary painting.
For José Heerkens (The Netherlands, 1950), the horizontal has always been important in the composition of a painting, not just for orientation and balance, but also to evoke a sense of freedom and to create space to breathe. She is not so much interested in the illusion of depth (as through a horizon in a landscape), but rather in opening up the work to make it wide and generous. In her practice, the artist looks at how colors in different gradations or combinations work together on the surface. Heerkens works both on life-size canvases and on small-size panels like those in this exhibition. She aims to present color as purely as possible, without leading viewers to think about specific objects,figures, or landscapes. Colour: Free and Connected, an important retrospective of her work, was shown in the Kröller Müller Museum in The Netherlands in 2023.
As a painter, Paula Zarina-Zemane (Latvia, 1988) has an interest in landscape and the human figure, but at the same time, she values painting in a more abstract sense, as a play of forms and colors. The movement involved in the process of making a painting, with the speed it suggests and the depth or flatness it evokes, is part of what she wants to show. Both deliberate actions and accidents play a role. In recent years, Zarina has expanded her practice from canvas and wood panels to ceramics, further developing the oval forms we know from her paintings. Based in Riga, Zarina-Zemane has shown her works across Europe.
In an era of high digital-image consumption, the four artists in this exhibition invite us to regain interest in the physical qualities of the world that surrounds us. Touch and tactility are essential in connecting us with the environment and contributing to our understanding of life.
Things as They Are, curated by Jurriaan Benschop, will unfold in two parts. Part 1 is on view from 18 July through 15 September at Jenny up the Hill on Syros, Greece. Part 2 is on view from 18 September till 10 November, 2025. Artist talks are planned for 6 and 9 November.