Hanae Wilke (b. 1985 NL) lives and works in London. For her debut London solo exhibition, Wilke has produced a body of work that explores the complexities of language, playing on the notions attributed to spontaneity and intuition, whilst contemplating the framework of figuration. 

The sculptures in Conduit Slur are produced in heavy, industrial materials including steel & resin, yet they occupy the gallery in a paradoxical manner, eluding an air of elegance. Wilke begins her process by drawing; she produces countless gestural compositions, which are then refined and edited, finally Wilke selects a series that will manifest into physical sculptures or installations. Wilke wants these works to reflect the nature in which they were conceived; the handmade elements, including blemish and error are left raw and exposed. Wilke further expands the element of chance by allowing the pigments in her resin / steel wall works to beed into on another, removing the aspect of control and allowing impulse to contingent the aesthetic of her work. The linear marks that navigate their way throughout the gallery are bold references to the hand and the act of mark making, but also refer to figuration; the suspended sculptures referring to jewellery pendants, the resin as a synthetic skin and the curvature of many of the forms within this show allude to figuration and the absence of the human body. 

Conduit Slur concerns the mechanisms behind scripture and language, and their transcription into physical forms. The prevalent elements of control and spontaneity are embodied within ideas of seduction, desire and anxiety; the way in which Wilke instigates the principal of error, combined her exploration of figuration and removal of the body establishes the presence of these emotions. 

Contribution by Marialuisa Pastò.

Hanae Wilke - Conduit Slur
Kinman Gallery, January 20 - March 5
www.kinmangallery.com