Alicja Kwade: Silent Matter

Inspired by philosophy and natural phenomena as a means to explore the human condition, Alicja Kwade has embarked on a singular artistic journey. In her first solo exhibition in Mexico, Silent Matter, Kwade employs the notion of thought experiments, a tool commonly used in science and philosophy as a means to explore concepts and phenomena that are difficult or almost impossible to explain.

Presented in a human scale, the works range from contemplating the ever-expanding universe to the infinitesimal subatomic realm. Kwade, who is constantly searching for new materials, journeyed to Mexico to develop her latest works for this exhibition. Fascinated by obsidian because of its historic relevance, material properties and reflective qualities, Kwade places desk lamps up against the polished volcanic rock to create a luminous depiction of celestial bodies surrounded by the dark vacuum of space. Continuing with the unimaginably large, celestial bodies and their movement are represented in a series of mobiles suspended from the ceiling. Depicting what Kwade often playfully points out, that we are quite simply sitting on a rock floating in space.