Emil Lukas: In Orbit with Untraceable Balance

Piero Atchugarry Gallery presents “In Orbit with Untraceable Balance”, a solo exhibition by American artist Emil Lukas curated by René Morales.

Known for his thread-based “paintings”, Lukas constructs wall-bound works formed by dense meshes of Gütermann thread stretched across nails embedded along the edges of each support. At the back lies a “reflector”, a light-catching surface that redirects ambient rays through the thread, creating shifting optical fields. As the mesh thins toward the centre, sphere-like forms appear to hover before or behind the object, generating an ethereal, unstable presence.

Light becomes the central actor, activated only when the viewer locates the precise vantage point. This search—moving closer, stepping back, adjusting one’s position—turns perception into an unfolding event. Lukas describes this moment of activation as a perturbation, when materiality briefly reveals itself before dissolving again into optical vibration.

The exhibition also introduces small ceramic sculptures formed by compressing clay between the artist’s hands. Bearing the impressions of skin and pressure, these works extend the enquiry into touch, revealing negative spaces shaped by intense bodily force.