Leiko Ikemura: Before Thunder, After Dark
The first solo exhibition by Japanese - Swiss artist Leiko Ikemura to be held in Italy
The project is a broad overview of the work of Ikemura and gathers a selection of 50 artworks realized between the 1980s until today.
The exhibition, which unfolds through the gallery’s four floors, presents a number of highly significant historical pieces to the public for the very first time, along with more recent works specifically created for BUILDING. Among these, a glass sculpture that was produced in collaboration with some of Venice’s oldest, most important glassworks.
Leiko Ikemura’s oeuvre is characterized by a complex, haunting visual language. In her works, initially mostly figurative and, in recent years, increasingly abstract, she focuses on humanity and its position in the universe. Female figures, a recurring motif in her work, are mostly portrayed free of any spatial context, set in semi-abstract landscapes that are more emotional than physical in nature. They are the protagonists of timeless images that focus on the contemporary visual perception of the human figure, expressing a personal representation of existential states. Viewing them is an intimate experience that conveys a longing for wholeness.
