BECK & EGGELING is pleased to present the dual exhibition IDENTITIES featuring sculptures by GEHARD DEMETZ and paintings by DESMOND LAZARO, on view from 17 November 2020.

A deep understanding of their medium and true knowledge of art and craft traditions are characteristic of both artists' work. For both, a spiritually rooted tradition is the starting point for the formulation of a contemporary, secular language in art.

Both artists originally seek inspiration in the beauty of the vernacular. Demetz's wooden sculptures of children carry everyday objects which the artist imbues with symbolic meaning. Lazaro's work isolates everyday objects and scenes and presents them in all richness of detail.

Demetz is aware of his roots. He was born in 1972, in Bolzano and still lives in his native Val Gardena, the valley in the Dolomites, known as cradle of wood carving art.

Lazaro, born 1968 in Leeds, grew up in Northern England. His family of Indian origin has been migrating for generations. As a young adult, he sets off on a search of his roots. Indian miniature painting became his form of artistic expression.

Lazaro's journey in the footsteps of his ancestors finally leads the artist to the archives, public and private, of his own family history. In 2019, during a stay in Cambridge he devoted himself to the experiences of other migrants for the first time. He asked local families from Bangladesh, Chile, Hungary and the USA to tell him their stories through personal documents and mementos. Four poetically subtle and detailed tableaux in the exhibition trace these stories.

Demetz, on the other hand, in his work raises questions about migration and its consequences for people, culture and identity from the perspective of the observer. He combines the familiar with the completely unknown by letting his child figures merge with Far Eastern iconographies. Just as the works of Demetz reveal a masterly technique with which he transfers the softness and suppleness of modelling into hard wood, at the same time they reveal a formulation of a new symbiosis of two different formal languages.

Differences and similarities in their biographies and artistic works create an exciting juxtaposition in the exhibition. The distinctness of pieces presented within each oeuvre further enhances the presentation.

Experience the virtual visit here.

Press release courtesy Beck & Eggeling International Fine Art.