ANGELA HEISCH

Continuing her exploration of natural forms and elemental forces that shape our world, Heisch’s recent abstractions tap into a realm where the boundaries between the internal and external blur.

In her new body of work, the artist explores the internal architecture of living beings. The exhibition’s title, _Chamber_s, alludes to the interior space, both as an architectural volume as well as the internal and bodily experience. This duality of meaning is translated in the painting The Valves, which is reminiscent of the interior of a beating heart; an internal space that is organic and mechanical at the same time. Heisch is interested in the clunkiness and arbitrariness of organic forms and natural systems that are omnipresent yet fragile.

The compositions of these new paintings are zoomed-in, offering a closer look at the intricate details of forms and structures. In some works, such as the small canvas Small Dusk, it almost feels as though we are inside the painted space, where light penetrates the closed-off sections of an interior. Another canvas, The Perch, depicts a large cylinder with a sphere resting on top, which almost feels like a large figure standing before you. The scale of the works enhances the physical experience of viewing.

Central to Heisch’s practice is her fascination with light. Until now, the artist has been paying equally as much attention to the spaces touched by light as to those obscured by darkness. For these new works, she emphasises the unknown spaces and the voids. By highlighting the contours and corners, she delves into the mysterious spaces which are typically opaque. Her use of colour, which is dense, muted and less defined, creates a cavernous sense of space, where only some areas are illuminated while the greater parts remain in darkness.

This new series builds upon Heisch’s interest in abstraction as a framework for exploring and understanding the world. The interior voids and spaces are abstract, yet there is always a focal point that brings the gaze back to the viewer. For Heisch, abstraction is not merely about depiction; it is an active invitation for interpretation and dialogue between the viewer and the work. It removes us from the familiar, stripping away the comfort of recognisable surroundings.

About the artist Angela Heisch (b. 1989, Auckland, NZ) lives and works in the Hudson Valley, NY (US). She received a BA Fine Arts from the University of Potsdam, SUNY, NY (US), in 2011 and an MFA from the University of Albany, SUNY, NY (US), in 2014.

Recent exhibitions include Woman in a Rowboat, The Olivia Foundation, Mexico City (MX); Picnic at Hanging Rock, Chapter II, Sargent’s Daughters, Los Angeles, CA (US); Fruit and Fruition, curated by Angela Heisch, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Abstraction(re)creation - 20 under 40, curated by Franck Gautherot and Seungduk Kim, Le Consortium, Dijon (FR); Wild, curated by Kathy Huang, Metropolitan Museum of Manila (PH); As above, so below, K11 Art Museum, Shanghai (CN); As above, so below, GRIMM, New York, NY (US); Low Speed Highs, Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, London (UK); and All Eyes II, AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam (NL).

Heisch’s work can be found in the collections of the Aïshti Foundation, Beirut (LB); AkzoNobel Art Foundation, Amsterdam(NL); Center of International Contemporary Art, Vancouver (CA); Columbus Museum of Art, OH (US); Fundación Medianoche0, Granada (ES); H+ Museum, Hangzhou (CN); Institute of Contemporary Art, Miami, FL (US); K11 Museum, Shanghai (CN); New Orleans Museum of Art, LA (US); Tel Aviv Museum of Art (IL); The Olivia Foundation, Mexico City (MX); Pond Society, Shanghai (CN); Stedelijk Museum, Amsterdam (NL); The Whitworth, Manchester (UK); and the University of Warwick Art Collection (UK), amongst others.