Heller Gallery is pleased to present Metamorphosis, the gallery’s first solo exhibition introducing new work by Swedish artist Malin Pierre.
Pierre is part of a new group of women artists working with glass in Sweden, whose feminist lens permeates their work. The luscious curves of her vessel-based pieces, some of which are inherently anthropomorphic and suggestive of the female figure, are always juxtaposed with the fragility of glass.
The exhibition focuses on a group of eleven organic glass sculptures inspired by haute couture fashion and its exploration of volume, color and texture. Pierre’s molds are made by encasing soft sewn fabric objects, which she executes in blown glass. She works in an exploratory manner with an intense curiosity for materials, their surfaces, weights and textures.
The billowing forms explore the contrast between soft and hard. In tracing the way glass appears and behaves, the way it transitions from amorphous liquid to a precise imprint of the mold down to the original tactile surface of her sewn positive, Pierre’s pieces evoke soft, voluminous upholstery in the hardened glass, inviting touch and contemplation. Many of her objects are also mirrored, emphasizing subtle sheen and color transitions.
Malin Pierre (Swedish, b. 1977) received her BA from Konstfack University in Stockholm in 2021. Her pieces are made at the Glass Factory in Boda Glasbruk, Sweden. For more than a decade Pierre was a TV and film scenographer and production designer, but in 2017 she turned full time to her art practice. She is currently enrolled in the masters program at her alma mater. Her work has been featured in Young Swedish Design, a 2022 touring exhibition and two solo exhibitions, Glass Couture and Hard Softness have been featured in Stockholm, Gothenburg and Ostersund, Sweden.
MALIN PIERRE | Metamorphosis will be on view to January 14, 2023 at Heller Gallery, 303 Tenth Avenue, NYC.