Stalke Galleri presented a joint exhibition with Ian Schjals and Dove Bradshaw.

In his new works from the preceding three years, during which he had received a grant from the Danish Arts Foundation, Ian Schjals carefully constructed surfaces with a relief-like character and a color palette of tertiary earth tones. His images evoked associations with dried-up rivers, desert landscapes, geological strata, and ancient masonry, all marked by the ravages of time. The works delved into foundational matter, addressing the essence of life’s origins and what remains after its conclusion. They also gestured toward an electron-microscopic universe in which stars are born and explode. A meditative space was opened, rooted in the quiet infinity of the universe, reminding viewers that humanity was not the center of the world but part of a greater whole. Schjals’ artworks spoke to a need for focus, concentration, and stillness.

Dove Bradshaw’s works, presented under the title Self-Interest, likewise explored material significance and processes that transcended the individual and addressed universal human existence, deeply anchored in spiritual self-understanding. Self-Interestconsisted of a glass table holding Pyrex flasks, each containing elements of the human body. The size of the flasks corresponded to the percentage of each element found in the body. As a stark and revealing image of humanity as a biochemical organism, the work appeared simultaneously beautiful in its minimalist simplicity and profoundly thought-provoking.

Bradshaw also presented new photographs, revisiting her ongoing interest in the egg as a symbol of origin, protection, and fragility, along with several stones from her continuing series Indeterminacy.

Ian Schjals and Dove Bradshaw, joint exhibition, installation view, Stalke Galleri, Copenhagen, 2004.

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