The work of Micol Assaël explores physical phenomena and forces and their interaction with the human experience. Her sculptures and immersive installations act upon the cognitive and sensory response of the viewer, and involve the visitor in unpredictable and often uncomfortable situations, imposing and provoking physical and psychological reactions.
Coming from a background in philosophy and fascinated by natural phenomena and technological theories and machineries, Assaël's work investigates the characteristics of the matter in relation to the human being. Often characterized by a minimal aesthetic and a severe simplicity, her works play with notions of tension, resistance and limit, and open the door to mental landscapes, visions and expectations.
Maybe Tomorrow (Riley) was commissioned and originally shown as part of the artist's residency at Artpace, San Antonio in 2013. The sculpture belongs to a series of works that investigates electric and magnetic fields in an attempt to make these normally invisible forces tangible. Magnetic ceramic tiles are joined in an alternating pattern of positive and negative poles in order to build a strong unified field. Traces of a human presence and his ascending interaction with gravity are revealed.
The exhibition also includes a group of drawings from the series malogavaritnaya radioapparatura, realized between 2001 and 2003 on the pages of a Russian radiotechnics textbook, as a repetitive exercise and an intimate daily exploration of the borders between the states of sleep and consciousness. The association of these works, realized in different times, suggests the idea of an asymmetrical relationship.
This is Micol Assaël’s first solo exhibition in New York.
Micol Assaël currently lives and works in Greece. Her work has been presented in solo exhibitions at Hangar Bicocca, Milan (2014), Museion, Bolzano/Bozen, Italy (2010), Secession, Vienna, Kunsthalle Fridericianum, Kassel, Palais de Tokyo, Paris (2009), Basel Kunsthalle, Basel (2007). She was included in the Sydney Biennale and São Paolo Biennale (2008), Berlin Biennale (2006), Moscow Biennale (2005), Manifesta (2004), and the Venice Biennale (2003 and 2005).