Esther Kläs As of Now

“Now is life very solid or very shifting? I am haunted by the two contradictions. This has gone on forever; goes down to the bottom of the world—this moment I stand on.” —Virginia Woolf

The title of Esther Kläs’ fourth exhibition with the gallery — As of Now — hints at a similar kind of duality, or threshold. Things that are fixed, but which could also shift. A phrase that, on the one hand, means the here and now, but on the other, change and possibility. The idea that, henceforth, things can be different. Today and tomorrow, encapsulated in three brief words.

Esther Kläs’ sculptures are still and restrained but ultimately informed by movement. As is typical of her practice, these are multipartite works in precise spatial configurations. They operate on three levels: the elements are in a relationship with each other, the space, and the dynamic presence of the viewer. As of Now showcases the new trajectories in Kläs’ sculptural thinking, most notably an expansion and deepening of her interest in repetition, movement, time, division and difference. color is composed of eight panels. They stand in pairs, arranged by shape and colour, similar yet distinct and recognisable as a group. Leaning against the wall as if waiting, as though they have just been finished, or are in a provisional state. The title ‘color’ is a humorous, self-evident reference that conjures up a sense of belonging.

future/now and reflections were aluminium casts from earlier, unused resin sculptures that were subsequently cut into two or three sections. The parts are arranged in the order of cutting, one in front of the other. By reusing or undoing a previous form, the artist questions her own thought- processes. It also engenders change, a re-configuring of a work’s inherent possibilities. Letting the sculpture reflect itself by its own confrontation. The movement of these stable sculptures is multidirectional. connect, to be is the largest work in the exhibition. It consists of two painted canvases, one on the wall and another, smaller one on the floor. The two parts are connected by sticks. The cast canes leaning against the wall seem to correspond with the marks in the work, while intersecting the very similar ones on the floor. Through resemblances and multiplied elements, the artist makes us aware of the detailed complexity in connect, to be. Manifesting the link between condition and proposition.