The Molten Inner Core

Solo show at Neumeister Bar-Am Gallery in Berlin

‘This biological material, so to speak, forms the central motif for Rachel de Joode’s first solo exhibition in Europe. In “The Molten Inner Core,” de Joode organically links two- and three-dimensional media into a single web of interconnections. While flesh-colored sculptures, such as the works Sculpted Human Skin in Rock (I & II), 2014, jut boldly out of blocks of stone, and stand freely in the space like collages of cells, the print Achilles, 2014, becomes intimate, depicting a close-up image of the artist’s own ankle. Relations of scale between the various objects emerge as a central theme.
De Joode’s play on classical conventions of sculptural display reaches a high point in the installation White Pedestal Thing, 2013. Here, clay sculptures, serving as pedestals for small, skin-toned ceramic objects, seem, in their organic and bulky way, to be less static than they might first appear. Means of presentation, like pedestals and frames, come to the fore while withdrawing from their original functions—representation is more important than presentation.’
— ARTFORUM critic’s picks read the full article here