Magali Reus Reimagines Trash as Towering Aluminum Art — SkimNews
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- Magali Reus is finalizing sculptures for her show 'Swimming By Night' at the Perimeter in London, working in a studio filled with works in various stages of completion
- Reus's series 'Subs' features sculptures that resemble discarded pizza boxes but are built from aluminum with meticulously ripped and hand-hammered edges, with images of discarded Christmas trees inside them
- Reus's piece 'Rig (All Eyes On)' centers on a blown-up recreation of a candy heart emblazoned with the words 'Let's Hang'
- Reus, born in the Netherlands and based in London, has exhibited at institutions including Kunstverein Freiburg in Freiburg im Breisgau, Germany, and Kunsthalle Wien in Vienna, Austria
- Reus describes her practice as commenting on 'a world of extreme overproduction, consumption and waste' and what she calls a 'quick transaction' understanding of objects
- Reus aims to give objects 'autonomy as objects,' transforming them into 'active agents' that 'refuse to serve us' rather than passive things to be manipulated or cast aside
Why it matters: Reus's show extends her critique of disposable consumer culture into the London gallery circuit, pairing recognizable everyday objects—pizza boxes, candy hearts, Christmas trees—with materially durable, handmade aluminum constructions that force a slower, more deliberate engagement with things most viewers would normally throw away.
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