Opening: Saturday, 28 October 16:00 - 19:00
TORCH
proudly presents the seventh solo exhibition by Popel Coumou. Over
the past 15 years, Popel's body of work has followed a steady
trajectory, where every next step makes sense in her development yet
surprises everyone who follows her. Her latest works take different
forms, with photographs in small editions existing next to unique
collages, with or without the addition of plexiglass or natural foam.
With every new addition to her artistic universe, Popel widens her
scope and further plays with the viewer's perception. How much
spatiality can be suggested using only the simplest resources,
materials and tools?
Popel has mostly let go of the concept of
presenting the photograph as the end product, but photography is
still part of every single artwork. The layers out of which she
builds her latest interiors are made up of images of skies. These
cause natural colour gradients and create an illusion of depth, while
the texture in the paper itself is clearly visible. With the collages
made up of these sheets of paper, she dissects the very idea that an
image should represent reality. The honesty in her deliberately
imperfect artworks allows the viewer to see beyond their inherent
nature and appreciate where the forms take you. To
further diffuse the borders between reality and fiction, figuration
and abstraction, Popel's relief works break through the flat surface
and penetrate the third dimension.
About
the Artist
Popel
Coumou (1978) is a Dutch photography-based artist living and working
in Amsterdam. She is represented by TORCH Gallery in Amsterdam. Since
she graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2004, she has been
exhibiting her work worldwide. In 2020, she exhibited at Fotomuseum
Den Haag and won the Meijburg Art Commission. TORCH brought a solo
presentation to Unseen in 2023.
Popel
is currently in a duo exhibition with Tamar Frank at Museum
Hilversum. 'Light Spaces' is on view until 26 November.
