LENE DESMENTIK

 

Delimitations are a recurring theme in Lene Desmentik’s works – particularly the wall as an idea and concept. The wall has played an essential historical and cultural role within the realms of architecture and art alike. Desmentik’s practice encompasses installation art and site-specific works, sculpture and drawings in which she forges a link between the processes and craftsmanship that underpin the execution of her works. Brick walls, burnished marble, hand-cast bronze and embroidered drawings all allow the creative process to leave clearly visible imprints on the works.

The joining of conceptual thought and concrete craft in Lene Desmentik’s works can be said to continue in the vein of the material-based tradition associated with e.g. Danish artist Per Kirkeby and American minimalist Carl Andre, both of whom have worked with the wall as a construct and concept. Frameworks can be defined by our surroundings: walls, fences, territories and boundaries.

Clashes occur between the motifs represented and the sheer materiality of the work by Desmentik. The subjects depicted are everyday objects such as garden fences, bricks and curtains. Desmentik experiments with the use of marble and bronze, transferring their classical, historical gravitas to familiar, mundane and ephemeral objects. And with her art, Desmentik herself marks out and defines a space that simultaneously includes and excludes its viewer.

 

See available works by Lene Desmentik

Installation view of Along the Wall – a solo exhibition by Lene Desmentik (2017)