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Tag: Magali Reus

  • Book Launch: Our Volumes and 27 by Magali Reus

    Book Launch: Our Volumes and 27 by Magali Reus

    Book launch & talk with artist Magali Reus, book designer Luc Derycke, and Peter van Beveren (ArchivesLibrary): ‘Our Volumes’ and ‘27’, two new books by Magali Reus, at Billytown, Peter van Beverensquare, Friday 28th November 2025, 7.30 PM

    “Our Volumes” is a comprehensive catalogue based on a recent mid-career retrospective of the London-based Dutch artist Magali Reus (b.1981) at the Museum Kurhaus Kleve, Germany (2024).

    Structured around seven chapters, the book chronicles or ‘volumes’ by employing an archival aesthetic. It features a highly insightful and elaborate newly commissioned essay by Evan Moffitt on Reus’ work at Museum Kurhaus Kleve.

    In addition to expansive exhibition views, the book engages in dialogue with photographic imagery drawn from the Museum Kurhaus Kleve’s noted historical collection. This includes items such as ancient religious woodcarvings, ornate silverware and artist Ewald Mataré’s (1887-1965, GER) sculpture, which can be found contrastingly paired alongside the artist’s careful selection of over a hundred works spanning a period of two decades.

    “27” features 27 recent works from two series titled “Clementine” and “Merlin” (2023–24) by London-based artist Magali Reus (NL, b.1981). This book, in its beautifully crafted materiality, format and typography, mimics a diary or romantic novel. Both series of works are documented in the style of portraiture photography and carefully categorised alongside a numerical font re-constructed by Reus from her grandmother’s handwriting. Additionally, newly commissioned writing by the celebrated American writer Danielle Dutton responds to the series, and is featured alongside selections from the artist’s own archive of photographic imagery. It will also feature a visual collection of research and process material directly from Reus’ studio.

  • Magali Reus

    Magali Reus

    Magali Reus (1981, The Hague) lives and works in London. She creates sculptures that transform seemingly everyday objects. By disconnecting them from their original function, layered and complex assemblages of images and materials emerge. Instead of using readymades, Reus combines advanced technologies with traditional craftsmanship to create works that playfully reinterpret familiar elements from reality.

    Her sculptures refer to diverse contexts—art historical, aesthetic, social, geographical, and political—but always remain sensitive to the seductive qualities of surface and texture. Reus herself calls her works “unreal things,” emphasizing their imaginative and unexpected character.

    Originating from Scheveningen, near the North Sea, Reus draws inspiration for this exhibition from the coastal landscape of her youth—a landscape that also forms the backdrop of our museum. Especially for this exhibition, she realized a new series of sculptures, firmly anchored in this environment. Highlights include wall sculptures inspired by antique fishing lures and earring accessories, intended to entice and capture the viewer both literally and figuratively.

    In addition, important works from Reus’ acclaimed Merlin series are on display, which are based in form on enlarged fish cans, on loan from prominent Dutch and Belgian collections. Together, they form an engaging dialogue between her earlier and recent explorations.

    Conceptually rooted in the exploration of silhouettes and visual contours, the works investigate themes such as attraction and deception—seducing to lure, deceive, or intrigue. They are complemented by site-specific installations and architectural interventions, specially designed by Reus and inspired by the museum’s location. This connection with the place is intended to evoke a sense of recognition and invite the visitor into a layered dialogue between the works, the location, and their shared references.

    Curator: Louise Bjeldbak Henriksen

    Thumbnail image – Magali Reus, Merlin (Wish You Were), 2024. Laser cut, rolled, forged, welded and powder coated steel, laser cut, welded and sand blasted and phosphated aluminium, laser cut, forged, sand blasted and phosphated aluminium, mirror-polished aluminium, laser cut, powder coated and airbrushed aluminium sheet, hand woven wicker, button screws. 76 x 50.5 x 21 cm. (AP-REUSM-00470)

    Image: Magali Reus, Merlin (Rock and Sole), 2024. Laser cut, rolled, forged, welded and powder coated steel, laser cut, welded and sand blasted and phosphated aluminium, laser cut, forged, sand blasted and phosphated aluminium, polished aluminium, laser cut, rolled, powder coated and airbrushed aluminium sheet, welded, sandblasted and phosphated steel rod, 3D printed Nylon SLS, button screws, 40 x 70 x 24 cm. (AP-REUSM-00483)

    Images: Eva Herzog. Courtesy the artist; The Approach Gallery, London; Tanya Bonakdar Gallery, NYC, USA; Galerie Greta Meert, Brussels; Galerie Mai36, Zurich.