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by Magali Reus
Magali Reus, born in The Hague, NL lives and works in London, UK. She creates sculptures that feel both restrained and quietly subversive. Drawing from everyday objects, their packaging and fragments of consumer goods, she reconstructs the familiar with precise focus and attention, allowing forms to detach from their function and evoke a more ambiguous presence.
Working alongside a range of industrial processes Reus brings these immaculate and impenetrable surfaces into dialogue with slow, attentive craft. Utility shifts into image. In Reus’ world, volumes hover between perfection and imperfection, seduction and refusal. What appears cool and controlled reveals a subtle tension between body, object and the systems that shape them.
She has presented solo exhibitions at Stedelijk Museum Amsterdam, NL; South London Gallery, UK and SculptureCenter in New York as well as various other international institutions. At the moment, her solo exhibition Tales and Reals is on show at Museum Beelden aan Zee in The Hague, NL before it travels onwards to Kunstverein Freiburg Germany, and The Perimeter in London, UK.
Item
“I am a keen bomber jacket wearer and the bomber short rubber is one of my favorite items by far. The rubber texture feels lovely and soft and the jacket is nice and light: highly practical for London rain.”
Bomber short rubber charcoal
Writers and poets
“Reading for me is the perfect way to unwind. I try to seek out quiet moments in the day, of which sadly there are too few. Writers and poets I highly admire are: Andrew Durbin, Kathryn Scanlan, Anita Brookner, CAConrad, Rebecca May Johnson, Danielle Dutton and James Merrill.”
Book maker
“ Irma Boom. She’s a passionate and genuine genius in her field, and a very dear friend. I hugely admire her fierceness and the precision in her unique personal vision.”
Drink
“Korenwijn, by the van Kleef distillery is my favourite drink in the evening. It has a delicious herbal flavour without being too sweet. A soothing and warming drink that is especially great with a side of pickles, very mature cheese and dutch smooth mustard. And, I do love a very dry Martini as well!”
Still lives
“When I want to relax, during weekends, I tend to wander around museums where I love looking at historical objects and paintings. The paintings that intrigue me the most are still lives. I enjoy getting lost in the magical precision of these composed and highly balanced renderings of flowers, food and other objects.”
Animal
“Swans. I find them to be both terrifying and beautifully gracious creatures.”
Object
“I am a bit of a collector of objects in general, but some of my most precious items are my two TAC Colenbrander plates. He made these while he working for RAM in Arnhem. I ended up showing one from my collection alongside my own sculptural work during my exhibition in the Kunstmuseum Den Haag in 2024.”
Place
“I love being at my studio in London, it feels like a secret hideaway from the rest of the world because its windows are very high nobody at street level can look inside, yet it is incredibly bright and sunny. I keep most of my best books here. its the place for me to test out, challenge myself and work on all my ideas.”
Activity
“I am a keen runner, every morning I start the day with a run, rain or shine. I love encountering unusual and unexpected things in various places as I go. When I am traveling, I find running is the ideal way to explore a new and unfamiliar place.”