Klara Lilja: Parangkera

From the deliberately fluid and open layout of the exhibition, installed in clusters on refurbished vintage coffins and vitrines, Klara Lilja’s planet Parangkera begins to take shape. Carnivorous rafflesia flowers, broken branches, crust and crackled starsuns, vivid pink ripe pea pods split open, clusters of otherworldly fruits are rendered in mesmerizing glazes, developed by the artist as alchemist in her studio. The colors on the sculptures seem to blossom; from the glaze, or are they radiating from inside of them? That remains open. “The events that left their mark on me happened in days gone by, in my head”, Klara Lilja quotes one of her Symbolist heroes, the French painter Odilon Redon (1840-1916). Klara Lilja bestows her figures with an aura, and refers to the concealed inner world of the viewer. To bring out the magic in them, Klara Lilja gives each of her new-found species a proper name.

As Saint-Exupéry’s Little Prince, Klara Lilja is a tireless and loyal caretaker. Her planet draws not only on autobiographical subjects, the first sculpture for Parangkera being created during her pregnancy in 2019, it is also a question of discipline. “It is very tedious work,” The Little Prince echoes, “but also very easy.” Easy for Klara Lilja, who cares intensely about what she does every moment and, most important, allows that caring to show.

Kilde: V1 Gallery