Exhibition 'She Is Thinking About the Flammable Nature of Things' by Laura Põld at LOOK! Gallery

On 7 November, Estonian artist Laura Põld opens an exhibition She Is Thinking About the Flammable Nature of Things in LOOK! Gallery in Riga, this being her first solo exhibition in Latvia. The exhibition features new installations and objects that Põld has constructed by mixing such materials as ceramics, steel and textiles to investigate the nuanced layers of corporeality and vulnerability. The show is co-organised by Kogo Gallery and curated by Šelda Puķīte. The exhibition will be on view until 30 November.

Laura Põld’s artworks present layers of material referencing places and contexts that have shaped her practice. In the new exhibition, viewers can encounter sculptural and craft-based forms and motifs, where one can sense the natural coexistence of absurdity and joy for experimentation. Communicated through eclectic techniques and the bold self-awareness of the forms, these immersive works become the thresholds for an artist entering a new decade.

She Is Thinking About the Flammable Nature of Things will open on 7 November at 17.00 at LOOK! Gallery in Riga (Ģertrūdes 62A). The gallery is open for visits Tue–Fri 13.00–19.00, Sat 13.00–17.00, the exhibition will remain open until 30 November 2024. The show is part of an exhibition exchange between the two galleries: Kogo Gallery recently hosted and co-organised a solo exhibition Succumbing to Temptation (30.8. – 12.10.2024) by Latvian artist Aleksandrs Breže.

The support for the exhibition comes from the Ministry of Culture of Estonia from the fund Estonian Culture Abroad and the Cultural Endowment of Estonia.

Laura Põld (b. 1984 in Tallinn, Estonia) is an Estonian artist living in Tallinn and Vienna. Her formal education includes the study of ceramics at the Estonian Academy of Arts (EKA) in Tallinn (BA), painting at the University of Tartu (MA) and sculptural conceptions and ceramics at the University of Art and Design in Linz (MA). She is currently a visiting associate professor of installation and sculpture at EKA. She has had numerous solo exhibitions and participations in group shows in various parts of the world. With Kogo Gallery, Põld has participated in art fairs such as viennacontemporary (2024, 2023), Esther New York (2024), Basel Social Club (2024), Art Brussels (2023), Liste Art Fair Basel (2022). Laura Põld has been awarded several prizes and scholarships, including the Claus Michaletz Preis (2021), the ISCP’s studio grant in New York (2019), the Grand Prize of The Cultural Endowment of Estonia (2018) and the Köler Prize Grand Prix (2016). She is and was also one of the recipients of the Estonian artist’s salary from 2023–2025 and 2019–2021. Her works are in various art collections in Europe. Laura Põld is represented by Kogo Gallery.