Opening Night: Wednesday 12 February | 5-8pm
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Opening Night: Wednesday 12 February | 5-8pm 〰️
Her Unstable Materials | Stella Baraklianou
Exhibition Open: Thursday 13 February - Friday 18 April
Opening Night Wednesday 12 February | 5-8pm
Her Unstable Materials is an exciting exhibition of new ceramic sculptures by Stella Baraklianou at BLANK_ Leeds. Returning to clay as a material, this exhibition bridges her previous photographic work with textiles and a significant new body of sculptural works with the addition of interactive elements.
The exhibition and artist talk is made possible by funding from the Henry Moore Foundation.
Stella Baraklianou in conversation with Ella Cronk
Thursday 6th March | 6-7:30pm
Please join us for a talk in the lecture theatre above BLANK_ Leeds, part of The University Centre Leeds, to discuss 'Her Unstable Materials'. Stella Baraklianou will participate in an in-depth discussion with Ella Cronk, a representative of Yorkshire Sculpture International (YSI), exploring her artistic practice, creative inspirations, and the themes underlying her work. The talk will focus on uncovering clay and ceramics as a new material in Stella's work and how it has informed her working methodology and studio practice. Stella and Ella will discuss the making of specific works in the exhibition, working with collaborators and linking with themes of contemporary art.
Ella Cronk: Ella is Partnerships and Programme Manager at Yorkshire Sculpture International, where she brings together four major institutions: Leeds Art Gallery, Henry Moore Institute, The Hepworth Wakefield and Yorkshire Sculpture Park to build on the rich heritage of sculpture in Yorkshire. Her focus is on nurturing a strong sense of place, creating welcoming opportunities for artists and local communities to connect and contribute to the region’s cultural story today.
Stella Baraklianou is an artist who brings together the materials and processes of craft, textiles, photography and sculpture. She creates site-specific immersive installations that reflect the current post-digital era.
Born in Greece and brought up in Sydney, Australia, Baraklianou's practice is influenced by her personal experiences of travel and migration, and is often layered with multiple cultural references.
Recently returning to the material of clay, Baraklianou's sculptural forms and coiled vases pay homage to her Greek heritage. The recognisable classic Grecian shapes of her works are informed and updated by contemporary references to chance, precarity and invisible algorithms. Slanting, leaning, bulging, protruding, reflecting and hovering, the sculptures have textured and raw qualities– the result of adjustments made to new and rapidly shifting surroundings, both real and virtual.
The finished pieces pose as a comment on the ephemerality of our times.
“My method is based on intuition and using emotions when working with clay.
I prefer the freedom of gestural expressiveness to pre-designed sketches, allowing for the process and the material to guide me. This technique allows for a slower, less formal way of hand building. Each vase is created organically and patiently, out of layers of coils.”
Baraklianou holds a Practice-based PhD from Goldsmiths College London, and has taught Contemporary Art and Photography as a Senior Lecturer, holding academic posts at the University of Huddersfield, Leeds University for the Arts, Falmouth CEG, Goldsmiths College University of London, as well as OTIS College of Art, in Los Angeles, California.
