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Installation views of 'Pieter Obels | Feng Xiao-Min', Opera Gallery London, June 2026 © Eva Herzog |
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Pieter Obels Feng Xiao-Min Opera Gallery London 04 June - 05 July 2026 This exhibition brings together Dutch sculptor Pieter Obels and French-Chinese artist Feng Xiao-Min for their first time in London with Opera Gallery. Presented on the occasion of London Gallery Weekend, the show places these two contemporary artists in dialogue, marking Feng Xiao-Min’s first exhibition in the UK and Pieter Obels’ return to London after 10 years. It reveals the core concerns of their respective practices—meditative approaches that embrace the making process and its unexpected turns—despite their distinct cultural and geographic backgrounds. Pieter Obels: calm and continuity forged into metal Pieter Obels’ work is defined by his use of Corten steel. While metal often suggests weight and rigidity, his sculptures possess an unexpected organic quality. Drawing inspiration from the growth patterns of plants, Obels works in close dialogue with his material, allowing its inherent properties to guide the process. This approach lends his practice a meditative dimension, transforming the forge—typically associated with intensity and force—into a site of quiet emergence. The resulting forms, characterised by their rounded openness, are conceived to inhabit and respond to their surroundings, contributing a sense of calm and continuity while also embracing how the environment affects the material, for instance the patina that develops on the steel when exhibited outside. |
