DOCUMENT is excited to present Kiah Celeste's newest exhibition, What In The World Becomes Me, her second solo show with the gallery and her first presentation in Lisbon, Portugal. The exhibition will open on May 26, 2023 with a reception from 6-9pm and will continue through July 29, 2023.
Constantly searching and gleaning objects from her urban and industrial environment, Celeste forages for materials that speak to her. Her practice typically consists of a few components, to which she often incorporates a motif to establish a visual cadence of repetition and variation. The small sculptures presented in the exhibition use mostly discarded or secondhand items, and minimal hardware, creating something new and fortuitous out of decay. By adhering to rigorous principles of sustainability and low intervention, the artist often challenges physics and her compositions carefully balance tension, flexibility and gravity.
The artist’s texturally rich compositions highlight the inherent beauty of the objects, while disregarding their original practical functions. Her latest works involve more forceful interventions such as heat, cutting, and shaping to create new forms and textures that challenge the viewer's perception of discarded objects. Celeste's multifarious identity as a mixed woman, who is Black and Jewish, and both feminine and androgynous, is reflected in her artwork, which brings together seemingly disparate materials to create a cohesive whole, finding freedom in both her personal life and creative practice.
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Kiah Celeste (b. 1994, Brooklyn, NY) lives and works in Louisville, KY. In 2016 she received her BFA from SUNY College at Purchase. Recent solo exhibitions include DOCUMENT, Chicago, IL, Swivel Gallery, Brooklyn, NY, KMAC Museum, Louisville, KY, Quappi Projects, Louisville, KY, and Centre d’Art La Rectoria, Sant Pere De Vilamajor, Barcelona, Spain. Her work has been included in exhibitions at the University of Kentucky Art Museum, Lexington, KY, Georgetown College, Georgetown, KY, Josephine Sculpture Park, Frankfort, KY, and Dadapost, Berlin, Germany. She has completed artist residencies in Barcelona, Vienna, Frankfort, KY and has exhibited internationally in Abu Dhabi, Berlin, and Spain. In 2021, she was the recipient of the Louisville Artadia Award. Celeste’s work is in the collection of the Speed Museum, Louisville, KY.
View a video walkthrough of the artist's 2022 exhibition at DOCUMENT, Chicago here.
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