Human Topography
By Sophie Cameron
The body becomes a landscape for the senses in Human Topography, a solo exhibition by Portuguese artist Gil Gelpi. Opening at Artevistas Gallery on November 12th, this emotive collection of sculptures portrays the human body as a land of transformation: a place where the borders between body and mind become blurred; where desires, memories and emotions leak into our physicality, creating ever-changing and constantly evolving states of being.
Born in Lisbon in 1985, Gelpi studied art and theater at university before winning the Lisbon-Budapest Bursary, allowing him to set up his first solo exhibit in the Hungarian capital. He later moved to Barcelona to study sculpture, and since 2012 has worked as assistant to renowned Catalan artist Samuel Salcedo. Made in fiberglass and polyester resin, his dark and deceptively peaceful creations constrast realistic facial detail with free bodily shapes, each brimming with emotion beneath the surface.