Although they work together through different means, Camila Ilievsky and Eva Zethraiou they have had quite a career. Over the past two decades, these two graduates of the HDK School of Design and Crafts in Gothenburg have developed alongside each other, both producing work focused on detail, process and artistry. And now, the report Shimmering Real: Perception and the Spaces Between at HB381on view through April 18, places their pieces in contemplative dialogue, with Iliefski’s soft, vibrant rugs a backdrop to Zethraeus’ sculptures that resemble fierce but friendly sea creatures.
With a background in graphic design, Iliefksi uses color as the dominant language in her fiber pieces, where hues in various gradations and intensities mix and bounce off each other with gusto.
Her rugs look like living paintings (the exhibition’s curators draw comparisons to Kandinsky, among others), with their irregular borders and the undulating heights and depths of their piles. The latter result in bulbous, organic compositions that feel like surreal odes to clouds, plant life, and all things organic and prosperous. Iliefksi often uses nature as a starting point — landscapes, vegetation and surfaces of sea and sky.
Zethraeus also looks to the natural world for inspiration. Her pieces look like they’ve been salvaged – in pristine shape – from some magical ocean floor. She counts marine life, Buddhist gardens and viruses as catalysts for her ideas, which take wonderful form on porcelain.
He works meticulously on each sculpture, each element of which is cast by hand, the composition is assembled and then processed with numerous glazings and firings. The resulting works are both natural and artificial, striking a balance between the familiar and the completely new.
To see more work from the respective designers, visit camillailiefski.com and evazethraeus.se.
Photo by Joe Crumcourtesy of HB381.
