Rachel Kneebone: Punoutua

Form is simultaneously made and unmade in the work of British artist Rachel Kneebone, whose enigmatic porcelain sculptures depict fragments of the human body melting and merging in constant fluid movement.

Working in white porcelain, a material that reacts sensitively to light, she creates shapes that evoke opposing states, appearing to be not only heavy and solid but also light, fragmentary and soft. Her sculptures have a choreographic quality, with torsos and limbs multiplying and fusing in organic arcs of motion.

Kneebone’s work is a meditation on humanity, the cycle of life, metamorphosis and renewal. Everything exists in a constant state of flux: the fanciful whimsy of Rococo overlaps and merges with crisis-ridden modern times, while the future mutates into Renaissance optimism. Interwoven marks Kneebone’s debut exhibition in Finland.

Exhibition presenting works of Rachel Kneebone is on show at Serlachius Museums Gösta in 2022. 

Authors: Roderick Mengham, Marina Warner, Timo Valjakka
Layout: Maria Appelberg
Print: Livonia Print, Riika, 2021
Publisher: Parvs Publihing Ltd
Finnnish | English
160 pages
ISBN 978-952-7226-61-2
Serlachius Museums’ publications 71

Rachel Kneebone Punoutua