Current Exhibition

Edenism - Leonhard Hurzlmeier
24 January – 16 March 2025

Vigo Gallery are delighted to present Edenism at Wellington Arch.

Drawing from Medieval and Renaissance art, particularly Michelangelo's Sistine Chapel, Hurzlmeier sees the Eden narrative as a metaphor for humanity's evolution from hunter-gatherer culture to civilisation. This transition from instinct to conscious choice is reflected in his precise geometric forms and considered compositions. The snake, a recurring motif in his work, appears as a complex symbol of transformation and duality, while in one notable work, Eve is depicted with white hair—a meditation on maturity and the refusal of knowledge.

Through his exacting style, Hurzlmeier handles this ancient topic without irony while giving it contemporary relevance. In Edenism, each clean line and carefully rendered form serves to elevate this biblical narrative into a broader meditation on consciousness and the perpetual human struggle with decision-making. These works invite us to reflect on the daily moments when we, like Adam and Eve, face the choice of whether to bite into the fruit of consciousness. Through Hurzlmeier's distinctive visual language, this timeless story of transformation finds new resonance in our contemporary experience.

Leonhard Hurzlmeier (b.1983, Starnberg, Germany) lives and works in Munich, Germany. He studied at the Akademie der Bildenden Künste, Munich, from 2004 – 2011.

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Past exhibitions include: 

• CRISPR @ 80, by Duncan MacAskill. Duncan MacAskill’s ongoing DNA paintings series which lies at the core of his practice.
  
• Haraz, by Ibrahim El-Salahi . Comprised of works from both El-Salahi's celebrated Tree series, many of which featured in his 2013 Tate Modern retrospective, and more recent Pain Relief works on paper and canvas, the exhibition reflects El-Salahi’s fascination with the Haraz tree, indigenous to Sudan.
• Prost, by Henry Krokatsis. The exhibition included an installation that transformed the interior space of Wellington Arch. In place of fine hardwoods, Krokatsis’ functional yet subversive remake of the floor used two tonnes of discarded material.
• Invincible Summer, by Erin Lawlor. The exhibition depicted snapshots of windows of time in the studio and come to encapsulate that peculiar life-drive that goes hand in hand with the hardest of times.

• In and Through, by Matthew Burrows. The exhibition included larger scale works by Matthew Burrows, the fruition of his In and Through series which he developed during the COVID pandemic.  

• Vertical Planes, by artist Jordy Kerwick. Vertical Planes is a playful reaction to history - or alternate histories - of Wellington Arch and some of the characters immortalised by it.

• Pain Relief, by artist Ibrahim El-Salahi. Work on display was created by the Sudanese Oxford-based artist between 2016-2018 from the comfort of an armchair when he refused to let physical restriction limit his ambition.