Philip Seibel, Radiator (Dorfschmeide), 2020. Leo Arnold, Sink, 2020
Life is unimaginable without them – yet the imagination hardly gives them room space. The fixtures and fittings of our worlds: we think only of their function, hardly ever their form.
For Philip Seibel and Leo Arnold there is much more to them than meets the eye. Pools of reflection glinting on porcelain sinks – which Leo paints in muted hues of pinks and purples – or the immaculate plastic sheen on Philip’s air-conditioning unit, here made with meticulous layers of lacquers on MDF: these inconspicuous receptacles become captivating subject matter for them to work with. And since they moderate the flow of air and water, perhaps they’re not so banal and quotidian after all. By painting, sculpting and carving, both Philip and Leo transpose these dependable appurtenances into intricate, malleable surfaces, and perhaps into something as spiritual and essential as air and water itself. Do you notice them now?
Artists featured: Philip Seibel and Leo Arnold
