Magali Reus: Dearest

Sculptural and photographic transformations of the domestic, the industrial, the functional and the decorative. 

Renowned for her particular take on what contemporary sculpture can be and express, Magali Reus (born 1981) draws on a vast range of formal influences and references, from the domestic to the industrial, the functional to the decorative, creating works that evolve as a fascinating accumulation and layering of visual details. Designed by Irma Boom, this artist’s book offers a unique approach to art making through the unveiling of the sources, visual imagery and connections that gave birth to the realization of three emblematic series by Magali Reus: Dearest (2018); Empty Every Night (2019); and Settings (2019–21). Conceived as a space where the viewer can take their time to get a closer, more intimate connection to her work, the publication alternates views of the works, close-up details and various materials—from a 3D technical rendering and production calculations to mock ups, samples and research photography. Sharing her production, process and research archive, Reus allows the reader to decipher the circulation of motifs from one medium to another, her specific take on the ideas of hierarchy, representation and systems of production, and how she explores the tensions between nature, technology and the impact of postindustrial human activity. The book gives full credit to her ongoing thinking on objecthood and how the objects and forms she creates take on a strange, disobedient agency. Made of three separate volumes. featuring different paper and taped together, this collectible publication is itself a powerful object.