Alicja Kwade Sculpts the Shape of Time in 'Telos Tales'

There’s something slippery about Alicja Kwade’s work. It’s a characteristic that defines her multifaceted practice, and encapsulates a hungry curiosity for the world around her and the possibility that resides within and beyond its systems.

Kwade is currently presenting a new exhibition at Pace Gallery, marking her first solo show with the New York gallery since joining in 2023. The presentation expands on the artist’s long-standing fascination with material, form and perception, challenging viewers to consider: What is time, really? What exactly does it encapsulate, and what slips through it?

At the heart of Telos Tales are three towering sculptures — rigid, geometric steel frames that dissolve into molten, tree-like limbs of bronze. Self-contained yet interwoven at once, each piece is titled after one of Aristotle’s classical causes: Causa Materialis, Causa Efficiens, Causa Formalis. The missing one, Causa Finalis — the “telos” — finds a quiet home in the exhibition’s title.

Elsewhere another work, PhaseChase finds meaning in the intangible nature of time. Hanging from the ceiling, a double-sided clock peaks out from a polished steel pipe as reflections ripple and dance across its surface.

Rather than trying to pin time down, Kwade lets it slip, stretch and refract. With a deft, experimental hand her work refuses answers, finding beauty in the mystery and deconstructing it entirely.

The exhibition is now on view in New York through August 15.

Pace Gallery New York
540 W 25th St,
New York, NY 10001