Metaphors for Gravity: Vanessa Safavi

Metaphors for Gravity marks Vanessa Safavi’s third exhibition at the gallery and introduces her striking new series called « Galaxy Paintings ». These large-format works, evoking fragments of star-filled skies, are created through a unique process that combines pigmented silicone and glitter. The result is a celestial, immersive surface that captures both material density and cosmic vastness. Safavi also debuts her « Pour Paintings » presented for the first time by the gallery—developed through an experimental pouring technique.

Drawing on a physical, gesture-based approach, she applies countless layers of coloured silicone, allowing them to drip, spread, and stain within the frame. The material settles into glossy, viscous patterns, echoing molten forms. Through this dynamic choreography of colour and substance, Safavi explores the gravitational pull between materiality, movement, and experience. The exhibition also features two new bronze sculptures, powerful and witty metaphors for the strength of the female body and its deep, phenomenological connection to natural forces.

Safavi frequently explores the complex and ambiguous tension between corporeality and identity, often working with silicone— a material evocative of skin or organs yet paradoxically seemingly inorganic. After a phase nourished by a form of societal commitment, Safavi returns to the fundamentals of sculpture and develops an in-depth exploration of materials. She stretches both physical and symbolic possibilities, and easily jumps from one plastic universe to another depending on the story that interests her. She questions the sculptural possibilities of representing the female body today and questions our relationship to gender, disease and sexuality.

Opening in Zurich: Thursday 18th September