Beneath the Skin: Aneta Regel
-
UPPER GALLERY
THE SCHOOLHOUSE
London
Free Admission
EXPLORE ARTISTSarah Myerscough Gallery is delighted to introduce Beneath The Skin, the second solo show at the gallery by acclaimed ceramic sculptor Aneta Regel. Presenting us with a novel sculptural enquiry from Regel, the exhibition consists of over twenty commissioned vessels. A form typically on the periphery of the sculptor’s practice, now at the centre.
"Dry, hushed days piled up like layers. Matter seemed to ooze from beneath, reflecting on growth and decay, a presence under the surface. Beneath the skin, feelings pressed forward, so strong they became almost physical. Hidden, yet everywhere." - Aneta Regel on Beneath the Skin
Beneath the Skin expands the experimental formulations made by Regel in her 2023 solo exhibition Memory Landscape, developing the ‘memory-work’ art historian Tanya Harrod described Regel’s pieces as performing then. In 2026, Regel remains attuned to what she refers to as the ‘post-glacial landscapes of her native Poland.’ Her new textured vessels summon the growth and decay of her childhood landscape, its harsh winters, its sharp frozen surfaces, its rural folklore narratives. Regel’s surfaces and forms continue to demonstrate her own ‘fecund and exhilarating recall.’ Yet, as the name suggests, Beneath The Skin prioritises the internal space of an object as much as its erratic and expressive surface.
-
-
In her process, Regel explored how materials change and ooze from beneath the skin of the outer layers of her ceramic. Inner material conflict becomes tangible, accessible by the medium of the vessel which allows the viewer to look within its form. As Harrod asserted, vessels ‘make special demands because they draw their strength from cupped hands, from human contact, from human scale.’ In Regel's words, within this exhibition, ‘mass and weight are as important as form.’ The vessel’s physical weight is a metric reached through the application of layer upon layer of material. In such a process, porcelain might be contrasted with rough stone. Dissonant elements become fused together during exposure to the temperatures of the kiln.
Regel’s vessels are hand-made, coiled, and slab-built. Incorporated with fragments from alternate pieces, rocks, unprocessed ceramic, and pigment, her objects emerge from a process of accumulation and editorial impulse. Each vessel has also been dried and fired multiple times. Occurring through Regel’s rigorous material knowledge, Beneath The Skin is testament to her spontaneous exploration of the potentials within ceramic and non-linear studio process. Taken together, the vessels of Beneath The Skin refer to each other, disclosing Aneta Regel’s exquisite experimentations and enduring preoccupations.