M-Resident Lola Daels in COLLECT Magazine (oktober 23)
The forgotten ‘pietra dura’, the craft of creating detailed drawings by inlaying semi-precious stones, caught the imagination of artist Lola Daels. Step by step, she discovered the secret tricks of the trade. Although things started to move forward when she took a course with the British restorer Thomas Greenaway. This love for craft stems from her interest in authenticity. “Through my work I let the viewer think about the meaning of concepts such as authenticity, value and uniqueness in our globalised society, but also about our urge to collect objects,” she says. In 2022, Lola Daels had her first solo exhibition at Kusseneers Gallery. In the meantime, the Middelheim museum bought two works of her; one has a permanent place in the Antwerp sculpture park. “With ‘150,3 kg CO2’ (2022), I make people think about the role of giants like Shell, about the Anthropocene or the irreversible human impact on the planet,” she says. This ecological approach has slowly become a crucial part of Daels’ oeuvre. “Although I have often thought whether if it would not be better to become an activist, I am now convinced that I can deliver the same message with my art, but to a different audience. Thanks to my art, I can combine my commitment with my love for beautiful objects.”
Read the full interview with Lola in the October Issue of Collect Magazine.