NOT VITAL: Suicides

Ben Brown Fine Arts is pleased to present its first solo exhibition of works by Swiss-born artist Not Vital.

The exhibition is centred around eleven new sculptures. These are titled and based on a selection of famous artists, writers, an architect, a musician and a fashion designer, from Borromini to Alexander McQueen. The connection between these historical figures is suicide and the ongoing public admiration for their creative work.

Each "portrait" consists of two simple rectangular silver blocks placed on top of each other. The shimmering silver sculptures were fabricated by silversmiths in Agadez, Niger where Vital lives for part of the year in a mud house. The dimensions and shape of each "portrait" accord with the date of each individual death. While the height and width of the base is defined by the year of death, the upper block relates to the month and day.