The work of Michail Pirgelis (*1976) updates the traditions of post-minimalism, the readymade and conceptual art while simultaneously resisting them. His process usually begins with found materials from aircraft cemeteries in California and Arizona, where disused passenger planes wait to be dismantled and recycled. The Cologne-based artist explores the limits of our understanding of objects, while radically expanding our experience of the sculptural.

Michail Pirgelis
Seven Springs
May 2–July 26, 2025
Public Reception: May 2, 6–9pm
Berlin
Drawn from disused remnants of the airline industry, the sculptures of Michail Pirgelis both reinvigorate and challenge the conventions of post-minimalism, the readymade and conceptual art. Aluminum panels, cut from decommissioned planes in so-called “aircraft boneyards,” carry the marks of rivets and colorful logos, as well as those of weather and time, imbuing them with a painterly, gestural character and a unique aura of history. Seven Springs presents a new group of wall-based works that feature stripes and other flag-like elements. Together with a wallpaper installation – a recent extension of the artist’s practice – they highlight Pirgelis’ relentless synthesis of painting, sculpture and environment.