Aufheben

As part of London Gallery Week, Kearsey & Gold presents 'Aufheben', the debut solo exhibition by Swiss London-based artist Filippo Antonello. A true Gesamtkünstler, Antonello’s methodology engages in an ongoing conversation between image and object. His work questions how these elements transform, and where the line lies between documentation and abstraction.

Grounded in the Hegelian concept of “aufheben” – a paradoxical process of negation, preservation, and elevation – the show explores the dichotomy between erasure and retention, examining what is lost and what endures. Antonello’s abstract pieces, painted with various materials such as bleach and resin, embraces contradiction; the chemicals gradually alter the fabric, transforming it into a surface where the ephemeral and the permanent collide. Alongside these are his image-based works on denim, created through laser removal techniques that strip layers to reveal intricate traces that both resist and embrace dissolution.

Ceramic benches weave through the space, balancing functional design and sculptural inquiry. They anchor Antonello’s exploration of regeneration, bringing the viewer into a tactile dialogue with the thematic undercurrent of transformation.

Aufheben is not a resolution but rather a non-redundant loop of negation and renewal, where the boundaries of materiality and image are in an endless flux – where nothing is ever fully lost, nor wholly preserved.