TORCH proudly presents the seventh solo exhibition by Popel Coumou. Over the past 15 years, Popel’s body of work has followed a steady trajectory, where every next step makes sense in her development yet surprises everyone who follows her. Her latest works take different forms, with photographs in small editions existing next to unique collages, with or without the addition of plexiglass or natural foam. With every new addition to her artistic universe, Popel widens her scope and further plays with the viewer’s perception. How much spatiality can be suggested using only the simplest resources, materials and tools?

Popel has mostly let go of the concept of presenting the photograph as the end product, but photography is still part of every single artwork. The layers out of which she builds her latest interiors are made up of images of skies. These cause natural colour gradients and create an illusion of depth, while the texture in the paper itself is clearly visible. With the collages made up of these sheets of paper, she dissects the very idea that an image should represent reality. The honesty in her deliberately imperfect artworks allows the viewer to see beyond their inherent nature and appreciate where the forms take you. To further diffuse the borders between reality and fiction, figuration and abstraction, Popel’s relief works break through the flat surface and penetrate the third dimension.

About the Artist
Popel Coumou (1978) is a Dutch photography-based artist living and working in Amsterdam. She is represented by TORCH Gallery in Amsterdam. Since she graduated from the Rietveld Academy in 2004, she has been exhibiting her work worldwide. In 2020, she exhibited at Fotomuseum Den Haag and won the Meijburg Art Commission. TORCH brought a solo presentation to Unseen in 2023.

Popel is currently in a duo exhibition with Tamar Frank at Museum Hilversum. ‘Light Spaces’ is on view until 26 November.