Inaugural Exhibition

Reflecting Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s commitment to multidisciplinary art that resonates globally, this upcoming exhibition will include works by Abraham Kritzman, Theodore Ereira-Guyer, Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, Marta Jakobovits, Thiago Barbalho, Oswaldo Maciá, Karoliina Hellberg, and Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia —each bringing distinct materials, techniques, and cultural perspectives to this Inaugural Exhibition and the gallery’s programme. 

Abraham Kritzman, currently in residency at Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s Deptford studio, will debut a new series of large-scale paintings created specifically for this exhibition. It nods to a similar body of work that the artist will exhibit in the gallery’s subsequent show, in Spring 2025. Kritzman’s layered approach fuses oil and acrylic on wooden structures, capturing influences from his global travels and research into mythologies, architecture, and the human form. His works embody a dance of gestures and delicate details that bridge historical and contemporary themes.  

This Inaugural Exhibition will feature works by Theodore Ereira-Guyer, who alongside Kritzman has been part of the gallery’s roster since its inception in 2015. Presented will be two large etchings on silk and an etching on plaster with a glass overlay, reflecting his exploration of memory’s fragility. Ereira-Guyer’s intricate etching technique emphasises the partial loss of detail between plate and surface, mimicking how memory fades and transforms over time. These works echo the rigorous process that defines his practice, merging technical precision with conceptual depth. 

Antonio Pichillá Quiacaín, known for his exploration of Mayan heritage and rituals mostly with textile fibres, extends his exploration into ancestral knowledge as a form of cultural resilience. From his studio at Lake Atitlán the artist’s practice is driven by anthropological research into Guatemala’s urban and rural regions. Pichillá is interested in the relationship between found natural objects, such as rocks and branches, and his textile work and man-made objects. Following his recent exhibition, The Offering, at MGLC Švicarija Art Museum in Ljubljana, Slovenia, works by Pichillá in this upcoming show further underscore his commitment to representing Maya identity through performative and abstract forms. 

Elizabeth Xi Bauer is also delighted to announce the representation of Antonio Pichillá. Pichillá will debut his second solo exhibition with the gallery in late 2025 at its newly opened Exmouth Market space. 

In 2025, Pichillá will launch a publication which explores his artistic practice to date as well as seminal works from his career. The publication includes an introduction by curator Alexia Tala; writings from curator Cecilia Fajardo Hill; anthropologist Maria Jacinta Xon; as well as an interview with the artist conducted by Pablo José Ramírez, a curator at the Hammer Museum and former Adjunct Curator of First Nations and Indigenous Art at Tate Modern. 

In November 2024, Ţării Crişurilor Museum, Oradea, opened Metaterra, a retrospective of Marta Jakobovits‘ work. This extensive survey of Jakobovits’ career will run until February 2025 and will feature an accompanying catalogue of essays. This Inaugural Exhibition at Elizabeth Xi Bauer will showcase works that delves into Jakobovits’ ceramic mastery and extensive knowledge of casting, glazing, and organic forms. Her pieces often evoke natural landscapes and textures, capturing the tactile relationship between shape, colour, and chemistry to create works that speak to the intrinsic connection between art and nature. 

Thiago Barbalho uses art as a visual language to explore his creative output. His works are the results of facing the limits of rationality, keeping the same hand gesture of writing to explode its own borders. Having published short stories, novels, and poetry, the artist began to develop a pictorial language. Barbalho’s work is rich in shapes and materials, choosing to work in such mediums as graphite, coloured pencils, ballpoint pen, permanent marker, and acrylic, oil and pastel paints.   

Barbalho’s intricate compositions are unplanned: combining visual references from history, pop culture, and his philosophy studies to create works which marry together fragmented narratives. Seen by the viewer from afar, these works vibrate with colour. Upon closer inspection, the juxtaposition of images weaves together a picture-scape with an abundance of possible interpretations.    

Oswaldo Maciá’s drawings and frescoes often depict the destruction caused by global warming within our climate emergency. Maciá’s oeuvre questions the awareness proportioned by the senses and the relations that are established between humans and the planet. His work also focuses on migration and cross pollination, stimulating questions about how we find our place in the world and notions of belonging. The artist’s olfactory-acoustic sculptures have been exhibited worldwide, creating immersive scenarios.   

For this upcoming exhibition, Maciá will exhibit a series of beetles created using ink on paper. The works from this series were part of a project the artist conducted in Namibia, in 2024, recording the sounds of desert winds, insects and butterflies, and birds. This series was supported by the Gwangju Biennale and was exhibited at the 2024 edition. 

Karoliina Hellberg is known for her large, vibrant oil, acrylic, and ink canvases. Her work immerses the viewer in a world of repeated imagery, signs, and symbols, a labyrinth of spaces and places, combining layers, forms, and elements. The artist blends dream-like visions and narratives that merge the everyday with the ethereal. This is explored with pictorial tropes such as indoor scenes, plants, flowers, clouds, animals, and textiles, which are remembered, imagined, or inspired by researched source material. 

Hellberg paints the space between memories and fantasies, heightened by her recurring use of intense colour throughout her works. Confident yet sensual brush strokes merge the foreground and background, highlighting areas rich in detail while allowing the works to appear flat and challenge our understanding of how we navigate the physical world. Employing these techniques, Hellberg builds a captivating and enchanting world. Rather than guiding the viewer; Hellberg wants the audience to have their own understanding when encountering the work and to enjoy losing themselves within it. While the references may be personal or from her research, Hellberg does not always desire to disclose her inspiration by not inflicting her interpretations on the viewer. 

This upcoming exhibition will include works by Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia. In October, Elena Njoabuzia Onwochei-Garcia was announced as the recipient of the 2024 Artists’ Collecting Society Studio Prize. This has allowed the artist the time, space, and freedom to keep developing her practice, which centres around recurring power dynamics, informed by her research into historical and contemporary narratives. Her large-scale figurative paintings and intricate works on paper examine the intersections of race, identity, and history. Being of Nigerian, German, and Spanish heritage, Onwochei-Garcia draws on Mestiza theory to explore the experience of being between multiple cultural spheres. Integrating literature and historical analysis, the artist challenges singular narratives. 

Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s new central London space strengthens the gallery’s vision to champion diverse voices and foster an inclusive environment for creative exchange. With this Inaugural Exhibition at the new Exmouth Market space, the gallery marks a new chapter, offering local and international audiences a destination for experimental, boundary-pushing contemporary art. “Our new location allows us to bring even more visibility to the extraordinary talent we represent, creating a space where art can challenge, inspire, and build connections across cultures and ideas,” Edward Sheldrick, Elizabeth Xi Bauer’s Artistic Director.