Piotr Bury Łakomy’s artistic practice explores the complex relationship between the human body, architecture, and the environment. His work is characterised by a synthesis of organic and industrial materials, challenging conventional boundaries between the natural and the manufactured.
Central to Łakomy’s artistic vocabulary is aluminium honeycomb, a material primarily associated with aerospace and construction industries. The artist manipulates this industrial product, folding and shaping it to evoke natural formations. Rather than focusing on grandiose structures, Łakomy’s architectural fascination lies in the fundamental concept of shelter, a preoccupation evident through his frequent incorporation of organic materials such as ostrich eggs. For Łakomy, the sphere represents both a basic architectural form as well as a primordial shelter for life itself, further underscoring the interplay between the built environment and natural world.
The human figure has been a constant presence in Łakomy’s work since the early stages of his career. Loosely adopting Le Corbusier’s Modulor as an initial system of measurement, he confines even his most abstract works—whether door-sized assemblages, window-like constructions, or suspended sculptures—to anthropometric dimensions and proportions. This approach extends to his consistent references to domestic spaces and their essential elements, such as hallways, living rooms, and bedrooms.
In recent years, Łakomy’s works have challenged the passive consumption of flat, screen-based content by encouraging movement and active engagement whilst incorporating more painterly elements. Through rich textures and dynamic cellular structures, these pieces demand that viewers move around them, offering different perspectives and experiences from various angles. In doing so, Łakomy pushes towards a form of figuration where phantom-like forms materialise and dissipate, leaving only traces of their presence for the viewer to discover.
Piotr Bury Lakomy (b. 1983, Poland) lives and works in Poznan, PL. Recent solo exhibitions include The Visit, Galeria Stereo, Warsaw, Poland, 2024; Shed, The Vault, Galeria Fran Haus, Palma de Mallorca, Spain 2023; Worms, Dürst Britt & Mayhew, The Hague, Netherlands; House with a Garden, The Sunday Painter, London, UK, 2022; Chapel, ECHO, Cologne, Germany, 2022; The House of the Spider, Gdańska Galeria Miejska, Gdańsk, Poland, 2021; Doorway, Galerie Opdahl, Stavanger, Norway, 2021; Półpiętro, Le Creux de L’enfer, Thiers, France, 2021; Combined Vessels, Stereo, Warsaw, Poland, 2021; Vessel, Simian, Copenhagen, Denmark, 2020; Through the Ribs, Frederick Kiesler, Piotr Łakomy, SKALA, Poznań, Poland, 2020; Fenix, Avant-Garde Institute, Warsaw, Poland, 2019; 3 Inch Giant in Your Bathroom, Centre for Contemporary Art FUTURA , Prague, Czech Rupublic, 2019; Pale House, Galeria Labirynt, Lublin, Poland, 2017; Endless Room, BWA Zielona Góra, Poland, 2015. Recent group exhibitions include Un Oeuf is Un Oeuf, TJ Boulting, London, UK, 2024; Metamorphosis. Art in Europe Now, Foundation Cartier, Paris, France, 2019; Orient, Kim Contemporary Art Center, Riga, Latvia, 2018; Half-Truth, Xawery Dunikowski Museum of Sculpture, Warsaw, Poland, 2017; Views Art Prize, Deutsche Bank Foundation Award, Zacheta National Gallery of Art, Warsaw, Poland, 2015; and Private Settings, MOMA Warsaw, Poland, 2014.