Magali Reus was born in Den Haag, Netherlands in 1981 and began her art studies in Amsterdam. She subsequently relocated to London where she eventually gained an MFA in Fine Art from Goldsmiths College in 2005. Continuing to live and work in London, Reus was included in Apollo magazine's '40 under 40 Europe' list in 2018.
Sculptor Magali Reus was born in Den Haag, Netherlands in 1981. She studied for an Art Foundation at Gerrit Rietveld Academie, Amsterdam, after which she relocated to London to enrol on a BA (Hons) Fine Arts at Goldsmiths College, graduating in 2005, remaining at Goldsmiths to gain a MFA in Fine Art in 2008. After briefly returning to Amsterdam to study at the Rijksakademie van Beeldende Kunsten, she settled in London once again where she rapidly consolidated her successful career as a young sculptor.
Reus held her first solo exhibition A Billion Balconies Facing the Sun at Galerie Fons Welters, Amsterdam in 2006, followed by numerous solo presentations in Britain, Europe and North America, including the angle between two walls, MOT International, London in 2008, her first solo show in the UK; Particle of Inch, The Hepworth Wakefield (2015) and Stem Systems, OVR The Approach, London (2021). Reus has also been included in numerous group exhibitions, including in the UK: Lobby, Hales Gallery, London (2007); ARTFutures 2008, Bloomberg Space, London (2008); Rotate, Contemporary Art Society, London (2009); SLIP, The Approach, London (2013); British Art Show, touring (2015); The Everyday and the Extraordinary, Birmingham Museum and Art Gallery (2018); Material Encounters, Hepworth Wakefield, and The Extended Walk, Talbot Rice Gallery, Edinburgh University (both 2019).
Reus's work in sculpture reimagines the everyday. Using ubiquitous objects, she strips them of their intended utilitarian purpose, to challenge the viewer's perception of space and form. 'I’m seduced by the materiality of objects,' she says, 'but I want them to throw out all of your expectations when you get up close' (Interview Magazine, March 2018). In 2015 Reus was awarded the Prix de Rome, the oldest and most prestigious award in the Netherlands for artists under 40. Her work Leaves was described as a 'puzzling yet beautiful idiosyncrasy of the presented objects: their references to digital reality remain fragmented, while their enigmatic materiality raises more questions than can be answered' (https://prixderome.nl/en/2015/12/17/magali-reus-wins-2015-prix-de-rome/). In 2018, Reus was included in Apollo magazine’s 40 under 40 Europe list, featuring the most talented and inspirational young artists, as well as being shortlisted for the Hepworth Prize for Sculpture in the same year.
Reus’ works are held in several UK public collections, including the Arts Council Collection, Hepworth Wakefield, Government Art Collection and Tate. She continues to live and work in London.
Consult items in the Ben Uri archive related to [Magali Reus]
Publications related to [Magali Reus] in the Ben Uri Library