Unbearable Lightness
Solo Exhibition
Duende Art Museum
Shunde, China
20 October 2021 - 15 January 2022
In Unbearable Lightness, Kalman Pool reflects on Milan Kundera’s philosophical exploration of lightness and heaviness in life, particularly in the context of “flesh and spirit,” as the artist considers the contradictions between the ephemeral and the eternal. Pool’s work, inspired by both biological art and historical concepts, examines the philosophical implications of weight and lightness, integrating virtual, physical, and biological realms into his inflatable sculptures, large-scale paintings, and VR art installations.
The exhibition includes a wide variety of artworks, from vibrant paintings to digital works and immersive physical sculptures. The inflatable sculptures, central to Pool’s practice, challenge the viewer’s understanding of form, material, and life itself. These sculptures, full of air and energy, symbolize the life force, constantly shifting between fullness and emptiness, between the natural world and the artificial. The playfulness of their forms belies a deeper existential question — what does it mean for a being to be "light" in the universe? These works are a dialogue on existence, drawing from the ancient Book of the Dead, where a soul must weigh lighter than a feather to pass through to the afterlife.
Curatorial Statement by Siyu:
"In Kalman Pool’s work, the notion of ‘lightness’ becomes more than a simple aesthetic choice. It transcends into a philosophical meditation on the fragility of existence, materiality, and the cyclical nature of life. The artist’s inflatable sculptures — objects of both beauty and fragility — draw on the paradox of life and death, creation and destruction. His works invite the viewer to experience the precariousness of being, held between the full and empty, between the permanent and the ephemeral."
A striking moment in the exhibition was the opening performance, where dancers transformed into “balloon people,” embodying the concept of “lightness” through their inflatable costumes. This performance not only echoed the theme of the exhibition but also allowed the audience to experience a direct interaction with the art — transforming the physical space into a dynamic, living environment.
Unbearable Lightness marks Pool’s first institutional solo show in China and represents a significant shift in his exploration of the life cycle, where he continues to push the boundaries of art through interactive, multi-sensory, and speculative concepts. The exhibition is a poignant meditation on the materiality of life, the philosophical weight of existence, and the possibility of life in perpetual transformation.