Philip Dufva – Nail Houses

We are delighted to present Philip Dufva’s first exhibition at the gallery, Nail Houses. Dufva works in sculpture, installation and drawing. His practice has an intimate relationship to architecture, especially to the urban landscapes of modernism. Using mainly concrete and steel, echoing the hard materials of the built environment, Dufva’s work is closely linked to the revolutionary building techniques of Le Corbusier who transformed the reinforced concrete into a symbol of modernity.

Modernism being the foundation of the cities which we still occupy, Dufva sees architecture and urban planning as a manifestation of politics and a means of control. The physical neglect of buildings, pavements and public spaces reflects a failure of societal projects; a lack of care for the people residing within these architectural structures. Zooming into the cracks, Dufva explores how people occupy space, the zones where intimacy may take place, the so-called in-betweens. Using fragile shapes combined with an inherent movement in his sculptures and installations, Dufva focuses on the interconnectedness between sculpture and viewer, creating spaces for looking and being looked at.

The title of the exhibition, Nail Houses, refers to a Chinese phenomenon when older buildings are left standing alone as the owners refuse to sell them when development progresses around them – they stick out like nails in the surroundings and cannot be hammered down. For Philip Dufva, this action of refusal taps into the question of who is allowed to occupy space in the public sphere – the houses and structures which remain reflect the socio-economic values in society.

Dufva’s sculptures exist just beneath the threshold of architecture, pinpointing the limits of architectural rationality and the individual body’s profound feeling of alienation and detachment.

Philip Dufva, born 1993 in Stockholm, works and lives in Copenhagen. He holds an MFA (2023) from the Royal Institute of Fine Arts in Stockholm. He recently initiated, curated and participated in the group exhibition Stå där det känns at Botkyrka Konsthall. Dufva’s works have been exhibited at Örebro County Museum and Hjorthagen Sculpture Park. He has received several grants including a working grant from the Swedish Arts Grants Committee and the Helge Ax:son Johnsons Foundation Travel & Research Grant. Dufva’s work is represented in the collection of Botkyrka Municipality as well as in several private and corporate collections.