LONDON, ENGLAND.-Delfina just opened a new exhibition space and regular programme of exhibitions, beginning with Karen Russo’s first solo show in London. The show is a series of video works which develop Russo’s interest in the idea that repression of the Romantic notions of artistic passion and creativity leads to a re-assertion of these energies in a battle between the rational and the paranormal.

Candy House is a single screen work made in 2004. Using a humorous style, in sharp contrast to the dark subject matter, the artist has created a number of traps designed for children. The home becomes a minefield, and familiar household objects become potentially lethal devices. The situations portrayed draw attention to the innocuous way in which a simple manipulation of the ordinary can create something horrific.

In another piece Russo explores the phenomenon of Spontaneous Human Combustion using a documentary format. With a poetic language she weaves real reports with dreams and fantasies to amplify the mysterious horror of people who appear to simply burn up from the inside, either from an apparent build up of emotional energy, or for no reason at all.

In these works Karen Russo draws parallels with the role of the artist who is seen by her as a manipulator and helpless victim of his or her own ‘internal fire’. With her use of strange or slightly disturbing source materials she transmutes the ordinary into a domain of dark and demonic forces. She has a unique and individual approach which revives Gothic and Surrealist images within a vibrant contemporary context.

Karen Russo was born in Israel in 1974 and lives and works in London. Recent and forthcoming solo exhibitions include VTO Gallery, London (2005), The Tel-Aviv Museum of Art, Tel-Aviv (2004), Herliya Museum, Israel (2004) and the Israel Museum, Jerusalem (2000), as well as galleries in Berlin, Lisbon and Marseille. Her book Encyclopaedia Thermica, was published by Omanut La'am publishing.