“Raw Earth, Rare Earth” — Alicja Biała’s solo exhibition in London

Polish artist Alicja Biała will present her latest works in London at her solo exhibition “Raw Earth, Rare Earth”. The Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery will host works that define a space where nature, history, and political activity intertwine, seamlessly transitioning between the symbolic and physical dimensions. The exhibition will be open from 18 September to 25 October 2025.

Exhibition “Raw Earth, Rare Earth” – Alicja Biała at the Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery

Known for her public architectural installations and large-format murals, Alicja Biała will transform the Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery space into a garden. It will be created using natural motifs delicately cut out of polished brass, metal casts of plants, and sculptures of root systems suspended from the ceiling.

In her works, the artist draws on the Polish landscape and her cultural identity. Exploring themes of agricultural societies, borders, displacement, and the collective pain rooted in past political tensions, her practice is driven by a profound examination of socio-ecological change. She incorporates these ideas into her works using, among other methods, industrial acid solutions that transform surfaces through controlled oxidation.

Hyperaccumulators: plants purifying the world and art enclosed in brass and ceramics

The upper floor of the gallery will present the monumental project “Beneath the Soft Ground, Hard Ground”. It consists of twelve large brass panels forming a symbolic calendar, in which each month is represented by selected seasonal plants of Central Europe. These flowers and grasses are so-called hyperaccumulators, which, thanks to their unique ability to absorb and tolerate large amounts of metals, purify the soil and water around them.

The lower level of the gallery will be transformed into an underground realm. Suspended from the ceiling will be a monumental ceramic spider sculpture, inspired by traditional handmade decorations of dried plants once found in cottages across central and north-eastern Poland. This work is the latest in Alicja Biała’s series of artistic spiders — hybrids of four endangered flower species with a pistil at their centre. Around it, smaller bronze sculptures will be displayed: casts of hyperaccumulator plants collected by the artist in Poland. The dialogue between the organic nature of plants and the materiality of sculpture will generate a tension between fragility and strength. By harnessing the power of world-building within the exhibition space, viewers will immerse themselves in a sculptural underground, encountering a deeply sensual experience.

Art as an act of ecological sensitivity and political reflection

In London, the artist will also unveil for the first time her latest brass works, which explore the beauty of the organic world through the lens of contemporary ecological consciousness. The exhibition becomes a space where beauty meets curiosity, inviting reflection on our relationship with the environment and its future. Alicja Biała’s works have previously been presented at the Europa Building in Brussels during Poland’s presidency of the EU Council in 2025.

The host of “Raw Earth, Rare Earth”, the Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, is dedicated to promoting and supporting emerging artists, fostering their careers through ambitious projects and sustained collaboration. Founded in 2020, the gallery established its exhibition space in the heart of Fitzrovia by converting a former car park. Now it will present the work of a Polish artist to the British public.

Exhibition “Raw Earth, Rare Earth” in London, United Kingdom

• Artist: Alicja Biała

• Dates: 18 September 2025 – 25 October 2025

• Venue: Berntson Bhattacharjee Gallery, 45 Berners Street, London, UK

• Partner: Adam Mickiewicz Institute

• Co-financed from the funds of the Minister of Culture and National Heritage

• More information: www.bbgallery.art