Galerie Sara Lily Perez is pleased to present Chronostasis, a solo exhibition featuring Berlin-based artist Wolfgang Flad. Borrowing its title from the phenomenon of “chronostasis,” a temporal illusion in which the first moment of perception is strangely prolonged, as in the stopped-clock illusion when a clock’s second hand seems frozen at first glance, the exhibition explores time, stillness, and the act of seeing. Through Flad’s sculptures, Chronostasis examines how art can suspend the passage of time, illuminating instants that often evade conscious notice.

Wolfgang Flad makes time palpable through three-dimensional forms that capture motion in suspension. His sculptures, primarily crafted from wood and mixed media, incorporate upcycled paper pulp from shredded art publications, material imbued with fragments of art history. These elements are shaped into sinuous, abstract structures that seem to twist and grow organically, often suspended from ceilings or walls. Their forms evoke interconnected tree branches or mammal bones, possessing an inherently naturalistic quality and echoing patterns from neurons to celestial orbits.

Despite their dynamic curves, each piece captures a moment of arrested energy. As Flad describes, his work centers on “the main motive of freezing the movement of a huge, spontaneous, and dynamic gesture.” Polished, geometric surfaces contrast with rough, fibrous edges, merging stillness and growth within a single form. This tension suggests a metamorphosis paused in time. The reclaimed paper adds a temporal depth, past narratives compressed into new, living shapes. In this way, the sculptures embody what Flad calls a “hidden life within,” where stasis pulses with latent transformation.

Chronostasis creates an immersive meditation on how we experience time. The gallery space becomes a realm of slowed perception, where sculptural forms capture the arc of movement mid-swing. Viewers are encouraged to slow down and engage in active looking, to dwell on details and forms, and to become aware of their own sense of time passing (or pausing) as they move through the exhibition. Flad’s work invites us to reconsider what we normally take for granted by revealing motion and growth halted at an evocative standstill, producing a sensation akin to chronostasis, that uncanny elongation of the present moment.