Mantas Lesauskas Exhibition Explores Design, the Body and Inorganic Matter

Internationally recognised Lithuanian designer, artist and researcher Mantas Lesauskas is opening his first solo exhibition in Latvia, The Sex Appeal of the Inorganic. The show looks at the relationship between desire, design, the body and inanimate matter. It can be seen from 15 October to 15 November 2026.

What the exhibition is about

The works form a series of functional sculptural objects. Aluminium, alabaster, ceramic and glass take on bodily outlines, blurring the line between object and body, and between function and sensuality.

The central idea is that design is a business of desire: people are invited to crave things before they have touched them. The contours of a car body, the smooth surface of a personal device, polished metal or stone all speak a language that closely resembles the body. Smoothness, firmness, softness and skin are used in talking about both desire and design.

Origin of the title

The title is borrowed from the philosopher Mario Perniola, whose writings erase the distinction between the sentient body and seemingly insensate matter. Desire, in this view, is not limited to people but circulates among bodies, surfaces and things.

The artist takes this ambiguity literally. Materials turn into bodies, while body fragments become functional objects: ceramic vessels are modelled on legs, classical sculptures appear as images built into lamps, and vessels and candleholders are made from stone and metal.

About the artist

Lesauskas's work sits at the intersection of design, sculpture and experimental archaeology, challenging the established hierarchy among materials, objects and their makers. His pieces have been shown internationally and are held in private collections as well as in the holdings of national museums.