Gym equipment turned into art? Augustas Serapinas uses classical sculpture to create the most beautiful weight training
You can lift weights in a museum too
Summary
- Augustas Serapinas combines gym equipment with classical sculpture in his installation work Physical Culture.
- The weight plates are cast from plaster life-study figures from an art school, reframing the relationship between weight training and the nude in art.
- The work overturns sculpture as something “only to be looked at,” inviting viewers to physically interact and experience art through their own bodies.
- Physical Culture is currently on view at Nottingham Contemporary in the UK through September 13, 2026.
When gym equipment is no longer just cold steel but becomes a work of art, the boundary between exercise and aesthetics is redefined. Lithuanian artist Augustas Serapinas’s recent installation begins with a simple yet intriguing question: “What would weight-training equipment look like if it could be more beautiful?”
Gym equipment can be art, too
Images from Instagram / @galeriamunicipaldoporto
Serapinas has redesigned the weight plates commonly found in traditional gyms. Rather than steel, they are made from plaster casts and sculptures once used in art schools to teach the human figure. Familiar torsos, arms, and muscular contours are transformed into liftable weights, creating an unexpected connection between classical sculpture and fitness equipment.
Lifting weights while seeing the human figure in art anew
Images from Instagram / @galeriamunicipaldoporto
This body of work is more than a change in form; it also reconsiders the body’s role in art and exercise. Once sculptures are no longer simply displayed on pedestals, instead becoming equipment that can be gripped, lifted, and used repeatedly, the human figure in art shifts from something “viewed” to something “experienced.” As viewers train their bodies, they can also reconnect with the relationship between art and the body.
Physical Culture is currently on view at Nottingham Contemporary in the United Kingdom through September 13, 2026. Through thoughtfully conceived installations, it brings fitness culture, classical sculpture, and contemporary art into conversation, making “lifting weights” a process of viewing and experiencing art.
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