10 September –
23 October 2016
Senza Sistema, was the second solo exhibition by Caterina Silva at the gallery. The exhibition was accompanied by a durational performance titled Secret Society of Lovers in collaboration with Marta Montevecchi, Matteo Locci, Johan Kistemann, who performed a series of actions improvised on the opening night through instructions given by the artist. The exhibition Senza Sistema reflects a world in which the value systems are often ambiguous and the distinction between artistic object and commodity is difficult to discern. This is part a consequence of Silva’s fast and intuitive painting process.
In adherence with the rules of fashion, implying the constant introduction of new objects into the market, Silva proposes elements of the new pictorial collection together with pieces of previous series of works. By playing with the pace of making the work, time becomes a critical factor in the construction of value, through a lens of successive seasonal collections produced by designers and consumed by customers. Silva compulsively produces painting-objects as she is getting ready for the next season but, simultaneously, the artist associates them with older paintings. She is disappointing the expectations of anticipated trends and disrupting the pursuit of “newness”, which guides the fashion industry.
Caterina Silva deconstructs the logic that paintings within the series presented in the exhibition are connected, preventing a coherent reading of the works on show, and demanding participation to make sense of the work displayed. The artist considers her painting practice a struggle with language and its classification systems. She creates open images available to the interpretation and emotional reaction of the viewer, consequence of a process of deconstruction of her own internal structures.
The performance Secret Society of Lovers works as a counterbalance to the proliferation of products-objects-paintings displayed in the gallery. Marta Montevecchi, Matteo Locci and Johan Kisteman will enact a series of descriptive actions instructed by Caterina Silva, to be performed for almost three hours during the exhibition. The actions depicted are those performed by the artist before and during her painting process. During the opening of the exhibition, they will be translated by other bodies, freed from the physicality of the materials, devoid of productive goals. Reduced to a series of verbal instructions, the actions become gestures, elements of an improvised long-duration choreography.
The production of meaning, and therefore value, is left in the hand of the performers that will undertake the emotional responsibility of the situation, the possibility of its developments and the potential interaction of the audience. The artist will be absent during the performance, completing a residency at the Asia Culture Centre in Gwangju, South Korea.
Supported by GIRLPOWER Collection.
Installation Views
Performance:
Secret Society of Lovers
Friday 9 September, 6 – 8pm
Performance by Caterina Silva in collaboration with Marta Motevecchi, Matteo Locci, Johan Kisteman
