Continua

Facing walls, Opening windows

01 Sep - 25 Nov 2012

© Pascale Marthine Tayou
L’arbre a palabres, 2012
acrylic paint of the wall, red neon lights, variable dimensions
FACING WALLS, OPENING WINDOWS
1 September - 25 November 2012

Daniel Buren
Carlos Garaicoa
Kendell Geers
Jorge Macchi
Michelangelo Pistoletto
Nedko Solakov
Sun Yuan & Peng Yu
Pascale Marthine Tayou
Sislej Xhafa

“Art should be part of everyday life” – this is the basic concept that Galleria Continua is reconsidering and exploring in the new project for its Beijing space. All the places we are used to live in have walls that can be seen and touched. These surfaces are containers but at the same time are themselves content. They absorb and reflect, constantly conveying messages and stories to us. What’s more, walls have always been widely used by the people as a vehicle for political communication. A building, a factory, a temple, a church, a bridge are all sites that artists can regenerate and reinterpret, creating fresh atmospheres. The poetry and creativity of artists can reinvent an environment, generating new vibes capable of stirring people’s sensibility and awareness of life. In this way, everyone can experience new feelings and sensations simply by passing or entering the reworked spaces.

Artists have always worked in dedicated indoor spaces, as well as in outdoor ones, setting challenges for themselves in re-thinking and welding together intimate and personal spaces with life outside, namely the cities. Furthermore, by using their own poetics and understanding of life, artists can mould and interpret any space, conveying their vision to others and inviting self-reflection and selfanalysis.

The artist’s work, then, represents a union between the private and public sphere. Ultimately, Facing walls, Opening windows is the result of passions and energies that have made it possible to embark on a great journey, starting from the desire of both institutional bodies and private citizens to actively engage with and experience public spaces in a new way.
 

Tags: Daniel Buren, Carlos Garaicoa, Kendell Geers, Jorge Macchi, Michelangelo Pistoletto, M. Pistoletto, Nedko Solakov, Pascale Marthine Tayou, Sislej Xhafa, Sun Yuan & Peng Yu, Sun Yuan + Peng Yu