Maruša Sagadin’s solo exhibition is the first in a new series of events taking a “One Space – One Artist – One Project” approach. Intriguingly titled “Wet Feet”, it showcases the artist’s recent works, carefully thought-out compositional wholes forming a metaphorical reflection on urban spaces intended as places for public gathering.
Maruša Sagadin’s principal interest lies in exploring the main purpose of public areas – primarily conceived as places where people can meet and gather – and in transferring these practices and ideas to a gallery context. By so doing, the Vienna-based artist seeks to direct the viewer’s attention to the need for cooperation, communication and dialogue within the community. Her Cukrarna exhibition is site-specific in that she has cleverly taken advantage of the fact that there is no charge for admittance to the ground floor gallery space to create sculptural tableaux that straddle the pedestrian zone along the Ljubljanica River and the inner courtyard on the other side of the building. In this way, Sagadin accentuates the idea of extending, or linking, the two public areas around Cukrarna.
The artist worked with the curator, Alenka Gregorič, to select the works for the exhibition and to create the dialogic relationships between them. The exhibition also includes works created specifically for Cukrarna, all of which are in harmony with their expressive forms and their individual titles, which are often playful and witty: Tschumi Alumni, DORI, Stress in Texas, Bad Mood Without a Kiosk or Kitchen, Wet Feet, Summer.
Alenka Gregorič commented: “The judicious juxtapositioning of the works takes account of the specifics of the gallery and its immediate surroundings, thereby creating a meaningful whole that encourages viewers to look beyond the merely aesthetic and actively think about the purpose and accessibility of gallery spaces. These aesthetic sculptures, meticulously thought through and masterfully executed, are also supporting structures, and the artist uses evocative details to suggest possible ways in which they could be used. In this way, an artwork becomes a bench on which she places molds of objects such as an ashtray, a lipstick, a necklace or a shoe as allusions to its potential uses. Made from a combination of wood, concrete and plastics, Sagadin’s vivid objects constantly invite the viewer to interact with them and to think about their possible uses. The artist’s aim is not to encourage irresponsible use, or even to define their purpose too rigidly, but rather to use subtle gestures to dismantle the established codes of how to view artworks in a gallery, and thereby create new perspectives and broaden our understanding of what art spaces are for, and the social responsibility they bear.”
In addition to these usage prompts, Sagadin’s sculptures also include iconographic interpretations of, and formal associations with, parts of the female body: breasts, locks of hair, a foot or a high-heeled shoe, which is both an object of beauty and a source of constant discomfort. The exhibition also includes a number of sculptures in the form of benches large and small, free-standing or forming an assemblage, which invites us to sit on them, as well as reminiscent sculptures of screens or partitions, behind which we can find a concealed spot for reflection or a chat, or just a quiet place to sit.
At CUKRARNA, Ljubljana
until May 27, 2022