Restate

art:i:curate presents an exhibition of works by four international artists and a designer in the space of the NEO Bankside property. Inspired by theories of place and space, Curator Carmen Stolfi explores the relationship of the work with the structure of the building whilst fostering a dialogue between artwork and environment.

Restate is a show about the regenerative power of art and design and about exploring the world through reinvented ideas. Selected artists reactivate a commercial property space through both existing and site-specific artworks. In doing so, they translate in art the distinctive architecture as if all of the installations were created ad hoc for this site and initiate a series of dynamic relations that develop new landscapes and semantic references, deconstruct and re-assemble hybrids, transform objects into models, and match the strength of material with the fragility of structure.

The exhibition Restate draws its title from the same verb that literally means to say something again or differently. As with a blank page, artistic interventions aim to affirm the identity of a new development construction by repurposing space functionalities and re-establishing the relationship between artistic expression, public perception, and building architecture. Restating the identity of this space means to construct and further develop the self, its soul, marked by the conflict between durability of structure and temporariness of relations.

Artists Stian Ǻdlandsvik, Teresa Braula Reis, Alicja Dobrucka, Alona Rodeh, and designer Harry Thaler highlight aspects of production and temporality by connecting conceptual topics to a more material-oriented experience. With works spanning from photography, video, design-oriented sculpture and installation, the exhibition is structured like a conceptual map in which each of the building elements, for example, function, material, and architectural components, are contemporary art topics reinterpreted and explored by these artists through their individual practices. The exhibition brings together works that share the physicality of matter such as metal, glass, and concrete, as they evoke a dialogue with the material identity of the space and state a series of ongoing semantic references between the concept of durability of the space and temporality of its identity.