Hands that make the world go round even in times of quarantine
acb Gallery is launching its first online exhibition during the Covid-19 pandemic. The location, the medium and the selection of the show are reflecting on the new reality which has unfolded globally with an unprecedented pace, staggering not only the eco-system of contemporary art, but all known global macrostructures which are defining our everyday life.
acb has hanged the semi-real, semi-virtual exhibition in an unconventional space of our premises, which so far has not been accessible for the public, thus also reflecting on how radically our reality has changed: we hardly can leave our homes because of the risk of infection. On the other hand, the title of the exhibition refers to the fact that although our reality is changing permanently including the infrastructure of contemporary art, the freedom of artists and their artworks will remain untouched - even the virus is unable to infiltrate this form of freedom. Contemporary art was tested so many times, by different challenges of the modern history of mankind, but always came out triumphant on the long run. The exhibition and its instinctive selection is celebrating this manifestation of human freedom.
The exhibited artworks naturally reflect on the disappearance of our physical encounters and intimacy and on the acceleration of the digitalization of our experiences of nature. The exhibition also showcases pieces, which can be perceived differently from our present perspective, because they contain layers which are resonating with the ongoing changes of our reality. The claustrophobic experience of our self-imposed quarantines, the power of creation even within our reduced frames of activity and the motif of hands are all important points of departure of the selection. The artworks are also engaging into an important dialogue with the unique character of the space, which has been an abandoned flat used as a storage in the past years and bearing all kinds of traces of life usually banished from our white cubes.
