Spare Room
Guilia Piera Livi
Aug. 3 - Aug. 31
I interpose objects of the everyday to distort our sense of space, explore our ability to inhabit rooms, and merge
the dreamlike with the rigid. My geometric objects and paintings focus on materiality to investigate light, shadow, and the weirdly functional. I think of paintings as they exist in the home, decorating our lives, using us to give them purpose. And inversely, objects become paintings to question abstraction and reality. My work focuses on the acute and the polite, the domestic and the utilitarian.
My current studio practice deals with the issue of interior space and design. I work to understand how we as humans find art objects to be aesthetically pleasing, how we choose to live among them in our homes. We live in a time when we rarely accept appliances that only serve one purpose, which prompts me to investigate how paintings can be multifunctional to highlight the absurdity of convenience. This question of domesticity comes from a curiosity of the curated home space, how the imperfections of home life can be contrasted with the polish of interior design. By paring abstraction with accessibility, I aim to critique these spaces, both the home and where we shop for the home, questioning the commodification of art objects and what that means for the artist. What is the role of the artist in a society with an aspiration to be modern?
If an object starts as a tiny point in space and slowly grows into the utilitarian object by which we call upon it, what does it look like just before that moment of realization? Can we still assign purpose? A subtle shift in scale, a light that’s too bright, and a water source that cannot be as clean as its linen surface. A color palette that leaves you with feelings of nostalgia and warmth, yet slight unease. Misbalance. Misbehavior.
Pick out your painting. Where will you put it?