Venues, Spaces and Critical Frameworks. Beginning

One of the biggest challenges in my project was choosing the right place to exhibit my work. As I mentioned before, I originally planned to show my final exhibition in a restaurant. I developed the whole concept and even installed the works there.

But after receiving feedback from my tutor and listening to my own inner feelings, I realised that this space and concept did not fit the goals of the university project.

The restaurant made my work look more decorative than I intended, and the lighting was not right either.

It didn’t support the deeper meaning of my art or allow the physical qualities to come through.

After that, I started to explore many other possible locations.

I visited exhibitions and looked at both traditional gallery spaces and more unusual ones.

I knew that if a big institution or a well-known artist were to do such an exhibition, more people would naturally visit it.

But in my case, if I picked a local place in my village, the audience would be mostly my friends. This made me think deeply: What is the purpose of this exhibition? I understood that for me it’s not only about showing the work, but about communicating with people, especially people who might not usually go to a gallery. I wanted to reach new minds and new perspectives.

This led to many ideas. At one point, I thought about exhibiting in a construction store like OBI.

I liked the idea that the audience would be people who normally think about building or fixing things, not necessarily about art.

Since I also use materials like wood, metal sticks, and screws but to create art instead of furniture I thought it could create an interesting contrast and new conversations.

I also considered using empty shop windows in our village, similar to my vitrine exhibition in Zurich. But I had already done that type of show, and I wasn’t sure it would fully support the physical and emotional aspects of my current work.

I wanted something more.

When I visited Art Basel Design in Paris,

I saw artworks displayed in an old, elegant villa. It gave value to the objects but also made me question - does a space like that help communicate my ideas? My work is not just about beauty or prestige. It deals with emotions, propaganda, war, and real life.

I remembered an older idea from when the war in Ukraine started, I wanted to place my colour field works in broken, damaged buildings. These colour fields reflect emotions, and by showing them in destroyed spaces, the message could be stronger: to contrast life and destruction, and to reflect on propaganda through the use of newspapers.

I also thought about the idea of Schreinerei (deu.), a construction space where people work with wood.

It inspired me to think again about the construction/deconstruction site as an exhibition space.

I also met François Valentiny from the Valentiny foundation, 

and considered doing my show in a building designed by him. I was fascinated by the architecture and how my work could respond to it. But in that case, I realised my work would be in conversation with the space and the sculptor’s work, but it might lose its own voice.

All these decisions were not only practical but also emotional and conceptual. I reached out to people, contacted different venues, and tried to find out if I could exhibit in these places. It was not easy. This was probably the most difficult part of the whole process - choosing the right space that supports the meaning of my work, gives it the right visibility, and lets me connect with the right audience. But it was also a very important learning experience for me, and I will use this knowledge for future exhibitions as well.