Textures of the Contemporary
A day, a livelong day, is not one thing but many. It changes not only in growing light toward zenith and decline again, but in texture and mood, in tone and meaning, warped by a thousand factors of season, of heat or cold, of still or multi winds (..)
Galleria Renata Fabbri arte contemporanea is delighted to host the group show Textures of the Contemporary. The four multidisciplinary artists will present a manifold of works, ranging from painting to sculpture to sculptural paintings, as well as site-specific installations. Veronika Hapchenko, Stephen Kent, Shinoh Nam and Lena Valenzuela exhibit in Italy for the first time.
Textures of the Contemporary asks questions of fitting and being fitted, of watching changing forms, converted dimensions, taking over spaces. The positions each tackle the fascinating notion of texture, it’s feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or substance. Not only within their own works, the concept is being exaggerated into the exhibition space and further into a metaphorical state of the contemporary whole – those dreamy instants surrounding our very existence when moments of fleeting seconds and of flickering air become tangible; soundtracks of the inner city crying out to be touched.
Like these almost-touchable instants, the presented works will – correlating with the architectural character of the gallery – directly and indirectly comment on contemporary surfaces and its boundaries, challenging the known and familiar. These interventions are both invisible and unmissable: behind glass, finding indents, intervening staircases, integrating and exaggerating. That means: layering upon layers, disclosing positions, surfaces and haptics.
Either through sculptures, spaces, walls, clay, plastic, stones, reflection or windows, the exhibited works will interrupt discursive structures. As an outcome, not only the visitors but also their own practices will be enabled to alternative, divergent views and insights into what it means to tackle alternative narratives of physical features and their textural functionality – and give a feel to the invisible. At Renata Fabbri Veronika Hapchenko, Stephen Kent, Shinoh Nam and Lena Valenzuela showcase their potential in representing the ever-changing view onto this world far from limitations, introducing new surroundings in familiar spaces.
(…) And as a day changes so do its subjects, bugs and birds, cats, dogs, butterflies, and people.
John Steinbeck: The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)
A day, a livelong day, is not one thing but many. It changes not only in growing light toward zenith and decline again, but in texture and mood, in tone and meaning, warped by a thousand factors of season, of heat or cold, of still or multi winds (..)
Galleria Renata Fabbri arte contemporanea is delighted to host the group show Textures of the Contemporary. The four multidisciplinary artists will present a manifold of works, ranging from painting to sculpture to sculptural paintings, as well as site-specific installations. Veronika Hapchenko, Stephen Kent, Shinoh Nam and Lena Valenzuela exhibit in Italy for the first time.
Textures of the Contemporary asks questions of fitting and being fitted, of watching changing forms, converted dimensions, taking over spaces. The positions each tackle the fascinating notion of texture, it’s feel, appearance, or consistency of a surface or substance. Not only within their own works, the concept is being exaggerated into the exhibition space and further into a metaphorical state of the contemporary whole – those dreamy instants surrounding our very existence when moments of fleeting seconds and of flickering air become tangible; soundtracks of the inner city crying out to be touched.
Like these almost-touchable instants, the presented works will – correlating with the architectural character of the gallery – directly and indirectly comment on contemporary surfaces and its boundaries, challenging the known and familiar. These interventions are both invisible and unmissable: behind glass, finding indents, intervening staircases, integrating and exaggerating. That means: layering upon layers, disclosing positions, surfaces and haptics.
Either through sculptures, spaces, walls, clay, plastic, stones, reflection or windows, the exhibited works will interrupt discursive structures. As an outcome, not only the visitors but also their own practices will be enabled to alternative, divergent views and insights into what it means to tackle alternative narratives of physical features and their textural functionality – and give a feel to the invisible. At Renata Fabbri Veronika Hapchenko, Stephen Kent, Shinoh Nam and Lena Valenzuela showcase their potential in representing the ever-changing view onto this world far from limitations, introducing new surroundings in familiar spaces.
(…) And as a day changes so do its subjects, bugs and birds, cats, dogs, butterflies, and people.
John Steinbeck: The Winter of Our Discontent (1961)
Veronika Hapchenko, Swan, 2022Acrylic and ink on canvas, 110x160 cm. Courtesy Import Export, Warsaw. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Veronika Hapchenko, Ashtray (flower), 2022Acrylic and ink on canvas, 46x41 cm. Courtesy Import Export, Warsaw. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Shinoh Nam, House of the Others 3, 2022Hand polished steel, stainless steel, acrylic glass, soft foam, mirror, 130x70x136 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Stephen Kent, DAYFLOWERS (DENIM), 2021 – WILTED VASE I (COCKTAIL HOUR), 2021Plaster, resin, pigments, acrylic, 51x41x4 cm (each) Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Veronika Hapchenko, Swan (TBC), 2022Polylactide, 33x22x15 cm. Courtesy Import Export, Warsaw. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Veronika Hapchenko, Bohemian Glass, 2022Acrylic and ink on canvas, 46x41 cm. Courtesy Import Export, Warsaw. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Stephen Kent, WITHIN THE EGG OF A FLEA (BERLIN FABRIC MARKET), 2021Print on Dibond, marble, tile, cement on wood panel, 90x70x4 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Stephen Kent, WITHIN THE EGG OF A FLEA (DONG XUAN CENTER), 2021Print on Dibond, marble, tile, cement on wood panel, 90x70x4 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Lena Valenzuela, On a Horse, 2021Oil on canvas, 200x150 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Lena Valenzuela, Sitting with Rabbits, 2022Ceramic, pastel colored pencils on paper, 47x45 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Lena Valenzuela, Foret Magique ll, 2022Ceramic, pastel colored pencils on paper, 47x45 cm. Ph: Alberto Fanelli.
Stephen Kent (USA, 1985) lives and works in Berlin. He works around ideas of resolution and image production through the decorative gesture and the exploration of cultural codes embedded in everyday objects. In his ceramics, paintings and mosaics the artist demonstrates his engagement with psychedelic culture and comparative mythology. He explores cultural codes that can be found embedded in everyday objects and scenarios. With a medium-reflexive approach, he uses a process-oriented language to humorously investigate the stuff our world is made of. It remains a staged clash of ancient and digital pixels, an ironic montage of high and mass culture with an inquisitive wink.
Kent received a Master of Fine Arts at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania State University. He has recently exhibited with Elephant Kunsthall in Norway, Good Weather Gallery in the U.S., LVL 3 in Chicago, Haverkampf Leistenschneider Galerie in Berlin, Szydlowski Galeria in Warsaw, and Die Brücke Museum, Berlin. His mosaic works have been written about in publications such as Der Tagespiegel and the Chicago Tribune.Stephen Kent (USA, 1985) lives and works in Berlin. He works around ideas of resolution and image production through the decorative gesture and the exploration of cultural codes embedded in everyday objects. In his ceramics, paintings and mosaics the artist demonstrates his engagement with psychedelic culture and comparative mythology. He explores cultural codes that can be found embedded in everyday objects and scenarios. With a medium-reflexive approach, he uses a process-oriented language to humorously investigate the stuff our world is made of. It remains a staged clash of ancient and digital pixels, an ironic montage of high and mass culture with an inquisitive wink.
Kent received a Master of Fine Arts at the Cranbrook Academy of Art in Detroit, and his Bachelor of Fine Arts from the Pennsylvania State University. He has recently exhibited with Elephant Kunsthall in Norway, Good Weather Gallery in the U.S., LVL 3 in Chicago, Haverkampf Leistenschneider Galerie in Berlin, Szydlowski Galeria in Warsaw, and Die Brücke Museum, Berlin. His mosaic works have been written about in publications such as Der Tagespiegel and the Chicago Tribune.
Veronika Hapchenko (Kyiv, 1995) lives and works in Krakow. Embracing both painting and object making, her work is concerned with Russian philosophy and cultural tropes of the former USSR – as well as with the strong ties between esoteric beliefs, politics and militarism that they entail. Looking to philosophical theses, historiography and oral history in her work, the artist traces legends and taboos surrounding revolutionary artists, political figures and the presence of occult in their lives and output.
Hapchenko recently graduated with an MFA in Painting from the Krakow Academy of Fine Art, after first studying stage design at the National, University of Cinema and Television in Kyiv, Ukraine. Berlin. Her solo shows include Import Export, Warsaw, Nanazenit,Warsaw, i gallery, Cracow, Baszta Gallery, Dworek Białoprądnicki Cultural Center, Cracow. Her works have been also exhibited in group shows at Gierowski Foundation, Warsaw, Krupa Gallery, Wroclaw, Rundgang, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Cracow Art Week KRAKERS and Galeria Atelier II, Cracow.Veronika Hapchenko (Kyiv, 1995) lives and works in Krakow. Embracing both painting and object making, her work is concerned with Russian philosophy and cultural tropes of the former USSR – as well as with the strong ties between esoteric beliefs, politics and militarism that they entail. Looking to philosophical theses, historiography and oral history in her work, the artist traces legends and taboos surrounding revolutionary artists, political figures and the presence of occult in their lives and output.
Hapchenko recently graduated with an MFA in Painting from the Krakow Academy of Fine Art, after first studying stage design at the National, University of Cinema and Television in Kyiv, Ukraine. Berlin. Her solo shows include Import Export, Warsaw, Nanazenit,Warsaw, i gallery, Cracow, Baszta Gallery, Dworek Białoprądnicki Cultural Center, Cracow. Her works have been also exhibited in group shows at Gierowski Foundation, Warsaw, Krupa Gallery, Wroclaw, Rundgang, Academy of Fine Arts Vienna, Cracow Art Week KRAKERS and Galeria Atelier II, Cracow.
- Sophie Ko
- Gizela Mickiewicz,
- Alessandro Teoldi
Renata Fabbri is delighted to announce that the artist has been chosen to create a project for the Croatian pavilion at the Sixtieth Venice Biennale, to take place April 20 to November 24, 2024.
- Vlatka Horvat
Museum of Contemporary Art, Zagreb
Opening Sept 14
Until 12/11/2023
Curated by Kristina Bonjeković Stojković
- Vlatka Horvat,
- Tim Etchells,
- Sophie Ko
Artissima
2nd – 5th November 2023
Oval | Torino
Main Section
Hall Orange | Booth 12
- Giovanni Kronenberg
Curated by Vincenzo de Bellis and Alessandro Rabottini
