SPACE & TIME

CURATORIAL BRIEF

“Space and Time” is an ephemeral exhibition curated to unveil the symbiotic relationship between artistic innovation, architectural heritage, and historical narrative. Serving as a collateral event during the inaugural edition of maltabiennale.art 2024, this curated showcase offers a nuanced exploration of contemporary artistic practices within the context of a meticulously preserved Neo-Renaissance villa.

At the heart of the exhibition lies a deliberate juxtaposition between the temporal dimensions of the villa’s architectural framework and the timeless essence of artistic creation. Through a discerning curation of both site-specific installations and curated selections from the oeuvres of esteemed Maltese and Polish artists, “Space and Time” orchestrates a multifaceted dialogue that transcends conventional boundaries of time and space.

Within the confines of the villa’s interior chambers and historic gardens, visitors are invited to embark on a sensory journey characterized by the convergence of past and present. The exhibition’s spatial configuration is conceived as a deliberate intervention within the villa’s historical milieu, fostering an immersive experience that reinterprets the site’s cultural heritage through a contemporary lens.

Central to the exhibition’s curatorial premise is the notion of intercultural exchange, whereby artists respond to the villa’s historical references and materiality with a nuanced sensitivity to its inherent context. This engagement with the site’s architectural morphology and temporal stratigraphy serves as a catalyst for a dialectical discourse between tradition and innovation, heritage and modernity.

Through a series of carefully curated thematic clusters, “Space and Time” unveils the intricate layers of meaning embedded within the villa’s architectural fabric. Each artwork, whether conceived as a site-specific intervention or drawn from the artists’ existing bodies of work, serves as a testament to the enduring resonance of artistic expression in shaping our perception of space, time, and cultural identity.

As visitors navigate through the designated exhibition areas, they are encouraged to contemplate the dialectical relationship between form and function, memory and oblivion, presence and absence. “Space and Time” thus emerges as a site of intellectual inquiry and aesthetic contemplation, inviting viewers to interrogate the complex interplay between art and architecture within the broader discourse of cultural heritage preservation and artistic innovation.

In conclusion, “Space and Time” emerges as a seminal exploration of the intersections between art, architecture, and history, underscoring the transformative potential of artistic intervention in reimagining our engagement with the built environment and its manifold temporalities.

CURATOR

Boris Kudlička

Boris Kudlička is a Slovak set designer who has played a crucial role in the theatre industry for the last two decades. He studied set design at the Academy of Performing Arts, Bratislava, and the Minerva Art Academy, Groningen. He regularly collaborates with director Mariusz Treliński, with whom he created the following: Tristan und Isolde (Metropolitan Opera, New York), Iolanta (Metropolitan Opera, Maggio Musicale, Florence), Duke Bluebeard’s Castle (Metropolitan Opera, Polish National Opera), The Fiery Angel (Polish National Opera, Aix-en-Provence Opera Festival), Manon Lescaut (Welsh National Opera, La Monnaie du Munt, Brussels, Polish National Opera) and Der fliegende Holländer, Madama Butterfly, Don Giovanni, La Traviata and Powder Her Face (for companies in Europe, the USA and Israel). His productions with Warner include Tannhäuser (Opéra national du Rhin), The Devils of Loudun (Royal Danish Opera), Le nozze di Figaro (Polish National Opera), Falstaff and The Tempest (Frankfurt Opera). He has also collaborated with Dale Duesing in Berlin, Frankfurt and Bern and with theatre director Amon Miyamoto on projects in Tokyo, Yokohama and for Lincoln Center Festival, New York.

Kudlička has not only worked in theatre but also the film industry. Moreover, he designed numerous exhibitions including the Polish pavilion for Expo 2000 in Hanover and Expo 2010 in Shanghai, where he won the silver medal. His many awards include a gold medal at the 2007 Prague Quadrennial. Kudlička was a partner in the Polish architectural practice WWAA which specialized in architecture, interior design and exhibitions. Moreover, he was a lecturer in scenography at Warsaw’s Academy of Fine Arts between 2011 and 2014. In 2018, he has established his own architectural practice, Boris Kudlička with Partners, which offers luxurious interior design for commercial and private investments. The company’s most prominent projects include Raffles Europejski Warsaw Hotel, family offices in Zurich, ladies’ SPA in Doha and many more premium private interiors.

ARTISTS