(P)art > WIDE CUBE
..about half a year ago, Ilaria Florio, the director of the alternative cultural center on the outskirts of Lecce, asked me if i ‘d like to organize an exhibition in the CROCEVIA, the place where we hosted the COSMOBISTROTS all last year.
i had been asking myself for a while about what i could offer the students of Lecce’s art academy, so that they would have an open, experimental and public space to experiment in a way that the academy cannot give them. Ilaria’s question was the answer.
i wrote a small text, printed it out on A4 back and front (see left) and took it to the café in front of the academy, where the students in question take their breaks, to invite them into the WIDE CUBE.
then everything proceeded as quickly as it did with ease! as i suspected, my young colleagues were on fire for this opportunity and with the help of Francesca, Malek, Milena and Giorgia we installed the WIDE CUBEs basics – which meant that at a height of just under 3 meters we fitted a rectangle of 22 pine trees with a steel cable running all the way around it, which can serve all kinds of installation purposes, and then stretched a chain of lights centrally along the entire 34 meters of this tree rectangle (see 3rd graphic left) – while the young artists made the selection of their works.
there was no time for them to create works specifically in response to this strange wide cube and its vibrant social and cultural context, but that’s okay. – we said that the first step should be to introduce the space as such as the city’s new art space and its youngest artists.
we then wanted to organize a second exhibition in the autumn that would focus on the space and its surroundings.
here is the translation of the text of this invitation (whose original wording you can see on the left):
The WHITE CUBE, the legendary principle of art galleries:*
an absolutely neutral space to do justice to art, its effect and perception, represents an important background for contemporary visual art.
But there is another, particularly radical one that we call the WIDE CUBE: 22 spruce trees, uneven terrain, varied backgrounds, and a background of noises and sounds echoing from the festive context of the CROCEVIA garden. In short, a great challenge!
IS IT YOURS? We are very interested to know what you are experiencing, researching, what you are wondering about.
Contact us and let’s visit the place together, reflect on its potential and difficulties. We are planning a large group exhibition, hoping it will be the first of a long series.
We are happy to provide this open space and useful tools to exhibit your work. We will take care of the printing, communication and organization of the opening party.
You will be able to sell your work and 100 percent of the proceeds will remain in your hands-another radical difference from the classic WHITE CUBE.
Another aspect that makes our art space essentially different from conventional ones lies in the absence of selection: no jury, no judging! Of course, we are forced to limit the number of participants (first come, first served…).
We do not presume to judge your work, but rather offer you an open forum to discuss it.
SO ARE YOU IN? Contact us and let’s create the first WIDE CUBE together. GO!
We are waiting for you . . .
* https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/White_cube_gallery
at the bottom left you will find the invitation card with the names of all the artists and the media through which they have given us a taste of their arguments.
..and as soon as i have made a selection of pictures of the opening evening together with the artists, there will be an update on this page – i guess in September 2024. Inshallah.
