Zmrzovalnik kot razstavni prostor / Refrigerator as Exhibition Space (12.8.-29.8.2025)

Prostorska instalacija / mešana tehnika

Space installation / mixed media

In Refrigerator as Exhibition Space, artist Tajda Stiplovšek Jug extends the inquiries begun in earlier works, Damage and Restoration, What Would the World Be Like if Restoration Were Not Necessary?, Beyond, and Damage as Liberation. Here, the evolution of these installations and sculptural gestures unfolds in a spatial composition where a refrigerator and an artwork—a sculpture of ice coexist in a mutually dependent relationship. The refrigerator, through its function, preserves the sculpture’s physical presence, while the sculpture imbues the machine with symbolic and aesthetic resonance. In this exchange, the refrigerator surpasses the role of the classical ready-made, becoming a vital mechanism in an autonomous artistic system. The installation also introduces a second, more reflective dimension: a reconstructed machine, once damaged and discarded, now freed from its original utilitarian purpose. No longer a working tool, it serves as an aesthetic and conceptual frame, materially supporting the artwork while also constraining it semantically. Its reconstructed form, inspired by the archaeological logic of a fossil, draws a parallel between the preservation of natural remains and the conservation of technical artifacts. Projekcija je sestavni del razstave in predstavlja metaforično pripoved o nenehnem boju med poškodbami in obnovo. Žarek svetlobe se razdeli, medtem ko ga obnova poskuša združiti. Ta neprekinjena razpoka ustvarja mase, hibridne stanje poškodb in popravil, ki še naprej oblikujejo naš svet, včasih delujejo, včasih pa ne.

V današnjem času, ko se prepletajo narava, tehnologija in umetnost, je funkcionalnost pogosto standardizirana, medtem ko se nefunkcionalnost preobrazi v umetnost. Na tej točki konvergence umetnost ni več popolnoma avtonomna, tehnologija pa ni več le orodje, ampak obe sobivata v medsebojni odvisnosti. V tem krhkem ravnovesju Freezer kot razstavni prostor razblini meje med tehnološkim in umetniškim ter ustvarja spremenljivo območje, kjer se meja med funkcionalnim in estetskim nenehno ponovno pogaja. V duhu Duchampovega ready-made in Bourriaudove relacijske estetike Stiplovšek Jug raziskuje, kako v medsebojnem delovanju tehnologije, narave in umetnosti nastajajo nova polja pomenov, polja, v katerih noben element ne ostane nespremenjen.

Avtorica teksta galeristka Tina Gerlec

(ENG)

In Refrigerator as Exhibition Space, artist Tajda Stiplovšek Jug extends the inquiries begun in earlier works, Damage and Restoration, What Would the World Be Like if Restoration Were Not Necessary?, Beyond, and Damage as Liberation. Here, the evolution of these installations and sculptural gestures unfolds in a spatial composition where a refrigerator and an artwork—a sculpture of ice coexist in a mutually dependent relationship. The refrigerator, through its function, preserves the sculpture’s physical presence, while the sculpture imbues the machine with symbolic and aesthetic resonance. In this exchange, the refrigerator surpasses the role of the classical ready-made, becoming a vital mechanism in an autonomous artistic system. The installation also introduces a second, more reflective dimension: a reconstructed machine, once damaged and discarded, now freed from its original utilitarian purpose. No longer a working tool, it serves as an aesthetic and conceptual frame, materially supporting the artwork while also constraining it semantically. Its reconstructed form, inspired by the archaeological logic of a fossil, draws a parallel between the preservation of natural remains and the conservation of technical artifacts. A video projection forms an integral part of the exhibition, presenting a metaphorical narrative of the perpetual struggle between damage and restoration. A beam of light splits apart, while restoration attempts to hold it together. This continuous fracture generates masses, hybrid states of damage and repair, that continue to shape our world, sometimes functioning, sometimes not.

In our contemporary condition, where nature, technology, and art intersect, functionality is often standardized, while non-functionality is transformed into art. At this point of convergence, art is no longer fully autonomous, nor is technology merely a tool, they coexist through mutual dependence. In this fragile balance, Freezer as Exhibition Space dissolves the boundaries between the technological and the artistic, creating a mutable zone where the line between the functional and the aesthetic is constantly renegotiated. In the spirit of Duchamp’s ready-made and Bourriaud’s relational aesthetics, Stiplovšek Jug explores how, in the interplay of technology, nature, and art, new fields of meaning emerge, fields in which no element remains unchanged.

Text by galerist Tina Gerlec