Berlin-based Thea Djordjadze spins a web of quiet contemplation in Sprüth Magers’ exquisite 18th-century home in London.
Djordjadze’s fluid creative process is led by the space available to her, with an amalgamation of often mundane materials imbued with an otherworldly, occasionally eerie, aura when recontextualised. In the past this has taken shape in the creating of a clinical and domestic environment which draws on her experience of growing up in Communist-ruled Georgia, its sparse lines and architecture rethought as minimalist silhouettes in foam, sponge, plaster and wood.
Thea Djordjadze, ‘framing yours making mine’, installation view, Sprüth Magers, London, 2024
A sparseness is also present in her current exhibition, ‘framing yours making mine’, but here a thread running throughout the two-storey show disregards traditional spatial boundaries, instead suggesting the interconnectedness of the pieces present. Offbeat details – the placing of an object far below the eyeline, or the decision to opt for muted artificial light – create an unsettling environment that encourages us to look twice.
Thea Djordjadze, ‘framing yours making mine’, installation view, Sprüth Magers, London, 2024
Djordjadze refuses to present us with the obvious, making us search for her material plays while leaving the functional devices of the building on show. Stripped of mystique, too, is the artist’s process. Here we see fingerprints, the smoothing of materials, as Djordjadze leaves her literal mark.
Thea Djordjadze, ‘framing yours making mine’, installation view, Sprüth Magers, London, 2024
Perhaps the most surprising aspect of the exhibition is the emotionality. By keeping the focus on the site-specific nature of her work, here the pieces previously staged have been rethought entirely anew, with the only variable the time that has passed. The effect is tranquil. Djordjadze’s adaptability to the space – the day of the opening, she is still calmly assessing placements and possibilities – lends it a magic. By juxtaposing quotidian materials with modernist forms, teased out of context, Djordjadze leaves us with the gift of space and time.
Thea Djordjadze 'framing yours making mine' is on at Sprüth Magers, London, until 28 March 2024
Thea Djordjadze, ‘framing yours making mine’, installation view, Sprüth Magers, London, 2024
-
Beach chic: the all-new Citroën Ami gets an acid-tinged, open-air Buggy variantCitroën have brought a dose of polychromatic playfulness to their new generation Ami microcar, the cult all-ages electric quadricycle that channels the spirit of the 2CV for the modern age
-
Wallpaper* checks in at Rosewood Miyakojima: ‘Japan, but not as most people know it’Rosewood Miyakojima offers a smooth balance of intuitive Japanese ‘omotenashi’ fused with Rosewood’s luxury edge
-
Thrilling, demanding, grotesque and theatrical: what to see at Berlin Gallery WeekendBerlin Gallery Weekend is back for 2025, and with over 50 galleries taking part, there's lots to see
-
The UK AIDS Memorial Quilt will be shown at Tate ModernThe 42-panel quilt, which commemorates those affected by HIV and AIDS, will be displayed in Tate Modern’s Turbine Hall in June 2025
-
‘Humour is foundational’: artist Ella Kruglyanskaya on painting as a ‘highly questionable’ pursuitElla Kruglyanskaya’s exhibition, ‘Shadows’ at Thomas Dane Gallery, is the first in a series of three this year, with openings in Basel and New York to follow
-
Artist Qualeasha Wood explores the digital glitch to weave stories of the Black female experienceIn ‘Malware’, her new London exhibition at Pippy Houldsworth Gallery, the American artist’s tapestries, tuftings and videos delve into the world of internet malfunction
-
Ed Atkins confronts death at Tate BritainIn his new London exhibition, the artist prods at the limits of existence through digital and physical works, including a film starring Toby Jones
-
Tom Wesselmann’s 'Up Close' and the anatomy of desireIn a new exhibition currently on show at Almine Rech in London, Tom Wesselmann challenges the limits of figurative painting
-
A major Frida Kahlo exhibition is coming to the Tate Modern next yearTate’s 2026 programme includes 'Frida: The Making of an Icon', which will trace the professional and personal life of countercultural figurehead Frida Kahlo
-
A portrait of the artist: Sotheby’s puts Grayson Perry in the spotlightFor more than a decade, photographer Richard Ansett has made Grayson Perry his muse. Now Sotheby’s is staging a selling exhibition of their work
-
Celia Paul's colony of ghostly apparitions haunts Victoria MiroEerie and elegiac new London exhibition ‘Celia Paul: Colony of Ghosts’ is on show at Victoria Miro until 17 April
