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
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