Since 2018 Marta Pellerini, Visual Art Residency and Programme Curator has been organised different series of talks, taking place in the BSR Lecture Theatre. Selected artists, curators and art critics were asked to talk about their research in relation to some fundamental topics: gender, justice, decoloniality or materiality.

Talk Materialities

What is materiality in contemporary art? In historical art, materiality played two important roles: to imitate the world and to overcome death. Certain materials also had specific meanings, indicating wealth and exclusivity.
Contemporary art prompts a different discourse around materiality. From the materiality of colour revealed in its plasticity in abstract expressionism to a reconnection with everyday objects in Pop Art, which began in the 1930s with the Surrealist object trouvé. Materiality can be a body in Performance Art or disappear in Digital Art. Many artists use materiality in a symbolic way, to investigate personal histories and collective memories.