Haris Epaminonda's 'VOL. XXIII': Exploring New Narratives in Exhibition Installations at Secession

Haris Epaminonda's exhibition 'VOL. XXIII' explores the dialogue between natural elements and historical materials. The artist uses a vocabulary of found and fabricated objects, including architectural fragments, pedestals, draperies, and book pages, to create new narratives with enigmatic connections. The exhibition transforms the gallery into a space of mirrors and reflections, recalling cinematic and art historical references.

In 'VOL. XXIII', Haris Epaminonda constructs installations by juxtaposing elements from the natural world with fragments of historical materials. Her artistic toolkit includes architectural carvings, pedestals, draperies, vessels, statuettes, and pages from old books, from which she weaves new narratives where the specific relationships remain open to interpretation. These assembled components resonate with each other and with the history of the exhibition venue. The exhibition titles, sequentially numbered 'volumes,' suggest an abstract ordering principle rather than concrete content, leaving them open to individual interpretation. The dominant use of straight lines, geometric forms, and a reduced color palette provides structure and acts as a coordinate system. Epaminonda's handling of materials is meticulous and precise, with selected objects carrying significant meaning through their form and materiality, demanding close observation. The artist pays particular attention to the surface, or 'skin,' of her sculptures. She frequently employs traditional or historical techniques, such as lacquering or Stucco Veneziano, a Venetian plaster technique, to imbue her works with geographic, cultural, and symbolic references. Epaminonda's subtly arranged assemblages can be seen as a spatial extension of her earlier works, which were based on collage techniques using found film and video material, as well as images from books and magazines. For the artist, editing videos and assembling collages are closely related processes, both involving the act of setting final cuts. For 'VOL. XXIII' at the Secession, Epaminonda transformed the gallery into a white-walled space where mirrors and reflections are prominent. The environment evokes scenes from Stanley Kubrick's science fiction film '2001: A Space Odyssey' (1968) or the settings in Giorgio de Chirico's early metaphysical paintings. A moon rises over the sea in one section, while a heavy blue velvet curtain hangs from the ceiling in another. The sight of arches mirrored in a pool of water suggests a Roman alleyway, and an Apollo bust awaits reinterpretation.

Information and tickets for exhibitions at the Secession can be found via the provided link. General opening hours are Tuesday to Sunday, 10 AM to 6 PM. Specific exhibition entry details are not detailed on this page beyond directing visitors to ticketing information and general opening hours, implying museum admission likely applies but is not explicitly stated for this exhibition alone. Visitors can purchase tickets through the provided eventjet link for Secession events generally.