Thea Djordjadze: Transforming the Secession Space with a Radical Studio Relocation Exhibition

This exhibition by Thea Djordjadze features large-scale installations created in situ, transforming the exhibition space through the recontextualization of studio contents. The show explores the concept of the provisional and the studio as a site of potential liberation through radical relocation and rearrangement.

Thea Djordjadze creates immersive, site-specific installations that subtly alter visitors' perceptions of exhibition spaces. Her artistic practice is characterized by the continuous recycling, reconfiguring, and reordering of existing and new objects, where the provisional nature of temporary solutions becomes the work itself. For this exhibition at the Secession, Djordjadze literally moved her Berlin studio to Vienna, dismantling and packing everything from shelves and tools to artworks and personal items into moving boxes and onto pallets. This radical act of emptying her studio leaves it completely bare, temporarily removing the artist's essential tools and everyday necessities. The artist has developed an installation using this relocated inventory, making her private workspace public and giving it a new order and sculptural form. This process involved a meticulous examination of the objects' material properties and functions, leading to their perception as abstract material, free for intuitive and playful rearrangement. The installation comprises a dense arrangement of materials and objects, including screws, electronic devices, tools, plaster bags, papier-mâché, clay, printers, scanners, wooden boards, easels, shelves, archive boxes, paints, brushes, magazines, household items, Plexiglas sheets, steel frames, plants, tables, chairs, fabrics, furs, cushions, paintings, hand-blown glass spheres, lamps, and display cases, alongside models for future objects and pieces from past exhibitions. These elements are organized into distinct 'zones,' accentuating the exhibition space's structure and verticality, possibly referencing minimalist design principles. Djordjadze consistently engages with the display itself—vitrines, pedestals, framing, and plinths—integrating everyday items, work materials, and artworks into fundamental questions of exhibition practice. The presentation includes empty shelves, untreated boards, metal panels resembling shutters, kitchen furniture, and a custom-built sofa, creating a sense of lived-in yet curated space. Even the cladding of a freestanding metal sculpture is repurposed, filled with wood panels and easels, prompting questions about whether the object is a sculpture or a temporary container. Paintings are hung conventionally, leaned against walls, or stacked, revealing only their backs or partial views. The artist also employs a subtle regime of looking, controlling what is shown and concealed, evident in the exhibition title and a related artist's book that offers seemingly transparent, yet ultimately elusive glimpses into studio life.

Information regarding tickets can be found via the provided link, which directs to the official ticketing partner, eventjet.at. General information and ticket details are also available within the 'Informationen & Tickets' section of the Secession website. The museum is open Tuesday to Sunday from 10 AM to 6 PM, with ticketing available through a dedicated shop link or the general information page.