Tamara Kuselman (b. in Buenos Aires, Argentina, 1980, lives and works in Barcelona) works with printed matter, video and performance ranging from text interventions in books, performances, and video. She shows a particular interest in the staged and scripted situations of everyday life, intervening in a subtle way, highlighting issues of interpersonal communication, fate and the arbitrariness of decision making. Kuselman was selected out of 100 candidates for the SPS residency programme in association with Hangar Barcelona. Hangar is a centre for arts production, research, and international exchange in Barcelona. 2010 marks the beginning of the long term collaboration between SMART Project Space and Hangar. The Hangar residency is generously supported by the Ministry for Foreign Affairs Spain.
Esmé Valk (The Netherlands, 1977, lives and works in Rotterdam) works with installation, video and performance and is particularly interested in ‘social choreography’ – the continuous movement of people and objects in interaction and reaction to each other. Showcasing Today’s Essentials is a spatial installation with moveable parts, choreography and a video work focusing on the relationship between the shop window, theater and avant-garde artists who’ve questioned contemporary meaning and use of modernist visual language in the commercial realm.
Tamara Kuselman and Esmé Valk
Artists talk
As part of its visual arts programme, SMART Project Space brings together the practice of two emergent artists Tamara Kuselman, current artist-in-residence at SPS and Esmé Valk whose exhibition Showcasing Today’s Essential is on view in the exhibition spaces from 11 September. Both artists will give a presentation of their work and explain the ideas around their practice and sources of inspiration. The presentation will be accompanied by a conversation with Hilde de Bruijn who will discuss the overlaps inherent in their practice and a shared interest in performance works that are barely recognizable, blending seamlessly into everyday life, and the role of art that has historically responded to choreographies of the body and everyday objects. The talks will be open to audience questions.
