Through A Glass, Lightly

Visual identity

Concept

The exhibition Through A Glass, Lightly at Tensta Centrum connects to the work of Frederick Kiesler (1890-1965) – visionary architect, theoretician, theater designer, artist and sculptor. The project accompanies Kiesler’s retrospective at Tensta Konsthall and focuses, among his many interests, on shop windows as a space of visual communication and speculation. In his essay “Some Notes on Shop Windows” Kiesler proposes that the shop window should be the site for a play, starring Mr. Hat and Miss Glove. He refers to the shop window as a stage, describing the street as an auditorium with constantly changing viewers. He maintains the significance of the commercial market for art and architecture, since he sees the department store as an important conduit for communicating with the public. The department store is regarded as “the true introducer of modernism to the public at large. It reveals contemporary art to American commerce.” And it should bring new art to the public. Through A Glass, Lightly has been realized with the collaboration of shop owners at Tensta Centrum. The exhibition features the commission of new shop window displays reflecting on issues of presentation and representation. Can the department store go beyond its function of a simple capitalistic tool? Can it reflect critically on questions of fashion, common space and identity?

Colophon

Stockholm, 2015
Curator: Dorota Michalska
Artists: Carl Palm, Céline Condorelli, Johanna Gustafsson Fürst
Venue: Tensta Centrum, Stockholm
Event photo documentation: Kasia Syty
Concept and design: Noviki