Katarína Ďuricová: In my work titled Next please, I explore interventions in the gallery space. I alter the character of the place, disrupt its integrity, and modify movement within the room. The already unusually small exhibition space becomes even smaller through the transposition of a specific environment from an existing interior. The floor plan of the hallway located in front of the gallery entrance is mirrored and duplicated. I thus remove the entrance hallway from its original context and give it a new function, which disrupts and unsettles the visitor. One of the most essential aspects is the viewer’s reaction and interaction. In my work, I operate on the border between art and craft. The working process and materials used in the creation of the work are more typical of the construction industry than of the visual arts. The final appearance of the object is almost imperceptible, minimal, and easily mistaken for a routine interior renovation. The fundamental tension lies in the visual experience of the uninvolved viewer, as the radical architectural intervention in the space is at once expansive, monumental, and unobtrusive. Equally important is the method of execution and the creative process, which is demanding not only in terms of time but also physically.
The hallway serves as a communication hub for accessing other architectural spaces, a place of first contact. With the title “Next please,” I invite visitors to step further in, both literally and figuratively.
