RETURNS

For this exhibition, the artists were invited to reflect on the idea of reception and to question it through their respective practice, including drawing (Navarro & Guilló), sound installation (Farkas) and media art (Beyrouthy). “Returns” looks at the idea of a reciprocal gaze between the artworks and the people who experience them since both sides are equally affected by the encounter. It also considers the active role of people reacting to the works, commenting on them and eventually even leading to new productions, as it is the case here.

Although encountering representations and responding to them can only happen on an individual level, these encounters often take place in situations that can be connected to a wider societal and historical context. Therefore, the works also share a common reference to past and present events that shape our society. Through four singular perspectives, “Returns” thus turns around and upside down the question of the reception of artworks and other cultural productions, showing that it is a process in which the audience is actively being transformed by and transforming what they experience.

The exhibition is part of the research-creation project “Response Events” that is organised in collaboration with the Aix-Marseille University, the Côte d’Azur University and the University of Tartu, where it is supported by the Faculty of Humanities and Arts. It culminates this autumn with a conference, a doctoral workshop and three art exhibitions in Tartu. Besides the Tartu Art House, the Kogo Gallery will host Bruno Goosse’s “Sanatorium’s Atmosphere (24.10.–05.12.2020) and Jean Arnaud’s “To the Edge” will be on display in the Jakobi 2 university building (21.11.2020–16.02.2021). “Returns” is supported by the Cultural Endowment of Estonia and the French Institute of Estonia.