Salon I and II
Hotel Baur au Lac
Talstrasse 1, Zurich

Louisa Gagliardi’s (b. 1989 in Sion, CH) paintings exist as reflections: internally, of artist and viewer, and of the rapid acceleration of technology in our visualized and socialized worlds. Their liminal status, as both digitally rendered images and physically confronting objects, speaks as much to contemporary concerns of self-mediated personas as they do to the compositions and narratives of the classics of art history.

This new series of works, titled Reunion, has been specially created for Salon I & II at the Baur au Lac. The liminal quality of hotels and conference rooms is a recurring theme in the artist’s work. These spaces are brought to life by the people and interactions that inhabit them for a short period of time. The room’s story transforms completely with each visitor, returning to a dormant, neutral space between them. By creating trompe-l’oeils that directly mirror the French doors in the room, the artist offers windows onto other fictional moments. The title, Reunion, evokes a gathering with people with whom one has a past history. Reunions can provoke a wide range of emotions; they can be joyful or dreadful. While the openings depicted in the paintings are somewhat close to reality, they show surreal spaces that are sometimes vertiginously infinite. The characters inhabiting these spaces seem to be aware of each other’s presence without acknowledging it directly. Visitors are both observing and observed, invited and intruding.

This exhibition aligns with Art in the Park XXIII, an outdoor sculpture exhibition also presented at the Hotel Baur au Lac.