“Fictional Grounds” is the new exhibition of the Berru collective at School of Arts
Soil simulations of an imagined territory through which traces of minerals with energy potential can be sought and soil samples from different origins with varied compositions can be presented and mounted on two-dimensional planes - this is the fictional reality that can be seen at close quarters in the new exhibition “Fictional Grounds” of the Berru collective created in Porto, who won the Sonae Media Art 2019 award, and who has exhibited and been responsible for installations in institutions such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, BoCA Biennial of Contemporary Arts, and The Old Truman Brewey (London). The exhibition is curated by Nuno Crespo, director of Escola das Artes. The inauguration is scheduled for 20 October, 7 p.m. at School of Arts.
The exhibition will be presented to the public through two-dimensional planes placed in the exhibition space as if they were minimalist paintings or sculptures. Seen critically and driven by the urgency of the current ecological catastrophe, the exhibition establishes a subtle relationship with the universe of earthworks by pioneering Land Art artists such as Robert Smithson, Richard Long or the famous exhibition by Walter de Maria when in 1977 he filled a New York gallery with 140 tons of earth.
“In‘Fictional Grounds’ berru's characteristic vision is very clear, whose work is based on an idea of exploration of very different mechanisms, concepts and materials," says Nuno Crespo, curator of the exhibition. The group works indistinctly with moving images, sculpture, sound and new media, there is always a performative and very dynamic element in all the works they develop. The dynamic element takes place both at the moment of conception of their works and in the experience that the public has of them. "The vita contemplativa gives way here to vita activa in which the public is called upon to accompany the dynamic process of development of their works," concludes Nuno Crespo.
An exhibition not to be missed, on show at the School of Arts, Porto Regional Centre, of Universidade Católica Portuguesa until 17 February. Admission is free and open to the entire community.
About the berru collective:
The berru collective, created in Porto in 2015, won the Sonae Media Art 2019 award with the project "Systems Synthesis" and has already exhibited and been responsible for installations in different institutions, such as the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, BoCA Biennial of Contemporary Arts, Museu Nacional de Arte Contemporânea do Chiado, gnration (Braga), Galeria Municipal do Porto, Arquipélago - Contemporary Arts Centre - Azores, The Old Truman Brewey (London), Culturgest, the Cecília Zino Foundation and the Vila Flor Cultural Centre. In 2021, he was in the fifth edition of the Instambul Design Biennial.