Alfredo Aceto

18 October—16 November 2019

Inspired by the grotesques of Gothic cathedrals, with sharp- edged fins and open mouth, the work “Gutter-Gargoyle I” and “Fin-Furniture I” are guarding the space. The raw material for the works of the artist Alfredo Aceto derive from everyday objects and industrial design. His grotesque creatures that populate the lower exhibition floor are not revealing their surprising material origin e.g. as a sewer pipe at first sight. This is exactly where the magic of Aceto’s artistic practice seems to lie: removing objects from their original function and reviving them as grotesque figures. Elements such as the scattered popcorn serve him as a symbol and narrative means, which reinforces the narrative immanent to the manipulation of form. When creating his works, Alfredo Aceto starts his process based on texts. Therefore, he has provided the poem “FFMY13MZKPH4” which stands in relation to his works as an addition to the exhibited works.

Aceto’s vision of form as a shell that transforms the thing into infinite possibilities and leads it into freedom is reminiscent of Adorno’s theories: Looking at these works, one perceives a physical, almost caricatural representation of his principle of the autonomy of art. Art has finally become independent of institutions, but this emancipation has become problematic in capitalist society, which transforms everything into consumption. Nevertheless, autonomy from the empirical world and its limitations is guaranteed to the artwork because of its design. The artwork is indeed a form that is not aimed at a particular purpose and can resist consumer society. Aceto’s practice could thus be understood as an attempt to rescue the object from the paradox of the artwork as a capitalistic object.