Jecza Gallery Bucharest — Scânteia+ presents g(u)ard-ian, a group exhibition curated by Cecilia Federici, bringing together recent works by Matei Emanuel, Andrei Arion, and Ana Ionescu around a familiar and seemingly simple object: the fence.
A marker of boundaries, a means of protection, and, at the same time, an instrument of separation, the fence becomes the exhibition’s point of departure for three distinct perspectives on the boundaries we construct and the reasons why we feel the need to build them.
In Andrei Arion’s works, the very rationale for the fence’s existence is called into question. The artist approaches it simultaneously as a functional design object and as a possible science-fiction environment, detached from its conventional use and transformed into a device open to interpretation.
Matei Emanuel explores the divisive nature of belonging to one side or the other of a boundary. Here, the fence becomes a structure that separates and produces positions: inside and outside, belonging and exclusion, “us” and “them.”
Ana Ionescu begins with the duality of the object itself. The fence protects, yet its form can also be aggressive. It is an object designed for safety whose edges, spikes, and limits permanently place it somewhere between gentleness and threat.
This ambiguity runs throughout the exhibition. Inside the gallery, the
objects on display may be read as playful, familiar, or even harmless. Placed outdoors and returned to their functional logic, the same forms can become weapons, instruments of fear, control, and division.
g(u)ard-ian thus proposes a reflection on how objects created to protect us can come to structure the very violence we seek to shield ourselves from. The question that remains is a fundamental one: what are we actually trying to protect ourselves from, when we ourselves have created the objects that ultimately cause us harm?
Visiting Schedule:
Thursday - Saturday, 11:00 - 19:00, with guided tours every Saturday, by appointment.
Book your visit: https://calendly.com/jeczagallery
