Ziva Drvaric – Intimacy in the everyday

Ziva Drvaric´artistic works are located in the "Gästezimmer", the original exhibition space intended for the solo exhibitions. Upon entering the L-shaped exhibition space by Ziva Drvaric, her work “extensions (Nail I)” immediately catches the eye. This optical illusion invites viewers to take a closer look at the artwork:  An oversized nail made out of stainless steel seems to drill through the front wall of the space, at a distance from the wall and along it, emerging from the side, looking like it found its way through the wall.

The other works, some located in the opposite end of the room, are, like the ones described above, all site-specific. Working in-situ, the artist broke up the long, narrow room and created a different spatial dynamic.

At first glance, the work “Secret handshake” (2024) appears to be at the centrepiece of the room. The sculptural work made of oak wood and stainless steel looks like a figurative element at the intersection of sculpture and architecture. The wooden structure consists of narrow frames made of wooden beams connected by stainless steel hinges. The visitors can pass through “Secret handshake” which leads from one wall to the other and acts as a horizontal partition, a navigation for visitors between visible and invisible. Like two doors that hold each other open, the hinges are reminiscent of a handshake, an act of connection. It seems as if the work is part of the exhibition space. Even the two screen prints on canvas, “Between the lines”, framed in oak wood, and “Interiors”, framed in stainless steel, function more as sculptural objects. For example, the dimensions of the bottles on the print “Interiors” are the same as those of the depicted bottle.

One artwork that appears particularly inconspicuous at first and that seems to merge with the exhibition space is “Switch I”(2023). Only at second glance does one realise that the supposed light switch is not a real one, but part of the exhibition and made from paperboard and two small nails. Like the other works, “Notions of belonging (lost and found) VI”, two perfectly matching keys made of coated steel that in the end don´t fit into the door lock, appear almost like everyday objects everyone is familiar with. The same applies to "Rendez-vous"(2024), two sets of aluminium clock hands, which look like they´re holding hands and for this reason stopping time; just like in real life, when love makes you forget time, time flies by.

But with a closer and more focused look , you realise that it’s not a normal switch, key, nail or wooden construct. When you move and interact with the work, you see and feel the intimacy between the works. The closer you get, the more it tells you about coexistence, belonging, function, compatibility and community.

by Franka Marlene Schlupp for Passe-Avant