Talismanic Coffee Club

As a catalyst to our already sped-up system, carried in throwaway cups, coffee keeps bloodstreams upbeat and tired brains wake. In other contexts, it is brewed and served slowly, inviting moments of pause and reflection. For centuries, coffee ceremonies serve to establish spaces and time dedicated to cultivating social bonds, exchanging information and opinion, and celebration.

The Talismanic Coffee Club (TCC) merges the tradition of coffee ceremonies with a platform for exchanging thoughts on art and life. For its inaugural exhibition, AGENCY B, TCC presents works by Vanessa Billy, Joseph Cornelius, and Niko Abramidis &NE in a former ministry building in Zurich. Guided by the inviting scent of coffee, visitors navigate the maze of stairs to a small station with seating and a trolley equipped for brewing. It is located just outside the room displaying the works of art. Before being invited to settle down over a cup of hot coffee, visitors are led through the exhibition space, where concepts of fluidity and time are further elaborated upon within the pieces.

Vanessa Billy's Coral, a slender oblong form made from solidified translucent bio-resin, is delicately mounted to the wall. Its title evokes colour and fragility of the eponymous invertebrate marine organisms. The sculpture's form results from a process in which the liquid plastic is poured into a mould, while time and exposure to air transform it into its solid state. The entrapped air pockets and creases in the resin resemble pores and folds of skin and emphasize the question of sturdiness and stability.

A large canvas to the right bears broad brushstrokes of blue paint. Applied in a seemingly loose and hasty manner, they leave sections of the blank background exposed or shining through. Placed towards the lower left and opaquely covering the blue sweeps , the inscription 'Dive' starkly contrasts with the layer underneath due to its painstakingly accurate rendering. Whereas the abstract blue waves of the background trigger a subjective association in the viewer, this is disrupted by the explicit prompt emphasized by italics. In his practice, artist and researcher in machine learning, Joseph Cornelius examines interactions between artist, painting and spectator by comparing them to mechanisms of de- and encoding of visual data in intelligent machines. Dive. questions objectivity of vision in people and machines, leaving the viewer uncertain about internal and external dimensions of their associations.

Using a range of materials and instruments, Niko Abramidis &NE constructs fictions of future archaeologies. Light blue tinges in the chromed surface of the piece C_PNL (New Equilibrium 03) resemble patina on polished metal. Emblematic engravings of stylized script enclose panes holding pixelated graphics. Appearing like screens of a machine interface excavated in an imagined future, they depict a sea monster emerging from waves against the backdrop of a metropolitan skyline. By putting signifiers of contemporary and retro futurisms in dialog with such of classical mythologies, the artist confronts hopes and concerns from multiple layers of time. His second work on display, New World Node, utilizes blockchain technology to create an artistic network of information. The edition composed of software and hardware (ARM-CHIP, LCD screen, LEDs), guarded by an aluminum frame, is paired with similar nodes installed at distinct locations via an Ethernet cable. Collectively, they constitute the decentralized 'New World Network'. Drawing from data communication systems in finance, Abramidis &NE proposes alternative pathways within technological transitions that create values of their own.

AGENCY B brings together three distinct artistic perspectives that challenge our understanding of materiality, temporality, and technology. These works engage with the complexities of negotiating values in a rapidly changing world. After leaving the exhibition space, visitors are invited to continue reflections in dialogue with the artists and foster deeper connection over a cup of freshly brewed coffee.

- Aykon Süslü

Artist:
 Niko Abramidis &NE,
 Vanessa Billy,
 Joseph Cornelius


Exhibition Dates:
  June 07 - June 30, 2024