Susanne Zottl Exhibition: A Styrofoam Lover with (E)motions of Concrete

Friday, January 23: Exhibition discussion from 6-7pm followed by public reception from 7-9pm The SCI-Arc Gallery is pleased to present A Styrofoam Lover with (E)motions of Concrete, a site-specific installation by Vienna-based architect Susanne Zottl. A Styrofoam Lover with (E)motions of Concrete proposes a new program that at once asks for a transformation of existing spaces and structures, as well as an improvement of the energy efficiency of existing buildings. Walls in this exhibition bend and undulate: they push into space; space pushes into them. They gain their shapes by using casting, coupled with a flexible textile membrane, as its mode of creation. In the way that Eve Hesse expanded the field of wallwork in the 1970s with “paintings” that curved, stretched and reached out like sculpture, Susanne Zottl’s works similarly question our simple relationship with an established form–the wall. Zottl expands the definition of the wall, making the hard-divider into a shapely constituent, not limited to the language of flatness. In addition to testing our relationship to space, Zottl uses this opportunity and these materials as a subtle push towards energy efficiency and sustainability. She uses a unique mixture of concrete and thermal foam, balancing the need for formal innovation against the current necessity for environmental innovation. Though the installation focuses on the “wall” as one element of the building, other structural elements – what we refer to as “floor”, “ceiling”, etc.¬– might be treated in a similar way. Working closely with Susanne Zottl, SCI-Arc students will assist in the design, construction and installation of the work. SCI-Arc Events