Thanks to the Covid-19 pandemic, we have Carolina Valente with us at PILOTENKUECHE Round 49. Carolina was working in the marketing and business field, when she had an idea. Like many people, Carolina experienced some kind of shift in her consciousness during the lockdown. The challenging situation of being ‚locked up‘ in one space proved to be difficult for many. All of a sudden, being at home in a small space made us feel trapped. But it might also give us the opportunity to feel the opposite:  it can make us be more introspective and can create space to finally pause – and breathe again.

The power of ‘having space’

Even a small space can open up new possibilities. It was during the pandemic when she realized how she was no longer satisfied with her professional career. Carolina reflects: ‘Often we get so caught up in life that there is no time to think about the things that make us happy.’ But without all of the distractions of our daily lives, there was more time to think: What do I want to do? What do I really like? While Carolina had always been interested in the arts, it was only in 2020 when she decided on a course in curatorial studies.

In the course of her studies, she became really interested in the concept of space and our use of it. What do we actually do with space that is available to us? What are we questioning in the space given? Carolina realized that space has a great quality to it. Whether it is the feeling we get, when we enter a new or familiar room. Whether it is what happens to the shared space in our cities when people move around and create things. Or whether it is what happens in our headspace, during meditation. Space is a fascinating, multi-layered concept. And Carolina wants to know all about it.

Carolina’s mission at Pilotenkueche

Her goal at Pilotenkueche 49 is therefore to disassemble the different layers of the concept of space, to observe and understand the artist’s use of it and try to find a common  ground. For Carolina, curating is about having conversations. It is about getting to know the artists, their inspirations and finding common concepts between them. She has always been fascinated by artists that think about idiosyncratic parts of our reality.  And especially how they translate those into a work of art.

Her purpose here is to look for commonalities between the 9 artists at Pilotenkueche and translate these ideas into a physical space. When Carolina enters an exhibition space she wants to understand the story behind it and follow along the narrative through the space. She doesn’t believe in an exhibition’s purpose to tell a particular story, but instead, to bring out each individual story of the works exhibited.

What we can expect

Therefore Carolina is more than excited for this new opportunity here at Pilotenkueche 49. For the open studio exhibition (at PILOTENKUECHE, Franz-Flemming-Str 9) and the final show (at Alte Handelsschule, Giesserstr 75) she chose the titles ‘Warm Gestalt’ and  ‘Questioning Space Accumulation’. We are more than excited to see the stories and perspectives of the artists magically become related and interconnected in the exhibition space, telling us a story altogether.

written by Johanna Morgen

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