Denise Bertschi & Aline Motta / Pedro Zylbersztajn — Spatial Convers(i)or

Denise Bertschi with Aline Motta and Pedro Zylbersztajn
21.09–10.11.24
Opening, Friday 20.09.24, 6pm

Round table and performances, Saturday 21.09.24, 2–5pm
Moderated by Christoph Keller, with Denise Bertschi, Chantal Lafontant Valloton, Aline Motta, Larissa Tiki Mbassi, Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco, Pedro Zylbersztajn.

The exhibition Spatial Convers(i)or is the result of a multi-year conversation between Denise Bertschi and CAN, which began in 2021 with a residency in Neuchâtel. This invitation was an opportunity for her to pursue her research between Switzerland and Brazil, focusing in particular on the Neuchâtel region to develop a new body of work. By correlating her investigative work in the Bahia region, elements drawn from her in-depth study of Neuchâtel’s regional and Swiss state archives, and the particular architecture of emblematic buildings and institutions in the city of Neuchâtel, Denise Bertschi highlights the colonial past of Switzerland and Neuchâtel, and the plural histories linked to it. The exhibition is also a way for her to engage in conversations with Brazilian artists about this entangled past. A new research project entitled Export Quality Poetry, which takes the form of a film and a publication, has been developed with Pedro Zylbersztajn, and an installation drawn from artist Aline Motta’s Filha Natural body of work will also be on show. The exhibition opening will also serve as the book launch of the new publication Export Quality Poetry, 1924–2024, edited by Denise Bertschi and Pedro Zylbersztajn and published by CAN.

Round table and performances, Saturday 21.09.24, 2-5pm
The event will feature performances by artists Aline Motta and Pedro Zylbersztajn in the exhibition, as well as a round-table discussion moderated by Christoph Keller (journalist), with Denise Bertschi (artist, Zürich), Chantal Lafontant Valloton (co-director, Neuchâtel Museum of Art and History), Aline Motta (artist, São Paulo), Larissa Tiki Mbassi (doctoral researcher in Contemporary History, University of Neuchâtel), Fernando Túlio Salva Rocha Franco (researcher at the Chair of Architecture and Urban Design, ETH Zürich), Pedro Zylbersztajn (artist, São Paulo). The discussion will focus on Neuchâtel’s and Switzerland’s positioning with regard to their colonial history, and the long-term links that connect this past to the present.