An opera begins long before the curtain goes up and ends long after it has come down. It starts in my imagination, it becomes my life, and it stays part of my life long after I've left the opera house.
- Maria Callas
Tristan Hoare is delighted to present a solo exhibition of works by multidisciplinary artist Antoine Wagner, in which he showcases a series of photographs capturing the curtains that adorned opera houses graced by Maria Callas throughout her 36-year career, along with a new video, Where It Starts, It Ends (2024).
In this new body of work, Wagner explores curtains’ integral role in shaping the immersive nature of the operatic spectacle. The role of curtains in opera extends beyond their utilitarian function as stage coverings, as in the operatic context, they serve as dynamic components which punctuate and shape the audience experience. Traditionally employed to conceal and reveal scenes, curtains act as a visual and symbolic threshold, demarcating transitions between acts and creating dramatic pauses. Beyond their visual impact, curtains also play an acoustic role in opera. Acting as absorbers and diffusers of sound, they contribute to the perception of volume and resonance, adding a layer of sonic nuance to the operatic experience.
Guided by the soprano’s voice and through his experimentation with scale and orientation, Wagner reveals an abstracted and novel reinterpretation of the woven fabric. The artist’s work translates the richness of Callas's voice into visual form, as the velvet folds and undulations serve as a visualisation of her vocal prowess. Wagner’s new video work, Where It Starts, It Ends (2024, 4k, stereo sound, 3min, loop) invites the audience to an intimate exchange with the sensual velvet fabric.
The traditionally vertical folds of curtains are transformed into horizontal landscapes, creating an ecosystem akin to trees in a forest. These disorienting rotational shifts mirror the vertiginous feeling of stepping onto the stage, thus placing the spectator in the role of the performer, embedded within the forest of curtains.
Maria Callas is a celebration of music and opera through the nuanced lens of abstract photography. The exhibition will continue at Fitzroy Square from 8th March to 5th April 2024, marking Antoine Wagner's first exhibition with the gallery.
An Evening with Jonathan Crayford
Wagner’s intervention of the space will also manifest in a music event inspired by this newly woven visual and symbolic threshold. We are delighted to welcome internationally renowned pianist and composer Jonathan Crayford to the gallery to play a series of pieces specially composed for the evening.