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Adriana Preda
The Opportunity Passed in Less Than a Minute
Project Info
- đ Suprainfinit Gallery
- đ Daniela Custrin
- đ€ Adriana Preda
- đ Daniela Custrin
- đ Matei Dumitriu
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The Opportunity Passed in Less Than a Minute is Adriana Predaâs first solo show at
SEQUENCE, Suprainfinit Gallery, alongside a performance at the opening on fashion trends,
vitrine merchandised displays, and adjectives-labels used in relation with clothes. Working with
existing garments gathered from family members or flea markets, Adriana Preda transforms the
clothing and textiles into sculptural compositions that encapsulate delicate moments in time. The
exhibition title is loosely borrowed from Roy Montgomeryâs song, referring to momentary trends
that become difficult to grasp, where attention is shifted to the one and only, the compulsive, the
fleeting moment that is so easy to lose â the present.
Functioning as a display for worn out pieces, including her motherâs frilly bride dress, the vitrine
becomes a space for a bumpy aesthetic driven by its excesses and fantasies, by piling up the
garments into liberating feminist creatures. Pinterest, the moodboarding platform, has
prophetically declared 2023 as the year of otherworldly bows, lace, tulle and hearts; Bows that
delicately adorn, reminiscent of a gift waiting to be unwrapped; tulle skirts that twirl and dance
in pixelated landscapes; petals suspended in the ephemeral glow of the screen; hearts, not just as
symbols but as digital beats resonating through curated feeds; These elements accumulate new
characteristics over time through real-time labeling and associations with femininity and youth
within popular hashtags #hotgirlwalks, #strawberrygirl, #cleangirl. Roland Barthes wrote about
this in his fashion study, when he said, you know what, I believe that fashion is, in the end, a
language: âit is not the object but the name that creates desire; it is not the dream but the
meaning that sellsâ 1 . Or maybe the youtuber Natalie Wynn explained it more clearly in one
of her videos ââWords words words - what do they even fucking mean?!ââ.
Adriana Preda is using specific words in her performance, in alphabetical order, designating
contrasting labels used both in the fashion industry and the artworld. ââIconicââ meets ââBasicââ,
ââItchyââ meets ââEdgyââ, and ââArtificialââ, ââElegantââ and ââOldââ take a graceful turn with
ââPredictableââ. The performance is an exploration of the nuances that reside in the spaces
between seemingly opposing labels, willing to resist the transitory nature of trends.
Daniela Custrin