URBAN SCREENS Exp42 Alfio Giuffrida AG Sinnwerke 2017

Curator: So, we're looking at Alfio Giuffrida's "URBAN SCREENS Exp42 Alfio Giuffrida AG Sinnwerke," created in 2017. The medium appears to be acrylic paint. Editor: It feels very…domestic, almost retro-futuristic. The shapes are so simple, like children’s blocks, yet there’s a sense of manufactured, planned space in the grid. It is almost oppressively calm. Curator: That sense of a manufactured space is crucial. Giuffrida often explores urban landscapes and architectural elements. Notice how the geometric shapes are rigidly placed within the grid, resembling shelves displaying objects. Editor: You know, I almost feel like these are archetypes rather than specific items. Generic representations of cooking utensils, a flower shape, a picture frame all presented neutrally, devoid of personality, set in a home environment. What statement is being made about domesticity? Curator: Exactly! That resonates with how pop-art flattens and isolates objects. Consider the 'Urban Screens' title. What is this a screen for? Is it a presentation of idealised domestic objects which make urban life manageable? Editor: It feels like a catalog— everything on display, almost for sale, neatly positioned to show it off, sterile, perfect. But does that create alienation as an audience? Or does the clear design aesthetic comfort them with a reminder of daily life. Curator: And think about who creates such screens. Giuffrida here works with ‘Sinnwerke,’ a group interested in knowledge transfer in creative practices, so a question to think about: Is the 'sinn' here an active, creative production or simply a showcase of products available on demand? Editor: I still come back to how sterile and calming the work is. A sense of visual peace in design which still hints at the darker side of mass culture Curator: And in that paradox of surface-level appeal versus a deeper societal commentary lies the artwork's complexity. It compels you to think critically about the things we consume and the spaces we inhabit. Editor: Absolutely. I can see how one might see its calmness as alluring too. But those carefully composed elements—it’s like it wants to whisper its critique to the modern world to come!