Tatiana Zaytseva: Space as Matter, Matter as Movement.
Dates
5 April — 26 April, 2025
Miami International Fine Arts (MIFA)
5900 Northwest 74th Avenue, Miami
C Gallery
Miami International Fine Arts (MIFA) is pleased to announce a solo exhibition by Tatiana Zaytseva, the first major presentation of her sculptural work in Gallery C. The exhibition celebrates a new and unknown perspective of Tatiana Zaytseva’s artistic practice, generally more known for her pictorial oeuvre. The exhibition will showcase a recreation of a series of iconic art works by Boccioni, Brancusi, Giacometti, Donald Judd and the like that have shaped Western visual culture since Ancient Greece until contemporaneity.
Medium
The exhibition consists of 6 sculptures in different dimensions made out of cardboard, glue and staples.
About the exhibition
The exhibition presents a recent survey of sculptural works: The Winged Victory of Samothrace by Pythokritos, Deux ex Vox by an anonymous Roman sculptor, Walking Man by Giacometti, Unique Forms of Continuity in Space by Boccioni, Bird in Space by Brancusi, and Untitled (Stack) by Donald Judd. According to Zaytseva, ‘This project challenges the notion of space as passive, positioning it as an active force that interacts with matter and perception. I want viewers to experience space as fluid and responsive rather than static, making them participants rather than passive observers.’
Instead of marble, bronze, polished brass, or galvanized iron—materials traditionally associated with permanence and monumentality—Zaytseva takes a radical approach by employing cardboard. However, this choice is not simply about contrast; it is a way of redefining sculpture’s relationship with space. Cardboard is a
material of transit, transformation, and impermanence—a medium that carries traces of its past in the form of folds, imprints, and labels.
‘Her investigation extends beyond art history to explore pressing philosophical, ecological, and gender-based
issues, posing critical questions: How does the spectator perceive highly iconic artworks from the past when executed in an unheroic, “un-male” material like cardboard?—suggests curator Paco Barragán.
Another compelling layer to Zaytseva’s work is its engagement with the historical tension between the original and the copy. The institutionalization of high art often led to the rejection of casts and replicas, once widely used in museums for education and civic engagement. In the early 20th century, major U.S. museums relegated cast collections to storage, favoring original artworks and the elitist notion of connoisseurship. In this way,
her work reflects on a historical moment when museums prioritized market driven exclusivity over accessibility—suggesting that perhaps art should once again be a site of open dialogue rather than institutional authority.
Tatiana Zaytseva: Space as Matter, Matter as Movement is more than an art historical interpretation—it is an invitation to reconsider sculpture as an evolving force. By shifting the emphasis from materiality to spatial experience, Zaytseva redefines movement as an interaction between form, void, and perception. Her work challenges viewers to engage not just with objects but with the unstable, ever-changing nature of space itself.
About the curator
Paco Barragán is a curator, art theorist and holds an International PhD from the University of Salamanca (USAL) with a residency at the Alvar Aalto University in Helsinki. Barragán has curated 98 exhibitions in regions like Australia and New Zealand, Latin America, USA and Canada and Europe. Between 2015 and 2017 he was the Head of Visual Arts in Matucana 100 in Santiago de Chile. He was co-curator of the Prague Biennale in 2005 and the Nuit Blanche Toronto in 2016. He has curated exhibitions a.o. for Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (MNCARS), Madrid, MoCCA Toronto or the Institute of Modern Art (IMA), Brisbane.