A Question of Taste

A Question of Taste is a group exhibition that deals with kitsch, a concept whose meaning has shifted since the 19^th century, and the intimate relationship this concept has established with today's visual culture as well as its critical role in shaping taste. Taste may still be an indication of class today, but the structure of the mechanisms that feed and strengthen this signal has now become different. A Question of Taste brings together works of thirteen artists and collectives It questions the concept of taste, which reinforces the separation of classes within the societal structure, through both objects, and the visual language that has dominated the Internet since the early 90s.

The catalogue accompanying the exhibition features the curatorial text of Ulya Soley, which focuses on the concept of taste as a class indicator; looks at the sense of aesthetics, and its values ascribed to the East and the West; the rise of mass culture against high art, exploring the rich uses of the concept of kitsch in dialogue with the artists, and based on the relationship between art and visual culture that has been shaped in the process of transition from material culture to digital culture. Ruth Holliday and Tracey Potts’s essay focuses on kitsch’s particular, yet evolving history, materialised over and over, in myriad, joyful ways across the exhibition. Chus Martinez interprets contemporary art production through dualities such as nature and urban, kitsch and modernity. Melis Tezkan presents an inventory of kitsch through personal stories and objects and underlines the hard to define nature of kitsch. The catalogue also features illustrations of the displayed work and a poster by the artist duo biriken.

Publication Date: 2021
Number of Pages: 183
ISBN: 978-605-4642-94-6