With Capsules, Luxembourg Art Week takes over vacant spaces, store windows, and façades in the city center. Each activated space will be visible from the street around the clock.
Capsules benefits from the generous support of the City of Luxembourg.
João Freitas, curated by Atena Abrahimia
Traces in suspension
Location
3, rue Louvigny, L-1946 Luxembourg
Art Walk Challenge
With the kind support of MG HOTELS
With Traces in Suspension, artist João Freitas and curator Atena Abrahimia present a scene reminiscent of a stage frozen in time, where materials and surfaces bear visible traces of wear, gesture, and the passage of time. These marks may stem from intentional interventions, unintentional actions by the artist or others, or the natural effects of time itself. The installation serves as a window into a space where memory and materiality intertwine, and traces of past gestures remain suspended in the present.
On the floor lies Untitled (Studio View), a composition of wooden floor panels taken from the artist’s former studio. These panels, painted white upon moving into the studio and worn by years of use, are inscribed with the quiet memory of the artist’s working process. The floor carries the imprints of movement, labor, and time spent creating, functioning both as a relic and a surface that evokes the transposition of a private studio into the public realm.
Sculptural pieces from the Les Échappées series, made from abrasive cloth, are suspended from the ceiling. In these works, the abrasive graining is meticulously removed, allowing the cloth to recover its original textile properties, revealing an unexpected instability of form and a raw vulnerability. Traces of the artist’s intervention manifest as a complete transformation of the material, freeing it from its constraints and previous function.
At the back, a large weathered facade tarpaulin is installed as a curtain. Typically seen draped over construction sites, this material evokes processes of building and renewal. By relocating it indoors, its function is recontextualized, no longer shielding a work in progress, but framing one that has already been transformed.
This project deliberately subverts the typical purpose of a shop window. Instead of showcasing desirable new commodities, it celebrates the renewed existence of these materials.
In his practice, João Freitas (b. 1989, Coimbra, Portugal) works with materials found on the street, at construction sites, or during his travels. Through gestures such as sanding, scratching, or stripping, he deprives them of their original function, reveals their hidden layers and infuses them with new meaning. He transforms these forgotten or overlooked materials and presents them to a public who might otherwise not notice them.
Interview of João Freitas
Discover the ART WALK by downloading the map here.
