What we found so refreshing about Álvaro Siza’s exhibit is this very personal poetic response which for us expresses the basis of the FREESPACE manifesto. A curved screen placed opposite a curved bench forms a gentle embrace, implies an enclosure, a niche reflecting the light and shadows throughout the day, with a piece of sculpture on which to contemplate in a moment of repose. There is also a sense of irony added with the placement of a ladder in the space, and in the title, Evasão, evasion, or escape. This imparts the value of freedom, the value of making space which encloses but does not trap the user, of making space which liberates the spirit.
This feeling of implying enclosure without defined boundaries is a quality we have always found inspirational in Álvaro Siza’s work; first experienced by us while standing under the cantilever of the Galician Centre of Contemporary Art in Santiago de Compostela, where space is held just enough to mark a space to stand, a space from which the surrounding context is framed and made more present.
We are delighted to have such a poetic installation representing the sensitivity and subtlety of this architect who has been such an inspiration to us for as long as we can remember.
YF+SMcN
Álvaro Siza
Evasão