An exhibition is a point on a continuum.
The lives of objects—and artists—precede and follow individual events. That solid-state matter continuously self-chronicles with chemical technology preceding any digital blockchain. Their confluence and your coexistence distinguish this moment. We stand where a collective flow of mortal forms beget flickers of mechanical joys.
The personal and professional dialogue of Marge and Maruša before this moment may be invisible to you. But it’s tangible. What you see, comes from months. What you don’t, comes from years.
Describing one artist’s practice as photographic and the other’s as architectural merely skims the facts. A loose reading of their biographies defaults anyone to this conclusion. Left under-described are emotion and intent. Both artists embody honesty, sincerity, and empathy as individuals and through their chosen profession. In their first collaboration in a long relationship, their work synthesizes this extant energy.
You are amongst an assembly of characters. Marge and Maruša gave them names, but these characters invited you in. Juliana asks you to sit, Saša beckons you nearer. Lucy grants power, Marička elicits introspection.
Their names represent a catalogue of personalities. They preside over an alphabet of love. Every letter standing for a gift of self you’ll be proud to stand behind. And this is only the beginning.
J.L. Murtaugh
Marge Monko recently exhibited at Kai Art Center (Tallinn EE) and Museum Folkwang (Essen DE) alongside many others. She publishes a monograph this year with Lugemik (Tallinn EE). Marge was born in Tallinn and lives in Tallinn.
Maruša Sagadin recently exhibited at Christine König Galerie (Vienna AT) and Southbank Centre (London UK). Her new monograph „A Happy Hippie“ was published by Spector Books (Leipzig DE). Maruša was born in Ljubljana and lives in Vienna.
The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love
Artists: Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin
Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn, Estonia
January 13-February 7, 2022
Photography: Marge Monko / all images copyright and courtesy of the artists
Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin, The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love, 2022, exhibition view, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
On the foreground: Maruša Sagadin, Bad Mood Without a Kiosk and Kitchen (Lara), 2020,
concrete, plaster, wood, pigment, paint, 53 × 193 × 68 cm; On the background: Marge Monko, Saša, framed pigment print on aluminium dibond, 57 x 100 cm
Maruša Sagadin, Bad Mood Without a Kiosk and Kitchen (Lara), 2020
Marge Monko, Saša & Nataša, 2022, framed pigment prints on aluminium dibond, 57 x 100 cm
Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin, The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love, 2022, exhibition view, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
Right: Marge Monko, Smiling Woman (La Gioconda), 2014, lenticular print on aluminium dibond, 65 x 85 cm; Left: Maruša Sagadin, Bad Mood Without a Kiosk and Kitchen (Romana), 2020, wood, paint, 220 × 50 × 60 cm
Marge Monko, Smiling Woman (La Gioconda), 2014, lenticular print on aluminium dibond, 65 x 85 cm
Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin, The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love, 2022, exhibition view, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
Right: Maruša Sagadin, Bad Mood Without a Kiosk and Kitchen (Juliana with Capitals), 2020, concrete, wood, pigment, paint, 68 × 170 × 65 cm; Left: Marge Monko, Lucy In The Sky (The More I Make Love The More I Want To Make Revolution), 2017/2022, printed wallpaper, vinyl wall sticker, various sizes
Maruša Sagadin, Untitled (Couple), 2021, wood, cement, polystyrene, 84 x 62 x 7 cm
Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin, The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love, 2022, exhibition view, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
Marge Monko, a detail of Lucy In The Sky (The More I Make Love The More I Want To Make Revolution)
Right: Marge Monko, a detail of Lucy In The Sky (The More I Make Love The More I Want To Make Revolution); Left: Maruša Sagadin, Untitled, 2021, wood, cement, polystyrene, 55 x 62 x 7 cm
Maruša Sagadin, Untitled, 2021, wood, cement, polystyrene, 55 x 62 x 7 cm
Maruša Sagadin, Walls 1 & 2, posters, paint, glue, various sizes.
Marge Monko, sketches for publication The Goddess, 2022, laserprint, 29,7 x 21 cm
Marge Monko, sketches for publication The Goddess, 2022, laserprint, 29,7 x 21 cm
Maruša Sagadin, Speaking with Hands and Feet (Marička), 2019, concrete, wood, pigment, paint, 105 × 105 × 125 cm
Marge Monko and Maruša Sagadin, The A.B.C.D.E.F.G. of Love, 2022, exterior view, Hobusepea gallery, Tallinn
