On the edge of perceptibility

Sound is a medium that has been increasingly gaining ground in the visual arts of recent decades, despite the fact that this, at the most basic level, seems to contradict the concept of visual art. The expansion of sound in time, and in its own abstraction, appears different from visual information that is organized into a single image or a sculptural work of art. The almost complete withdrawal of visuality makes for a markedly pronounced effect, even in comparison to such other time-bound genres as, for instance, performance or video art.

The structure of sound as a medium is elementary as its impact on sensibility is direct. In contrast to visual media sound is not suitable for the mediation of symbolic or metaphoric contents but drives the attention to basic questions such as perception. The exhibition plans to feature works that reflect on the confines of the senses, primarily focusing on the perception of sound.

Műcsarnok’s exhibition spaces will house sound installations from recent decades, with the participation of Hungarian and international artists. Since offering an account of the history of sound art is not among the aims of On the Edge of Perceptibility, it has no ambition of establishing a historical timeline through the presented works. What we have in mind is a medium-specific – but also thematic – exhibition, which, in addition to the possible applications of the medium of sound in visual arts, also thematizes various aspects of how we perceive the outside world.

Artists: BINAURA group, András BLAZSEK, Arturas BUMŠTEINAS, Thanos CHRYSAKIS, Jozef CSERES, Bernhard GÁL, hans w. koch, Gergő NAGY, Gerardo NOLASCO MAGANA, Jon ROSE, Christian SKJODT, Carsten STABENOW, Gyula VÁRNAI