Arthub Favorite: Week 132

Arthub is happy to announce that Paola Pivi’s artwork “World Record” (2018) presented in Bass Museum Miami in the exhibition “Art with a View” has been chosen as one of the “BEST ART OF 2018” by artnet.

Arthub participated to this exhibition providing this artwork production for the first time.

Anyone who has visited Miami during Art Basel Miami Beach will tell you that it is a nonstop whirlwind—which is perhaps why, after 30 seconds of lying on my belly atop one of the 80 mattresses that make up World Record, a sculpture-meets-audience-activated performance in Paola Pivi’s exhibition at the Bass, I had announced to all those around me that this was my favorite artwork, ever.

Little did I know that Pivi herself was among those lounging on the comfy installation, which I quickly likened to the world’s largest pillow fort. She envisioned the work as a protected space, a floor and ceiling of mattresses offering “padded white peace,” as per the exhibition label—a place where adults might play like children.

What I found was an immediate sense of relief, the stress of the day melting off my shoulders as I collapsed against the cushions. The sound was oddly deadened as I spoke to the other people sprawled out on the mattresses. The soft, springy surface seemed to stretch on forever, creating a world without responsibility or consequences.

I wanted to stay there forever, enveloped in the sense of joy and community Pivi had created, safe from the chaos of the fair and deadlines. Sadly, reality came calling all too soon, but those five minutes of bliss made my week, and maybe even my year.

—Sarah Cascone, senior writer, artnet

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