What’s in a set? The question’s so blunt that it doesn’t seem worth dwelling on. A theater director might think of a production’s set design, and move on. A mathematician might remember someone’s work in set theory, and move on. But architect and UIC professor Ania Jaworska won’t accept such simple answers. In her solo exhibit at Volume Gallery, “Set,” she implores her audience to pause and ask again: “No, what really is in a set?”
What’s in a set? Why does one object belong to the set of things called “a table”? What magical quality does this one item have that others lack? The moment Jaworska prompts her audience to ask these questions, the set she’s created expands the idea of what “a table” is. Leave the gallery space, and the door to the street now looks like a lacquered cylinder affixed to a slab. Step outside, and the floor that creaks under the weight of one’s legs becomes a slab that creaks under the weight of two cylinders. In “Set,” Jaworska hasn’t just created furniture, but a different way of viewing the world. v
Through 12/30: Tue-Sat, 11 AM-6PM, or by appointment Volume Gallery 845 W. Washington, third floor 312-224-8683wvvolumes.com Free
