THE INFINITE ROPE / LA CUERDA INFINITA, project curated by Catalina Bauer / Bodegón Los Vilos & Palacio Pereira, Chile / 2024

Hand embroidered thread on cotton and paper / 2023

The Infinite Rope -- La cuerda infinita is a collaborative project, curated by the Chilean artist Catalina Bauer, that began in 2021 with the idea of creating a group exhibition in which the works would not simply coexist in the same space, but would come together to form a single work.

Artists are invited to make a rope using whatever materials and techniques they choose. Ideally, they use whatever they have at hand in their studio, so that the rope reflects something of their own practice. The ropes are then randomly joined together, like an exquisite textile corpse. In this way, as in the Surrealists’ game, they gradually form a collective creation that may reveal something about our context—something that would not be possible to observe in the work of a single artist.

Before being exhibited, La cuerda infinita began to take shape through an Instagram account, where photographs of the ropes are virtually joined together. This helped the project grow far beyond what was originally planned. Many artists continued to join, and by the time it was first exhibited in early 2023, it already included more than one hundred ropes made using a great diversity of techniques and materials.

For the exhibition at Bodegón Cultural Los Vilos and at Palacio Pereira, La cuerda infinita incorporates several local artists and is installed around the entire perimeter of the space, like a continuous line embracing it. On this occasion, the ropes are present both physically and through photographs and videos that interact with images referring to the idea of continuity.

We can think of the rope as a line, a thread, a river, a ray of light moving through time and space. Like the light of a star that is always traveling, always making its way toward us.

Photographs courtesy of Bodegón Cultural Los Vilos. Photo credit: Benjamin Matte @benjaminmattev

https://www.catalinabauer.com/artwork/la-cuerda-infinita-los-vilos-the-infinite-rope-los-vilos/

https://www.catalinabauer.com/artwork/la-cuerda-infinita-the-infinite-rope/

Photographs courtesy of Bodegón Cultural Los Vilos. Photo credit: Benjamin Matte @benjaminmattev

Thread Rope for the project The Infinite Rope curated by Catalina Bauer / Hand embroidery on paper / 27,5x 20 inch / 70x50 cm / 2023

Thread Rope for the project The Infinite Rope curated by Catalina Bauer / Hand embroidery on paper / 27,5x 20 inch / 70x50 cm / Palacio Pereira, Santiago, Chile / 2023

Invitation to the show The Infinite Rope curated by Catalina Bauer / Palacio Pereira, Santiago, Chile / 2023

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