In this new letter Arde Galery presents concepts with H
HAPPENING | When art unfolds in the present
A happening is not to be watched—it’s to be lived.
It’s an artistic action that takes place in real time, with no script and no repetition. Emerging in the 1960s, the happening rejected the art object and embraced experience: collective, physical, open to chance.
The term was coined by Allan Kaprow, who staged the first happenings in New York, merging theatre, performance, and visual art. Artists like Yayoi Kusama, Joseph Beuys, and the Latin American collectives Tucumán Arde and CADA in Chile expanded the format toward the poetic, the political, and the radically situational.
A happening might include sound, movement, words, gestures, or audience interaction. It can last seconds or stretch across time. There are no spectators—only participants.At Arde Gallery, we believe some works are not meant to be hung—they’re meant to be activated.
Art is also what happens between those who make it and those who are present. A shared instant that cannot be repeated—but leaves a mark.
TRACE | What art leaves behind, even when it’s gone
A trace is what remains after something has passed—after it has touched you. In art, a trace can be a mark, a texture, or a fleeting emotion. It is also memory, echo, and potential. At Arde Gallery, many works begin from this idea: to leave something beyond the object. Like bronze holding the gesture of the hand that shaped it, or a photograph becoming collective memory. The trace is subtle, but lasting.
TO INHABIT | When art becomes space
To inhabit means more than occupying a place—it means making it your own, transforming it through presence. At Arde Gallery, we believe art also inhabits: it rests on a wall, transforms a room, accompanies everyday rituals. Our artworks and collectible design pieces are meant to be lived with, to spark dialogue. Art is not only contemplation—it’s a way of inhabiting the sensitive and the essential.
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