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THE PROVISIONAL

Culture now accepts a proxy or a representative of physical space as the real. The way we think about the state of being we call the physical has shifted.

The real, but not real, space (of the online) blurs our notion of what constitutes physical space. In other words, , this newly accepted idea of space which exists in the mind, or as digital representations, puts into question the veracity of our perception of physical space.

A proxy, or a stand-in, for something physical, is increasingly accepted as the real thing. Similarly, newly accepted ideas of space, which exists mostly in the mind, or as digital representations, puts into question the veracity of our perception of physical space.

This blurring between what is real and physical versus what is virtual and digital leads to the evaluation of people and things based on partial representations, on their satisfactory replacements.

There are infinite number of these new spaces, and each can contain an infinite number of their proxies. So, what we think of as the real thing, is pulled further and further away from something physical.

In online dating, potential dates are chosen based on a constructed avatar. Social apps transmit a version of real occurrences standing in proof of a place or event experienced. Bloggers post images of their meals, as virtually shared experiences with followers.

This new space relies heavily on the visual and auditory senses. However, in the case of food, a person has to eat in order to have a personal experience of taste and touch. There is not yet digitally-simulated taste or smell. Eating still reminds us of our bodies. Food and drinks continue to play a big role in bringing people together in physical space.

Provisional thoughts, things, and space exist as placeholders. The idea of provisional suggests a thinking of the future.

The provisional exists for the now. It may or may be altered, discarded, or consumed, at any further point.
There is not a set end for the provisional.

The notion of the provisional is embodied by this new space and has come to permeate the way we think of our physical environments.

Digital and online Products are continually updated

Being provisional is a trait of the startup business culture. Companies like Uber and Airbnb capitalize on their users, provisionally sharing their assets and labor.
Provisional Gallery seeks to respond to this context prevalent in the Bay Area.

The provisional nature of this new virtual or digital space is affecting the way physical spaces are perceived and used.

The explosion of art fairs has created a new space for the consumption for art that is temporary and without context. The format of the art fairs is a maze of white temporary walls and exhibition halls that bear no hint of the world that exists outside of them. Much like a casino, visitors in an art fair can be anywhere in the world, and have no sense of time.

Biennials and art fairs enable worlds of art to spring up almost overnight as collectors and art-lovers fly in from all over the globe. As artworks are expected to be photographed for the reproducible digital and virtual space. What is physical of the art experience is eroding.

Provisional Gallery seeks to examine how art can be integrated into this new frontier.
The physical gallery of Provisional will exist from time to time in temporary spaces.
When physical, Provisional Gallery will function as a cafe. The goal is not to look back to another age when cafes were a hangout for the cultural types, but to look to a future which enables people to be reminded of their physical presence with each other as well as with the artworks around them.

- Aron Cohen / Angel Chen - 2018