Provisional Bar Floor/Ceiling 2004

Curator: The eye is immediately drawn to the floor. I'm struck by its unexpected colour palette against the backdrop of this gallery space, those strong blocks of reds, yellows, and greys. Editor: This is Liam Gillick's "Provisional Bar Floor/Ceiling", a mixed-media installation conceived in 2004. What we're seeing are painted wooden platforms. His work frequently explores the relationships between architectural spaces and social interaction. Curator: The work evokes a deconstructed Piet Mondrian composition in its basic visual structure, yet feels deliberately temporary. The title itself—"Provisional"—highlights that intentional transience. What statements might it be trying to make about our perception of permanency versus flexibility within institutions and the broader culture? Editor: From a material standpoint, note the plywood's grain—left deliberately exposed. The piece invites interaction. These simple building blocks evoke a DIY ethos, perhaps challenging the notion of preciousness we so often ascribe to art. The artist himself, Gillick, oversaw much of the work himself, blurring boundaries of factory and studio practices. Curator: Intriguing. It pushes us to consider how we construct our understanding and engagement of both spaces and art—the piece demands to be moved and reconfigured which breaks traditional concepts about value through originality, placing an emphasis on function rather than uniqueness, by extension disrupting a common understanding. Editor: Yes, Gillick frequently challenges systems—the art world, organizational structures. This piece functions as an inquiry into how our environment molds our behavior, reflecting ideas of accessible building and material honesty, in contradiction to more rigid cultural definitions. Curator: Looking again, that raw quality almost cheapens the space, drawing attention to what’s seen but easily forgotten such as the very fabric that surrounds an art display. Editor: In that way, the work shifts its materiality and methods, creating the chance to have a discussion, I think, regarding what materials we should regard as worthwhile materials for making and what should we view them as tools and only tools. Curator: An act of subversion on Gillick’s part? I can admire his perspective. It makes one contemplate one's value judgements regarding both art and its context. Editor: Agreed, quite provocative for something so visually unassuming.