Gala Porras-Kim showcases Non-Consenting Collaborators at the Villa Cerruti and the Castello di Rivoli in Turin, Italy. Presented across two different venues, the project stems from the idea that objects we see in the institutional collections the result of multiple “actors” taking part: not only the artists who create the objects, but also the collectors, curators, conservators, and registrars who are involved in the whole process. Regardless of their intention, all these partakers function as “non-consenting collaborators” in shaping how works are presented to and understood by the audience.

The first part of the project focuses on the kitchen space of the Villa Cerruti, that is no longer functionally used and is excluded from public view. Objects that were originally stored in the cabinets and drawers were transferred to and now showcased in the Castello di Rivoli, where the objects are redefined as artworks through this temporary displacement. In turn, the emptied kitchen is refilled with substitute objects from the collection’s storage. Through this intervention, Porras-Kim shifts the function, status, and display context of objects, questioning institutional conventions. In particular, the testamentary requirement that works at the Villa Cerruti remain in the collector’s original arrangement further clarifies the artist’s intent, foregrounding the institutional conditions that shape the collection.

A second part of the project centers on Lucio Fontana’s Concetto spaziale, Attese (1965). The work is displayed in two parts—the painting itself and the gilded frame personally chosen by the collector. They are separated from one another, shown side by side as a diptych. This presentation brings reveals four intertwined layers of intervention and collaboration—the artist, the collector, the conservator, and Porras-Kim—making visible the layers of authority and interpretation surrounding the artwork. Commissioned and curated by Fondazione Cerruti, the project critically reflects on the ethics of the collection and institutional structures. The project remains on view through March 22.