In this triptych, Guillermo Kuitca takes as his subject the seating plans of three renowned theaters: Teatro La Fenice, Venice; Teatro Colón, Buenos Aires; and the Wiener Staatsoper, Vienna. Using water to break down the emulsion on the surface of the printed paper, he recasts these staid utilitarian documents as sites of chance and disorder. They are as colorful, unpredictable, and turbulent as the performances that occur within the theaters.
Guillermo Kuitca (b. 1961), Horseshoe Theaters, 2018. Printer’s ink on photographic paper, triptych, each 11 3/4 x 16 1/2 in. (29.8 x 41.9 cm). Gift of an anonymous donor; 2019.94.a–c. © Guillermo Kuitca, courtesy Sperone Westwater, New York.