Exhibition "It takes time, but there will be time" - Gelli Sisters

The work of Gelli Sisters It is organized around the insistence of daily practice. A time made of repetition and daily presence, in which the process is not a means to an end, but the very matter of the work. Over five years of joint practice, Alice e Gabi They developed a methodology based on experimentation, patience, and embracing chance. It is within this extended timeframe that wax, a material generally associated with transience and disposal, gains centrality in their research, capable of retaining layers and incursions.

The new set of works presented at Seva House This marks a turning point in the artists' trajectory. While previously the wax appeared in solid, smooth slabs, guided by greater control and geometric rigor, now the work is constructed through the organic superimposition of layers, by pouring or submersion, forming an almost pictorial stratigraphy that embraces the unexpected. Like the rings of a tree trunk, these layers bear witness to the time invested in the making of the work. They also reveal the accidents of the journey, sometimes embraced and incorporated, sometimes covered and postponed. Upon reaching a satisfactory limit of layers, they initiate a reverse movement. The artists thin away the layers, open fissures, reveal lower strata, colors, and textures previously hidden. Time dilates backward and forward.

These works find a space of resonance in Casa Seva. Located within a modernist village designed by Flávio de Carvalho, the house also seems to live this expanded time, accumulating layers of use, meaning, and memory. Art and sustainability are inseparably the pillars of Casa Seva. It is at this intersection that the work of the Gelli Sisters is situated, in affinity with a program that articulates artistic practice and environmental responsibility.

Sustainability here is not limited to the choice of materials—such as vegetable wax, recycled plastic, or the constant possibility of melting and reuse—but manifests itself above all as the sustainability of relationships. This is a fundamental concern when working in duos, but the artists extend it to the relationship between the works, with the space that houses them, with the world around them, and, generously, with the public. In this way, many of the works exhibited here invite touch, interaction, and lingering as an exercise in presence.

The performance installation that gives the exhibition its name makes this particularly evident. Located at the back of the space, the work is activated by the artists through the melting of wax which, as it drips, builds a kind of stalactite. In nature, this structure is able to patiently await a drop of water that causes it to grow 1 cm every 100 years, reminding us once again of a time that exceeds us.

It takes time, but there will be time. It functions as a mantra and an invitation. If for the artists, the phrase reaffirms patience and confidence in the creation of their works, for the public it is a call to slow down and remain, in a time that is built layer by layer.

Catalina Bergues – Curator

Service
Exhibition It takes time, but there will be time.
From March 07rd to April 18th
Tuesday to Friday 11am to 18pm, Saturday 11am to 15pm