Secant Space

Emanuele Resce is an Italian artist whose practice moves through layers — temporal, geographical, and material. Working across sculpture and assemblage, he builds unstable configurations from heterogeneous elements that oscillate between human, animal, and mechanical form. Contemporary totems carrying both individual and collective memory. World is a House of Departures traces a journey through three cities: Istanbul, where the work began during a residency; Casalbore, the small village in southern Italy where Resce grew up and where most of the pieces were produced; and Berlin, where the line of inquiry continues and new collaborations unfold. On view at gr_und from 23 May to 27 June 2026 Opening: Friday 23 May, 6–11 pm Seestrasse 49, 13347 Berlin — Wed to Sat, 3–7 pm Curated by @gr_und & @secantspace Supported by @nashiragallery @emanueleresce

​WORLD IS A HOUSE OF DEPARTURES First Solo Show in Berlin by Emanuele Resce ​23rd of May 2026 to 27th of June 2026 Opening: 23rd of May 2026 – 6-11 pm ​gr_und Seestrasse 49 – 13347 Berlin ​Emanuele Resce’s work is shaped by layers: temporal, geographical, and interpretative. These do not simply accumulate; they overlap, intersect, and influence one another, generating complex, sometimes parallel realities. Drawn to what escapes immediate perception, he moves freely between past and present. ​This exhibition begins in Istanbul, where the artist spent several weeks. There, he encountered a city formed through successive transformations: Ottoman heritage coexisting with large-scale contemporary urban development, and different religious traditions inhabiting the same architectures over time. [...] ​Forms, symbols, and narratives do not follow one another, they coexist. The resulting works assemble heterogeneous elements into unstable configurations, suspended between construction and transformation. Blending materials and references, and oscillating between human, animal, and mechanical forms, they appear as contemporary totems carrying both individual and collective memories. ​After Istanbul and Casalbore, this line of inquiry extended to Berlin. In a markedly different urban context, the artist continued to explore the relationships between languages, places, and temporalities, while opening his practice to new collaborations, particularly with artists from the street art scene. Departures and returns ultimately converge in this exhibition, which invites the viewer to step into a space where time unfolds differently. ​Artists Tahir Akinci, Elifnaz Öngören, and Hilal Can have all initiated collaborations with Emanuele Resce following his residency in Istanbul. ​Text by Eleonore Varone / Secant space Istanbul Curation: Eleonore Varone / James Verhille ​This exhibition is supported by Nashira Gallery in Milan ​@emanueleresce @secantspace @nashiragallery @gr_und @hilalcan.stidio @elifnazongoren @tahirakinci

Since 2004, Laura Ortego has invited women to lend her personal objects to photograph, each one carrying fragments of memory, intimacy, and lived experience. From Patagonia to China, Japan, and Turkey, the series traces stories that remain partially untold, while collective history quietly emerges through these seemingly ordinary objects from everyday life. During her three-month residency in Istanbul, Laura Ortego carried out two photographic projects. With Las Cosas – Nesneler, on view from May 20 to June 13, we present the most recent stage of her series Juego de Living, including around ten photographs produced in recent months in Istanbul, alongside works made in Asia and Argentina. OPENING: May 20, 18:00 Akarsu Yokuşu Sokak n:3 May 20 – June 13 Wednesday–Saturday, 3pm–7pm   TR 2004 yılından bu yana Laura Ortego, kadınlardan kişisel eşyalarını fotoğraflamak üzere ödünç vermelerini istiyor. Her bir nesne; hafıza, mahremiyet ve yaşanmış deneyimlerden parçalar taşıyor. Patagonya’dan Çin, Japonya ve Türkiye’ye uzanan bu seri, kısmen anlatılmamış hikâyelerin izini sürerken, gündelik hayata ait ilk bakışta sıradan görünen bu nesneler aracılığıyla kolektif bir hikâye de arka planda yavaşça ortaya çıkıyor. İstanbul’daki üç aylık rezidansı boyunca Laura Ortego iki fotoğraf projesi geliştirdi. 20 Mayıs – 13 Haziran tarihleri arasında gerçekleşecek Las Cosas – Nesneler sergisinde, sanatçının Juego de Living serisinin en güncel aşamasını; son aylarda İstanbul’da üretilmiş yaklaşık on yeni fotoğrafla birlikte Asya ve Arjantin’de çekilmiş diğer işleriyle beraber sunuyoruz. AÇILIŞ: 20 Mayıs, 18:00 Akarsu Yokuşu Sokak n:3 20 Mayıs – 13 Haziran Çarşamba–Cumartesi, 15:00–19:00 @lauraortego

One more week to discover Marco Milia’s exhibition! From Tuesday to Sunday, the work is visible from 10am to 10pm, and the gallery is open from 3pm to 7pm. We look forward to seeing you! /// Marco Milia’nın sergisini keşfetmek için son bir hafta! Salı’dan Pazar’a eser 10.00–22.00 saatleri arasında görülebilir, galeri ise 15.00–19.00 saatleri arasında açıktır. Sizi bekliyoruz! 📷 Our photographers: 1,2,3,4 @denissdmirbs 5,6,7 @lauraortego In partnership with @urbancafeistanbul

Discover more about Marco Milia’s practice and his project for Secant Space in Istanbul. 👀 This is not his first visit to the city, but it is his longest stay. Drawing on different architectures, temporal layers, sounds, and contexts, the Rome-based artist has developed a visual and formal research that blends human gesture with expressions found in nature. Visit the exhibition OCULUS OCULI until May 10, 2026, from Tuesday to Sunday. The work is visible from 10:00 to 22:00, and the gallery is open from 15:00 to 19:00. We look forward to welcoming you. In partnership with @urbancafeistanbul @marco__milia 📷: 1. Claudio Abate @archivioclaudioabate 2.⁠ Aurelio Candido 3, 4. Marco Milia

💥 COMING SOON! 💥 We are honoured to host Marco Milia (lives and works in Rome) for a second Secant Space residency in collaboration with Urban Café. Marco Milia’s practice is grounded in a deep investigation of space as a perceptual and relational experience. Working through site-specific approaches, he develops structures that emerge from architecture or nature. Using simple geometric modules repeated and combined into complex systems, his work engages with light as a primary medium, creating immersive environments that shift between material presence and dematerialization. His installations are conceived to be physically experienced, inviting the viewer to move through them and engage with tensions between order and chaos, stability and transformation. We are currently working on a site-specific installation for Secant Space, developed during his residency and inspired by his time in Istanbul. It will be presented on April 21 from 18:00. Save the date!

Curating as Conditions for Emergence 走 着说 
April 5 (Sun), 2:30 PM
Making Space, Guangzhou This Sunday, curator and art historian Eléonore Varone @secantspace will share her long-term curatorial practice, reflecting on site-specific work, buried histories, public space, and how curating can create conditions for forms and positions to take shape. The talk follows her short-term research residency in the Pearl River Delta and will also include a conversation with Cora Yubin Luo @coraluoluo . Eléonore is the founder of Secant Space in Istanbul and has previously worked across Switzerland and internationally, including Bex&Arts 2023, CACY, and other institutions and festivals.
Cora Yubin Luo is an independent curator based in Guangzhou, whose work focuses on individual expressions obscured by dominant histories and social structures. Hosted/curated by Ziyun Wang @zyunzyunw , Chao Wang @hard_work_workshop , and Binghuang Xu @binghuang_yun 
Supported by Pro Helvetia Shanghai, the Swiss Arts Council @prohelvetia Fig 1, poster designed by Sirui Fu @forthreerui Fig 2, Rémy Bender & Basile Richon Vivement demain! Setting up Bex&Arts, 2023, ©Gabriel Monnet Fig 3, Emanuele Resce Artist talk and workshop Urban Cafe Istanbul 2025, Courtesy of Eléonore Varone Fig 4, In situ project and performances, Heresies, 2021, ©Gentiane Kadrijaj Fig 5, Archive of the 17th Century, On witchcraft in the Alpine Region, Courtesy of the curator Fig 6, Eléonore Varone, ©Blaise David Fig 7, Cora Yubin Luo, Courtesy of the Cora #MakingSpace #EléonoreVarone #CoraYubinLuo #SecantSpace #ProHelvetia

Welcoming Eléonore Varone to Making Space From March 26 through the coming two weeks, we are happy to welcome Eléonore Varone for a research residency. Eléonore Varone is a curator and art historian whose practice is deeply attentive to space, context, and site-specific encounters. Since 2024, she has founded Secant Space @secantspace in Istanbul as a curatorial platform and artist residency that prioritizes research, archival work, and long-term artistic development. During her stay, her research will focus on independent and alternative art spaces in the Pearl River Delta. Starting from Making Space, we will travel with her through Guangzhou and nearby areas, visiting artist-run initiatives, small-scale cultural platforms, and self-organised spaces to understand how local art ecologies are built, sustained, and negotiated over time. This residency is supported by Pro Helvetia, the Swiss Arts Council @prohelvetia . And hosted by Wang Ziyun @zyunzyunw , Wang Chao @hard_work_workshop ,and Xu Binghuang @binghuang_yun . Fig 1, ©Blaise David Fig 2, Yusuké Y. Offhause_Vivement demain!_2023_Bex&Arts Triennal_©Gabriel Monnet Fig 3, Fragmentin_Vivement demain!_2023_Bex&Art Triennal_©Gabriel Monnet Fig 4, Simon Deppierraz_Vertigo_2022_Oblique Gallery_©Tonatiuh Ambrosetti Fig 5, Emanuele Resce and Ferhat Tunç_In Transformation_2025_Secant Space_©Barış Özcetin Fig 6, Ziyun&WangChao_Moving Park_2026_Secant Space ©Barış Özcetin #MakingSpace #EléonoreVarone #SecantSpace #ProHelvetia #Guangzhou

We are honoured to host Laura Ortego for a 3-months residency ✨ During her stay at Secant Space, Laura Ortego continues Chicas, a long-term project exploring the passage between childhood and adulthood. Through portraits and encounters, her work traces personal and territorial transitions while building a collective map shaped by those who take part in it. @lauraortego

A new resident has arrived at Secant Space and we are excited to work with her over the next three months. We will accompany her throughout her research and creative process, which will culminate in an exhibition in May. Stay tuned because more information will follow soon. 👀 Laura Ortego is an artist born in Argentine Patagonia. Her main practice is photography; she also makes films, writes, draws, establishes relationships with her context, and documents them. Her work explores the construction of identities—particularly those of women and diverse communities—as well as transitions: from childhood to adulthood, transitions of sex and gender, and the shift from physical bodies to digital ones. It also engages with Eastern cultures, migration, and cultural syncretism. Since 2010, part of her projects have been developed in Asia, where she travels regularly. @lauraortego

"Oyun Salonu: Oyun Aracılığıyla Kurumsal Eleştiri" @secantspace 'te açıldı. 🪩 Sanat dünyasının mekanizmalarını ve kurumsal sistemleri ele alan programın çıktıları, Secant Space'te kurulan oyun ve araştırma alanında üretildi. Program, sanat dünyasına dair kurumsal eleştiri, temsiliyet politikaları ve görünürlük kavramını sanat oyunları aracılığıyla yeniden tartışmaya açtı. Kurumsal yapıları yeniden hayal etmek ve kurgulamak için oyuncuların bu sürece ortak olmasıyla birlikte mekan aktive oldu. Projenin bir yan unsuru olan performatif çay saati, poşet çay fallarının sahte de olsa umut vadeden tonunu, sanat dünyasının preker gerçekliğiyle birleştiriyor. Çay poşetlerinin ucunda yer alan bu fallar, bir çeşit dayanışma ritüeli oluşturmayı amaçlıyor. 📷 : @denissdmirbs -- EN "Game Room: Institutional Critique Through Play" has opened at Secant Space. 🪩 The outcomes of the program, which examines the mechanisms and institutional systems of the art world, were produced in the 'game and research' space established at Secant Space. The program reopened a discussion on institutional critique, representation policies, and the concept of visibility within the art world through art games. The space came to life as players participated in this process to reimagine and reconfigure institutional structures. A tea ceremony, a side element of the project, combines the hopeful-albeit fake-tone of tea bag fortunes with the precarious reality of the art world. These fortunes, found at the tips of tea bags, aim to create a kind of solidarity ritual.

-English below- Secant Space’te kurulan ve Meli R. Öztürk tarafından bir ay boyunca yürütülen oyun salonu 9 Nisan Perşembe günü açılıyor. 📢 Program süresince ‘Demo’ oturumlarında sanat dünyasının çeşitli simülasyonlarını sunmayı amaçlayan oyunlar deneyimlendi ve ‘Multiplayer’ oturumlarına katılan oyuncularla birlikte yeni oyunlar ortaya çıktı. “Oyun Masası: Bir Kurumsal Eleştiri Denemesi” programı kapsamında “Kültürel İade”, “Sanat Sahnesi: Prestij veya Kar”, “Bu Hangi Kurum?” ve “Kartlar Sanat Piyasasına Karşı” oyunları oynandı. 🃏 Sanat dünyasının mekanizmalarını ve kurumsal sistemleri ele alan bir aylık program boyunca deneyimlenen sanat oyunları, 9 ve 10 Nisan tarihlerinde Secant Space’te kurulan oyun ve araştırma alanında incelenebilir. 🔍 *Tasarımda yer alan görsel detayı Andrea Fraser’a aittir. EN- The game room set up at Secant Space and run by Meli R. Öztürk for a month opens on Thursday, April 9. 📢 Throughout the program, games were tested during “Demo” sessions aimed at presenting various simulations of the art world, and new games emerged in collaboration with players participating in “Multiplayer” sessions. As part of the “Game Table: An Attemp at Institutional Critique” program, the games “Cultural Restitution,” “Art Scene: Prestige or Profit,” “Which Institution Is This?,” and “Cards Against Art Market” were played. 🃏 The art games experienced throughout this month-long program, which examines the mechanisms and institutional systems of the art world, can be explored in the ‘game and research space’ set up at Secant Space on April 9 and 10. 🔍 *The visual detail featured in the design is by Andrea Fraser.