Apparatus – Privacy in a work inspired by French bathroom interiors in the 1970s
Lorena Cocioni has created a work made of birch plywood, glazed ceramics, soap, putty and steel especially for the Art Encounters 2025 Biennale, which expresses the complex interaction between architecture and the human body.
Installed in the Faber space in Timisoara, a former oil and soap factory, the work seems to have come “home”. It talks about washing rituals and the notion of intimacy.
“Apparatus” is inspired by French bathroom interiors of the 1970s and emphasizes the dual role of design, linking the functions of domestic and industrial spaces.
It examines how design is a ‘global commodity’ and how it reflects the transformation of industrial, social and personal spaces.
In 2024, following an open call run by the Art Encounters Foundation, eight projects – works to be produced specifically for this year’s biennial – were chosen.
Lorena Cocioni (b. 1995, Constanța) lives and works in Bucharest. Her artistic practice is dedicated to exploring the body’s senses and the ritual aspects of everyday grooming. In addition to ceramics, she uses various materials. The pieces she creates are both delicate and robust, evoking the past and hinting at an uncertain future. Lorena Cocioni’s recent research investigates the duality of femininity, analyzing the relationship between interior and exterior spaces.
Bienala Art Encounters, curated by Ana Janevski (MoMA New York) and Tevž Logar (independent curator), is hosted by three spaces in Timișoara – Comenduirea Garnizoanei, Faber and Art Encounters Foundation – until July 13, 2025.
Photo credit: curatorial
