Ian Kiaer's Florence exhibition explores proximity through plexiglas and Beckett

Ian Kiaer (London, 1971) presents a two-part exhibition in Florence that weaves together plexiglas sheets, Samuel Beckett's text, and architectural references under the theme of proximity. The sparse, ethereal installation features an architectural scale model inspired by de Bretteville's industrial buildings, paired with yellow cellophane wrapping a recorder playing Beckett's claustrophobic story "Ping." In the second room, plexiglas panels from former industrial sites enclose painted phrases from the same story. Kiaer envisions an ideal white space, a "museum" where the viewer nearly dissolves under external gazes, creating a seamless closeness.