To say goodbye to this damp Winter, Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and White Cube London galleries have opened some sparkling solo exhibitions. The trio presented Walter De Maria, Martin Creed, and Miroslaw Balka respectively. These bewitching artists, with their distinct use of space and engagement with the public, guide the visitors in an absorbing (sometimes even funny) experience of their works. However, the galleries allow different levels of interaction between audience and exhibits. In fact, while the artists take over the whole exhibition spaces, the visitor experience is determined by what the galleries concede. Then, are Gagosian, Hauser & Wirth, and White Cube acknowledging full authorship to the artists they showcase?

The first show of the triangle is “Toast” by the social artist Martin Creed (30^th November 2018 – 9^th February 2018) at Hauser & Wirth. The exhibition showcased drawing, painting, sculpture, tapestry, video and live performance presenting the eclectic production which distinguishes Creed’s vast output. Interestingly, the display changed during the opening hours. Indeed, two technicians regularly popped in the exhibition space to install/deinstall two paintings, “Work no 3113, Threes Flowers Seas please” (2018) and “Work no 2980, Broccoli on Fire on Water with Gun and Wind and Sun” (2018), whose absence made space to project a series of ten short videos including “Work no 3093, Difficult Thoughts” (2018). Besides, the exhibition included a performer, Linda Hirst, who, throughout the exhibition, sang new music written by the artist in 2018. As the cherry on the cake, on the last day of the show, H&W invited the artist for a closing performance of a selection of his songs playfully accompanied by Hirst and a choir of girls in colourful jumpers and winter hats. How Creed took over the gallery was astonishing. During the performance, Hirst sang and walked through the gallery arriving next to the gallery Assistants’ desk who, upon her arrival, started to hum becoming a choir themselves! Thus, Creed, not only managed to organise the display of his show (how often do you see an exhibition which changes the exhibits during opening hours?) but also incorporated into the show the Gallery Technicians and Assistants.

The second visit was of “Idea to Action to Object” by Walter De Maria (24^th January – 23^rd March 2019) at Gagosian. The show includes over forty never-before-seen drawings and several related sculptures from the artist’s late career. The works on paper record De Maria interest in psychology which he often used to instruct the reader/observer to do and see the surrounding in a specific way. Unique in De Maria’s works is the constant invitation of the public to interact with his objects. An example is “Satisfaction Box” (1961), a wooden pedestal with a box and a stone ball in which the artist engraved the instructions for the visitor to bring the ball, put it in the box, wait until satisfied, and place it back. Unfortunately, as soon as you approach the work and move your hand towards the ball, a frightening guard in formal guise block you from touching the work. Is this reflecting De Maria’s will? Or is this a misinterpretation Gagosian deliberately enacts to prevent the works, which are of course on sale, from potential damages? This impediment prevents the audience from experiencing the artist’s work fully. Here De Maria’s authorship is clearly compromised by the intention of the gallery to preserve his work in favour of its sale.

The last of this Spring’s first token was “Random Access Memory” by Miroslaw Balka (25^th January – 9^th March 2019) at White Cube. For his show, the Polish artist – whose practice is defined by the use of bare everyday materials – created a new installation in which heated metal walls hide the exhibition space (of both ground and lower floors) from the visitor sight.  While we stand in front of the barriers, these cut out the gallery space. These same fences become a catalyst which stirs up in the visitor’s mind a blend of domestic traumas and collective histories. How many memories of when we had been trapped or stopped by physical and invisible barriers can we recall while standing in front to Balka’s walls? Bringing the installation to the current political debates, this immediately becomes a reference of geographic borders, cultural division, undergoing projects like the US border that Trump is advocating and Brexit with its uncertainty. The installation is the symbol of what separates people from one another for gender, race, nation, politics, and religion. With this show, White Cube savvily gave up to the use of its exhibition space to allow Balka freedom of expression with such a strong yet severe installation.

Thus, these three blue-chip galleries by presenting three socially oriented shows by three bold artists declare their commitment to the faithful presentation of the artworks they host in their beautiful white spaces. Whereas Gagosian puts a guard to watch over the safety and integrity of De Maria’s sculptural works preventing the visitor from interaction, White Cube allows Balka total freedom to use the space at his own will. However, the epitome was reached by Hauser & Wirth that not only granted Creed full and free use of the gallery space but also licensed him to include the gallery staff in the show. By offering the gallerygoers three distinct experiences, these exhibitions provide a glimpse to the relational boundaries between the business faced galleries and the artist they represent.