Valentina Bubola

Valentina Bubola is a Swiss-Italian artist based in Zurich whose practice centres on sculpture and installation. Influenced by her background in social work, she investigates themes of fragility, care, and how we inhabit the world. Emerging from an intuitive process, her works create situations that invite a slowed awareness and activate a sensory dialogue between viewer, body, and environment, turning space into a physical and psychological dimension. She sees art as a transformative process where the work exists as an experience rather than a static object.

Reflections on Zahn der Zeit and Art Dock, Zürich:

How does the context of an exhibition influence your artistic process?

For me, an artwork is never completely autonomous. It always exists in relation to the space that hosts it, the people who encounter it, and the atmosphere created by a specific context. I don't see exhibitions as neutral containers, but as living environments that become part of the work itself.
My process is intuitive and begins with listening. I try to understand what a place communicates, what kind of energy it carries, and how the work can enter into dialogue with it rather than simply occupy it. It is important to me that the work visually intertwines with its surroundings and, when appropriate, creates an active relationship with the audience. Sometimes this interaction is physical, sometimes emotional or perceptual, but I always hope that the viewer becomes part of the experience rather than remaining an observer.
Because of my background in social work, my research is deeply rooted in human experience. I am interested in vulnerability, care, relationships, and the inner landscapes we all carry within us.
Every project begins from these questions, even when they are expressed through abstract forms or sensory experiences.
If there is one moment that feels most important, it is the moment when the work begins to resonate with the space and with the people who experience it. That is when it stops belonging only to me and becomes something shared. I also believe that every place holds its own invisible energy.
My spiritual perspective naturally informs my practice, and I hope my works can gently shift the emotional and energetic atmosphere of a space, inviting a pause, a different perspective, or a subtle transformation in the way we perceive ourselves and the world around us.

How did Art Under Dock shape your Artwork?

Exhibiting at Art Dock deeply influenced the way L'appeso was experienced. The work is about suspension, stillness, and the possibility of transformation through pause. The darkness of the space allowed the light and sound to fully emerge, creating an atmosphere that wouldn't have been possible in a conventional gallery. The environment became an essential part of the installation rather than just its backdrop.
What fascinated me most was that the building carried its own memory. It wasn't an empty, neutral space waiting to be filled. It imperfections, history, and sense of impermanence created a dialogue with the work. Knowing that the building will soon disappear made the exhibition itself feel temporary, fragile, and alive.
Personally, I often find the white cube too neutral, almost detached from life. While it can allow a work to stand alone, it also removes many of the layers that make an encounter meaningful. At Art Dock, I felt the opposite happened: the space gave life to the artworks, rather than the artworks giving life to the space.
For L'appeso, this was especially significant. The installation invites viewers to embrace suspension not as passivity but as a conscious state of openness. Even when everything seems still, something is always changing beneath the surface. Just as the building holds traces of what has been and what will soon disappear, the work reflects the quiet transformations that take place within us when we allow ourselves to pause, breathe, and reconnect with our inner space.