Curated by Display Fever
vitruta, King's Cross, London
Opening event 8th May 6 – 9 pm
Performance by Paola Estrella
Dj set by Mikrosono Radio Gallery; Gludo and Naz.
Photography by Ksenia Burnasheva
The Luster is a group exhibition featuring ten artists from the Display Fever community at vitruta Kings Cross. Artists featured include: Faysal Altunbozar, Damaris Athene, Solanne Bernard, Paola Estrella with garments by Gabrielle Venguer, Ela Kazdal with sound by Iñaki Ramírez Romero, Lera Kelemen, Dilara Koz, Inés Miño Izquierdo, Naomi Boiko-Stapleton, and Ella Yolande.
The group responds to the existing interior design of vitruta, presenting a multi-dimensional exhibition in a site-specific context that interacts with and expands upon the architectural elements.
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The Luster draws theoretical resonance from Hito Steyerl’s essay “The Terror of Total Dasein: Economies of Presence” which critiques the growing demand for visibility and performative presence within today’s digital and neoliberal landscape. In a world where presence is commodified and surfaces are constantly optimised, gloss becomes more than just an aesthetic—it becomes a mechanism of control. Smooth interfaces, glowing screens, and curated lifestyles often conceal deeper tensions and fractures. This exhibition asks: what happens when we question this surface economy? What becomes visible when personal stories, raw emotions, and subtle frictions are allowed to rise through the polish?
Set within the carefully designed industrial space of vitruta—featuring exposed bricks, steel beams, and a minimalist aesthetic—The Luster creates a dialogue between architectural form and artistic response. Each element in the space, designed by different designers, contributes its own unique narrative, embedding personal stories into the architecture itself. The exhibition builds upon these embedded narratives, with eleven artists presenting site-specific works that respond to the space’s glossy and tactile design. Rather than presenting perfection, these works explore desire itself—framed not only as longing, but as a force shaped by memory and intimacy. The Luster becomes a metaphor for contemporary desire: the cravings we pursue, the connections we seek, and the emotional textures that shape our relationships with objects, spaces, and one another. In response, each artist introduces their own personal luster—objects and gestures that invite reflection, transforming the space into a multifaceted dialogue between gloss and substance, architecture and emotion, presence and desire. Artworks include sculptural forms and wearable pieces, forming an evocative wardrobe within the space—one you can immerse yourself in. Through these intimate gestures, each artist weaves their personal research into themes of identity and belonging.