This exhibition is inscribed within the framework of a research we began in 2005, and which has focused on researching the uses of humour in contemporary art. Since then, we have curated three exhibitions, in which we have engaged the subject of humour in contemporary art production from a variety of points of view: humour as a result of an attitude which identifies art and life, humour as a tool for connecting with the audience, by shortening the distance that separates them, and humour as a vehicle or transmitter of critical content. Things that Only An Artist Can Do is the last project in this series, an, in this case, humour comes hand in hand with the absurd.

These projects are more appropriate for characters like Sisyphus than for an artist, and this is so for two reasons: because of the absurdity of the action necessary to produce the project, and because of the proportion of the effort required for its execution in relation to the result. Of course, none of the actions is due to a punishment; rather, the case is quite the opposite. It is a case of an individual, mediated decision, a labour which each artist produces by their own will, and with great dedication. Neither the time required to carry out a project, nor the means one has to mobilise, nor the result, the non-productivity of the labour, the absurdity or ridiculousness of an action matter here. The artist invests a blind effort in their labour, a great effort, sometimes an intellectual one, and sometimes even a physical one. But, regardless of the kind of effort, in all cases it is beyond reason. We are dealing with an excessive effort, disproportionate in relation to the results that one aims at ; in short, an ab surd effort.

The artists invited to this exhibition all come form the same context, share the same artistic references, and, above all, share a work methodology. Most of them don't dedicate their effort to the production of objects. What we find in the exhibition rooms with their names are remnants of actions , , records, documentation, or devices that speak of their projects. Let us take, as an example, Piero Golia's installation Going to Tirana . Although we could exhibit the boat in which the artist crossed the Adriatic, and even if we showed part of the action on video, what we are really exhibiting is not the work as an object, but one or many objects which remind us of the action. They are, if you will, like relics from a feat. David G. Tores identifies this methodology as a common trait in a generation:" A common practice in the generation of artist who, since the 1960's, would take up this Duchampian regime. In this process of de-materialising the art work, in the effort to highlight the importance of intentionality, and, in general of the concept that governs art production, one thing remained: documentation. ”.

Although they are still a minority, since the appearance of Duchamp, there have been many artists who have decided not to take the creative act so seriously, have given up working on the great ideas, in order to dedicate themselves, body and soul, to small occurrences. Anyone can say that we all have occurrences, but the artists is the only one obstinate enough to go all the way and dedicate herself to them regardless of their absurdity, or their lack of productivity. The artist stands out from the crowd the moment they are capable of setting aside reason and going all the way.

We should also mention that there are things that only an artist is allowed to do. If anyone else did them, their sanity would be suspect; nevertheless, an artist can do them and even receive an applause for his deeds. Socially, they have been granted certain licences under that old Romantic excuse of creative insanity, licences which the artists in this exhibition, and many others, conveniently take advantage of in order to achieve their goals.

Let us assume that the artist can do crazy things. But, what about the rest of us, those that reaffirm them by producing an exhibition of impossible projects? Who is the craziest one here: the artist, us, or the art centres that host a project which pretends to gather and produce new absurd projects? I hope that by the end of this essay, it will be made perfectly clear that not all of us here are crazy, but that, rather, we share a common vision, or an attitude towards art practice, a way to understand the figure of the artist and the art of our times.

Artists on show:
Julien Berthier, Piero Golia, Gelitin, Aleksandra Mir, Gianni Motti, Paola Pivi, Wilfredo Prieto, Enrique Lista, Leopold Kessler, Tere Recarens, Yamashita+Kobayashi and Xu Zhen.

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