The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line

“The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line” is both retrospective and experiment: a way to chart two decades of The Third Line and, at the same time, a lens through which to view the contradictions and complexities of the present.

The exhibition marks twenty years of The Third Line with a project curated by Shumon Basar. Borrowed from a phrase often invoked in times of hardship, the title sets the tone for an exhibition that looks back on two decades of artistic production while holding a mirror to the crises that have shaped the early twenty-first century.

The gallery space is transformed into a timeline: four chapters – “2005–2009”, “2010–2015”, “2016–2020”, and “2021–2025” – unfold across the floor, where key political, cultural, and economic events run alongside the art. From the global financial crash to the Arab uprisings, from the pandemic years to the current moment of intersecting crises, the exhibition situates works within the pressures of history.

Every artist currently represented by “The Third Line” is present. Their works, drawn from two decades of exhibitions and the gallery’s extensive archive, form a portrait that is both collective and deeply individual. Many of the pieces have not been seen since their creation. Some capture the evolution of an artist’s practice across time; others remain strikingly consistent, as if fully formed from the outset. Far from nostalgic, the selection treats the archive as a source of renewed energy.

The project also revives traditions from the gallery’s early years. “Flash Sales Specials” – pop-up presentations of long-unseen works — appear in the Viewing Room for 48 hours at a time, announced only through social media, echoing the fleeting rhythm of disappearing stories. Alongside the exhibition, a programme of conversations gathers the voices of artists, curators, and collaborators, weaving oral histories into the gallery’s portrait.

“The Only Way Out Is Through: The Twentieth Line” is both retrospective and experiment: a way to chart two decades of The Third Line and, at the same time, a lens through which to view the contradictions and complexities of the present.