It all begins with Karin Kneffel: an unmade duvet, an old television where cowboys without a destiny ride across the screen, and, on the floor, a broken vase. The scene has something like a prologue, as if we’ve arriving late to the story. The important events have already taken place, but their echoes remain: in the folds, the strokes and the fragments.

The sounds of Glenda León, transformed into blue sculptures, are whispers from another time: a horse’s neigh, birds that fly, the breeze. As if the film on the television had escaped into space and become matter. These forms pulse gently, reminding us that the invisible also leaves a trace.

The leporellos and the wax-covered figures where the artist Sandra Vásquez de la Horra’s it suggest us an intimate narrative, almost secret. Aymarás, The bañista, and El tango feroz appear as vignettes of a story within a story: characters proceeding between paper houses, ritual shadows, physical gestures and memory.

Elena del Rivero’s feathers, suspended like flying letters, can be read as fragile messages in transit. Flying Letter #24 seems written for someone who will never even read it, but its movement keeps the attempt at communication alive. Adjacent, a stainless-steel menhir emerges like a lucid dream: a vertical presence, a mirror, a threshold. Gonzalo Guzmán’s work suggests an impossible gleaming stone, that remind us that every story needs a place to pause to reflect.

Close by, Jaume Plensa’s iron distills the weight of the human into abstraction. His CAP III evokes both head and silence, mass and thought. A piece that doesn’t explain literally, but holds something within: as if is keeping the secret of a narrative we’ve yet have to learn how to read. On the floor, Susana Solano’s structure conjures spaces we’ve passed through, while Evru/Zush’s bell holds within it the resonance of every sound that has been and those that are still waiting to be heard.

Thus, among brushstrokes and fragments, the mezzanine becomes a stage. The painting is a prologue; the sculptures, chapters; the sounds, background whispers. We move through the space as one moves through an open-ended story: a tale of action and consequence, of gestures and traces, visible and invisible.

Everything is in motion, in tension. Like a dream breaking apart upon waking.

Galeria Senda participates in the first edition of the international multimedia art fair Loop Lab Busan, a new initiative of Loop Barcelona. SENDA presents Tous les Oiseaux du Monde by Xavi Bou (Barcelona, 1979)

This video was created following an invitation for an artistic residency held from 2020 to 2022 at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In it, working with teams from different faculties, the artist raises the hypothetical possibility of monitoring and calculating the total number of birds on the planet, through the generation of Artificial Intelligence models that allow individuals of all species to be identified.

The trend in our society, organized through Big Data, is to control all information and track any useful parameter, including those from nature. Bou questions whether we will be able to register all the living beings on the planet through the analysis of both structured and unstructured information as a possible nod in the fight against the climate crisis and the restoration of ecosystems and habitats.

Thomas More wrote the book “Utopia” in 1516. It was first published in Dirk Martens’ printing house in Leuven. The book coins the concept of utopia and describes an ideal and peaceful society where people live free and in harmony with nature. For Thomas More, the establishment of a new method of government had to be based on a tool that guaranteed excellence in business administration: mathematics.

More than 500 years later, the algorithms generated by Artificial Intelligence and its capacity for exponential advancement restore the notions of utopia and dystopia articulated in the work of Xavi Bou. The ability to predict, understand, and work autonomously, simulating human intelligence, opens new uncertain horizons that scare and excite us at the same time.

Likewise, Bou’s work reflects and questions the capacity for control and the impact on the freedom and security of individuals fostered by the newly available tools.

Fears about the risks of Artificial Intelligence seem to be prevailing over the hopes generated by new opportunities. Bou’s vision does not offer certain answers to open questions but points out the idea that the proper use of this technology depends on the ethics of those who develop it and the ability of users to control their privacy and protect their data.

This work was carried out sometime before the launch of ChatGPT and other platforms that only confirm all the doubts, fears, and, why not, hopes that the author invites us to question through a work it transcends the theme and genre it addresses.

ZⓈONAMACO México Arte Contemporáneo is the largest art fair in Latin America. This year, Mexico City will host galleries and visitors from the 5th to the 9th of February, with a twenty-first edition composed of four sections: Main Section, in which SENDA will be present; ZⓈONAMACO Ejes, ZⓈONAMACO Sur and ZⓈONAMACO Arte Moderno.

For this edition, we present a very wide range of artists, covering many artistic disciplines such as photography, sculpture and painting. With the clear objective of giving visibility to all facets of art, we also want to pay tribute to the country that hosts this fair.

 

GINO RUBERT

Son of a Mexican mother, Gino Rubert‘s art has always been influenced by his roots. Formally, he recognises himself as a child of the tradition that art must first seduce the eye through artifices such as trompe l’oeil and distortions, and from there invite us to reflect. Therefore, for ZⓈONAMACO we bring some of the works that the artist exhibited in SENDA in his last show ‘Cariàtide’ and that contain those deceptions that trap us inside the painting. In ‘Cariàtide’, Rubert moves the focus away from social and sentimental vanities, to put it on raw loneliness. Portraits of women trapped by the canvas, with clothes sculpted on it, whose figures are split by the frame, as if the limits of the canvas were trapping them in the same way as the entablature and the base hold the Greek caryatids (women-columns).

Collaboration:

 

 

JAUME PLENSA

On this occasion, the sculptures of the Catalan Jaume Plensa cross the ocean. The impressive 120-metre high work, ‘FLORA’, will be one of the highlights of our stand. The serenity of its face in contrast to its large dimensions reminds us of Plensa‘s genius in transmitting calm and reflection, yet the lively and dynamic environment in which his compositions are always found.

 

PETER HALLEY

The New Yorker Peter Halley will also be present at ZⓈONAMACO. Some of his iconic cells will travel to the fair to add a touch of light and colour to the space. Halley is one of the most influential artists on the international scene. He became known in the mid-eighties as the driving force behind the so-called Neo-Conceptualist movement. Although he uses geometry as a fundamental support for his works, he always insists on his figurative reference: the space and time of our society, its political and social terrain, and the closed order in which we live.

 

ROBERT MAPPLETHORPE

The presence of photography comes from Robert Mapplethorpe: eight of his black and white archive photographs will be exhibited at our stand. The tension of the photographed bodies, the dynamism of their forms, the naked skin of his models. As a whole, it is an ode to the artist’s work, to his essence and DNA as a photographer, conveying his purest style with this selection of works.

 

MIGUEL ÁNGEL RÍOS

A piece by Argentine artist Miguel Ángel Ríos will be exhibited in Mexico City, more specifically, one dedicated to the ancient capital of the Mexica Empire, Tenochtitlan. This conceptual artist explores themes of violence, power and human fragility. After studying in Buenos Aires and emigrating due to the dictatorship, he worked with maps and indigenous traditions, and since 2000 has focused on symbolic videos such as his iconic spinning tops. His work is in renowned collections such as the MoMA in New York or the Reina Sofía in Madrid.

 

TERESA SERRANO

Finally, the figure of the Mexican artist Teresa Serrano completes the proposal for our stand. Serrano‘s plastic work is based on a very solid political stance, which has a strong autobiographical relationship with her experience as a woman, but at the same time links the content of her works with themes and images clearly framed in the Mexican and international social context. Her embroidered leather and iron structures that will be exhibited at ZⓈONAMACO are a tangible annex of her ideology.

 

If you are spending a few days in Mexico City, come and see us at stand A104. We are sure that our proposal will not leave you indifferent!

Once again, SENDA participates in the new edition of LOOP Fair, a unique event that redefines the experience of art fairs by placing the moving image as the protagonist. This year, from October 19th to 21st at the Hotel Almanac Barcelona, SENDA brings an avant-garde proposal by Mónica Rikić, outstanding electronic artist and winner of the Premi Nacional de Cultura de Catalunya 2021. Her video essay entitled “Somoure” invites viewers to reflect on the future of assisted living through the use of robotic technologies.

 

“Somoure”: An artistic reflection on the future of assisted living

In this context, Mónica Rikić presents “Somoure”, a video that is part of her artistic research project, made in collaboration with the Institut de Robòtica i Informàtica Industrial (IRI UPC-CSIC) and funded by the European platform S+T+ARTS and the Catalan initiative Hac Te (Hub of Art, Science and Technology). “Somoure” raises crucial questions about how technology, especially assistive robotics, can transform the lives of the elderly in an ever-aging world. Through a narrative that combines visual essay with conceptual art, Rikić invites us to explore not only the benefits of these technologies, but also their ethical and social implications.

The work, conceptualized, directed and written by the artist herself, features the participation of Agustina Isidori as artistic director and audiovisual producer, and Rodolfo Venegas (Sonikgroove Studio) at the baton of the video’s original music. “Somoure” offers a critical and poetic look at the processes of creation of these technologies. It documents the process of developing assistive robots, from conception to implementation, and raises a series of questions about how these innovations can affect the daily lives of those who need them most. This video essay is more than just documentation; it is a window into the future of robotics and an invitation to reflect on the role of technology in human life.

 

The screening of “Somoure” at Manifesta 15

The relevance of “Somoure” transcends the borders of LOOP Fair. This video will also be part of Manifesta 15, the European nomadic biennial that, in 2024, comes to the metropolitan region of Barcelona. From September 8th to November 24th, Manifesta will carry out artistic interventions in historic spaces and unpublished industrial buildings, and in this context, “Somoure” will be presented at the monastery of Sant Cugat as a key piece that dialogues with technology and contemporary life.

 

About Mónica Rikić: A pioneering voice in art and technology

Born in Barcelona in 1986, Mónica Rikić has built an exceptional trajectory in the field of electronic art and technological research. Her work combines code and creative electronics with non-digital objects, creating interactive projects and robotic installations that challenge our preconceived ideas about technology. Her work focuses on alternative technology and open hardware, exploring how these tools can be used in innovative and accessible ways. Rikić has been exhibited in prestigious festivals and institutions around the world and her pieces are part of important contemporary art collections such as the .NewArt {foundation;}, the DKV Collection or the Col·lecció Nacional d’Art Contemporani de Catalunya.

 

SENDA at LOOP Fair: A collaboration that drives digital art forward

Galeria SENDA‘s participation in LOOP Fair with Mónica Rikić‘s work reaffirms its commitment to the promotion of digital and avant-garde art. “Somoure” not only represents this vision, but also opens new conversations about the future of assisted living and the impact of robotics on society.

The invitation is open to all those who wish to immerse themselves in Mónica Rikić‘s universe and reflect on the role technologies will play in tomorrow’s life. Loop Fair 2024 promises to be an unmissable meeting point for contemporary art, and SENDA, with “Somoure”, will occupy a prominent place in this narrative. See you at the Hotel Almanac!

Within the framework of the LOOP Barcelona fair, SENDA gallery presents a creation by the artist Xavi Bou (Barcelona, ​​1979) titled All the birds of the World. This video was created following an invitation for an artistic residency held from 2020 to 2022 at the University of Leuven in Belgium. In it, working with teams from different faculties, the artist raises the hypothetical possibility of monitoring and calculating the total number of birds on the planet, through the generation of Artificial Intelligence models that allow individuals of all species to be identified.

The trend in our society, organized through Big Data, is to control all information and track any useful parameter, including those from nature. Bou questions whether we will be able to register all the living beings on the planet through the analysis of both structured and unstructured information as a possible nod in the fight against the climate crisis and the restoration of ecosystems and habitats.

Thomas More wrote the book “Utopia” in 1516. It was first published in Dirk Martens’ printing house in Leuven. The book coins the concept of utopia and describes an ideal and peaceful society where people live free and in harmony with nature. For Thomas More, the establishment of a new method of government had to be based on a tool that guaranteed excellence in business administration: mathematics.

More than 500 years later, the algorithms generated by Artificial Intelligence and its capacity for exponential advancement restore the notions of utopia and dystopia articulated in the work of Xavi Bou. The ability to predict, understand, and work autonomously, simulating human intelligence, opens new uncertain horizons that scare and excite us at the same time.

Likewise, Bou’s work reflects and questions the capacity for control and the impact on the freedom and security of individuals fostered by the newly available tools.

Fears about the risks of Artificial Intelligence seem to be prevailing over the hopes generated by new opportunities. Bou’s vision does not offer certain answers to open questions but points out the idea that the proper use of this technology depends on the ethics of those who develop it and the ability of users to control their privacy and protect their data.

This work was carried out sometime before the launch of ChatGPT and other platforms that only confirm all the doubts, fears, and, why not, hopes that the author invites us to question through a work it transcends the theme and genre it addresses.

 

 

📅 21 – 23 Nov. 2023
📍 Hotel Almanac Barcelona 

Glenda León (Cuba, 1976) after her participation at The Havana Biennial with Natural Mechanic, embarks a dialectical reflection on the fragility and strength of nature in a symbolic gesture of empowerment, the artist turns the butterfly wing dust in an imaginary galaxy revealing his allegorical power and revealing the invisible in our eyes.

Glenda León creates artworks in different languages like videos, photography, installations or public interventions in which she examined the relationship between artificial and natural elements where ordinary objects transform and reveal their metaphorical power. This capacity of creating new meanings through the contextualization, manipulations, and association of the objects work as a sounding board to question big questions. 

In Celestial Mechanics, the artist fosters a holistic vision of the universe: all beings were conceived by the same energy that the Cosmos was created. Thereby, the artist uses an infimum element as it is the butterfly wing dust to promote a metamorphic journey that raises ontological and epistemological issues. Glenda León amplifies the qualities of a fragile material in an action, almost scientific, of discovery and deconstruction of a butterfly from stages of approaches and scales. 

The use of butterfly wing dust on the work of Glenda León enrolls within that line of her work in which disputes the representation of reality through traditional means and assumes the use of unconventional materials as her own hair, flowers, feathers, cassette tape, gum or sand. The butterfly is a symbol of the empowerment of what we badly call ‘weak’; an increased fragility – in this case -, for the negative impact of the exploitation of natural resources. Perhaps, the importance is not valued in all its magnitude of the existence of the butterfly in vital elements as the contribution to the pollination of flowers, the inclusion in the food chain as nourishment for birds or insectivorous mammals an even as benchmark for ecosystem health scholars.

Glenda León presents her vision of life as a path of spiritual growth and the role that art may have in this process. The immensity represented by the wings of this little being can become a space to look, to find or to remember the infinite beauty that surrounds us and that sometimes it remains hidden from our eyes.

BOOTH J02 | 31.03 – 02.04.2023

We are pleased to announce that Galeria SENDA will participate in the Düsseldorf Art Fair for the first time this year!

Jordi Bernadó
Iran Do Espirito Santo
Anthony Goicolea
Peter Halley
Karin Kneffel
Tulio Pinto
Jaume Plensa
Sandra Vasquez de la Horra

As a leading contemporary art gallery based in Barcelona, Galeria SENDA has been showcasing the work of emerging and established artists for over 30 years. Our participation in Art Düsseldorf is a testament to our commitment to bring the best of contemporary art to our audience.

We will be presenting a handpicked selection of works by some of our most talented artists at our booth J02 at Art Düsseldorf. We invite you to join us at the fair, where you can see pieces by these artists up close and more.

 

Download the press release here

If you’d like to receive more information about our participation in the fair please contact info@galeriasenda.com

Cover image: Jordi Bernadó “Lac Télé (CON 1.1)cc” 2022,  180 x 240 cm

• Link to booth in virtual reality: https://my.matterport.com/show/?m=1LFw1nyBZTG

Galeria SENDA is present in the general program of ARCO Madrid 2023 at stand 9B21 with a range of national and international artists.

In our 30th participation in the ARCO fair in Madrid, we present a selection of the latest creations by a series of artists with whom we have worked in recent years, both national and international, who are the pillars of our identity and history. as a gallery, as well as new proposals, younger and emerging.

 

Jordi BERNADÓ
Elena DEL RIVERO
Anthony GOICOLEA
Peter HALLEY
Yago HORTAL
Glenda LEÓN
Jaume PLENSA
Gino RUBERT
Sandra  VÁSQUEZ DE LA HORRA
Evru ZUSH

 

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