Once again this year, SENDA is pleased to announce that we will be back at By Invitation 2024, an exhibition of modern and contemporary art that, for the fifth consecutive year, will be held at the Círculo Ecuestre de Barcelona.
With the intention of fostering the dialogue between different artistic currents, By Invitation 2024 will feature invited galleries and selected projects, covering both the secondary market and the primary market of established and emerging artists from the national scene. The show will be mostly made up of galleries from Barcelona, although there will also be galleries from other parts of Spain, such as Madrid, Valencia and Gijon.
In this edition, SENDA has its own space to present its gallery proposal: the Japanese Room. The imposing room will host the works of a wide variety of artists, reflecting the versatility of the gallery. From the Chinese ink lithographs of Gao Xingjian, to the dreamlike sculptures of Gonzalo Guzman, the imposing acrylic paintings of Yago Hortal, the colorful wooden creations of Mina Hamada, the black and white photographs of Robert Mapplethorpe, or the mixed media compositions of the internationally renowned Jaume Plensa.
In particular, we would like to let you know that the hall will be an accomplice of a tribute to the famed painter Joan Miró on the occasion of his year of celebration. The piece presented will be a watercolor, “Aquarelle sur papier”, from the artist’s Japanese series. A perfect work to be exhibited in a room full of oriental influences.
If you do not want to miss the opportunity to be part of this exhibition, ask for your accreditation in the link below. See you from the 7th to the 10th of November at the Círculo Ecuestre de Barcelona.
Centenaries are always a cause for celebration. They are irrefutable proof that tradition and perseverance have overcome any adversity that time may have thrown at them. And in the case of sport, one hundred years of dedicated quadrennial events is a milestone that should be commemorated in the most solemn way possible. For this reason, in 1992, coinciding with the celebration of the Barcelona Olympic Games, the Suite Olympic Centennial was held, which commemorated the centenary of the celebration of the first modern Olympic Games.
When did it all start?
History marks the beginning of these games around 1892, when Baron Pierre de Coubertin announced at a session of the Union française des sports athlétiques – Union of French Athletic Sports Societies – the celebration of the first Olympic Games of the modern era (1896), thus re-establishing this sporting event after more than 1,500 years without being held. The Games, a symbol of peace and universal alliance between the different countries of the world, once again brought together athletes from all continents to celebrate the great festival of sport in the birthplace of this age-old tradition: Athens. The Olympic return to Greece paid homage to the origins of these games, bringing together a small part of humanity in the city that saw the birth of sport and its competitions as we conceive them today.
The Olympic Centennial Suite as a symbol of unity between countries
In 1992, one hundred years after this session that shaped the Games of the First Olympiad, the International Olympic Committee, chaired by Juan Antonio Samaranch, decided to pay tribute to this event in a unique way that was closely related to the visual arts. It was from Barcelona, the Olympic city at the time, that the creation of an artistic piece commemorating the centenary, known as the Suite Olympic Centennial, was coordinated. The Suite was a collection of fifty works of art by fifty international artists, representing the different artistic currents of the time. This selection of artists was managed by a group of experts that included none other than one of the founders of Galeria SENDA, so we are very excited to be able to share his involvement and commitment to this event with you.
The artists who brought the Suite Olympic Centennial to life
Many of the artists who made up this union of virtuosos of the arts were great exponents of a very wide range of currents. Their contributions to this collective work of art were crucial to the creation of a symbol of fraternity that transcended the annals of art history. Below, we will talk about some of the artists who collaborated in the construction of the Suite Olympic Centennial.
Carlos Cruz Díez
Venezuelan artist Carlos Cruz Díez is internationally renowned as the creator of Op Art, a style of visual art that makes use of optical illusions. Cruz Díez’s vision is clear: to question the classical division between painting and sculpture, thus conceiving works that confront both arts in order to merge them into a single piece. For this reason, the artist uses the reliefs typical of sculpture in his paintings to create optical effects that produce the impression, at first glance, of movement in the paintings. It is therefore obvious to state that Cruz Díez plays with sensations to invite us to see with the human eye something intangible such as movement. In his pictorial works, such as the one he created for the Suite Olympic Centennial, we can appreciate how the artist invades us with a complete chromatic experience that invites the spectator to let himself be carried away by sensory perception and not by logical reason.
Carlos Cruz Díez. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 100 x 70 cm. Engraving
Antoni Tàpies
The Catalan Antoni Tàpies did not miss this opportunity to be part of art history either, participating in the making of the Olympic Centennial Suite. Characterised among those closest to him by his desire to embellish everyday life, Tàpies’ style stems from surrealism, influenced by its greatest exponents such as Paul Klee, Joan Miró and Joan Ponç. However, Tàpies is known worldwide for being part of the informalist movement, a style strongly rooted in chance, improvisation, the use and experimentation of materials and the rejection of premeditated construction. Antoni Tàpies, with works such as the one presented in the Suite Olympic Centennial, shows his inner abyss through the expressiveness of the materials, with his characteristic crosses and initials engraved on the canvas.
Antoni Tàpies. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 63 x 90.5 cm. Engraving
Eduardo Chillida
«My aim is to define three-dimensional emptiness through three-dimensional fullness», said Eduardo Chillida when asked about his work. The Basque artist, author of iconic sculptural works such as “Peine del Viento”, which clads the coast of San Sebastian, dared for this special occasion to create an engraving that challenges his concern about how to expose empty space in pictorial works. Through his own artistic language, Chillida shows the emptiness to the public thanks to the fullness, charging his creations with a strong artisanal force. Influenced by his sculptural training and by the traditions of the Basque people, Chillida dazzles us with pieces that invite the spectator to empathise with an artist divided between sculpture and painting.
Eduardo Chillida. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 70 x 100 cm. Engraving
Ben Vautier
Under the slogan «Any action an artist makes is art», Ben Vautier has established himself as an artist who fuses his most plastic side with his most poetic vocation. Camouflaged in a clearly childish calligraphy, Vautier hides great and profound statements in the strokes he writes on his canvases. Self-defined as a zero-visceral artist, Vautier considers himself an individual driven by premeditated theoretical reflections. Therefore, for the Olympic Centennial Suite he writes on a black background «Life is competition – Ben», i.e. «Life is competition – Ben», opening our eyes to a reality of the human condition. Artists who use language as a means of expression in their work seek to awaken the viewer, and that is exactly what Vautier achieves with phrases such as the one written for the Suite Olympic Centennial.
Ben Vautier. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 100 x 70 cm. Engraving
Peter Saul
It is impossible to talk about Peter Saul and not imagine one of his colourful creations. Using aggressive caricatures and exaggerated distortions, he succeeds in immersing the viewer in a narrative in which Saul mocks a system mired in capitalism. Peter Saul has long been associated with the Pop Art movement, although the artist has always radically separated himself from this movement due to his political convictions. Saul’s style is clear: transforming characters and settings into bland, visceral forms through graffiti-like drawings, with garish colours deliberately chosen to make them feel vulgar in the eyes of the public. For the Suite Olympic Centennial, Peter Saul chooses green to colour his work, caricaturing the athletes in different animals and strange bodies.
Peter Saul. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 100 x 70 cm. Engraving
Mimmo Rotella
The artist Mimmo Rotella is capable of capturing contemporary reality from a documented expression rooted in neorealism. In fact, Rotella has been a great exponent of Mec Art, a current that takes the art of photography as its starting point, using image transfer techniques. This style has been considered a response to the subjective and lyrical content of European Informalism, which employs mechanical resources to create works of art based on movement. In his project for the Suite Olympic Centennial, the Olympic rings take center stage in an amalgam of grainy, textured backgrounds.
Mimmo Rotella. Suite Olympic Centennial (1994). 70 x 100 cm. Engraving
El legado de cincuenta artistas
That is why we can say that the Suite Olympic Centennial was a before and after in the history of the Olympic Games, a celebration of success, a symbol of the unity of peoples. Each work that forms part of this project is a small contribution to a legacy that is not only about sport, but also about art and humanity.
“Art and science: shared trajectories”, a dialogue between the artist Xavi Bou and the professor and researcher Josep Perelló, will take place on 4th June at 7pm at galeria SENDA. Framed in Bou’s current exhibition at the gallery, both will offer us their perspective that intertwines art and science.
A meeting of gazes
Xavi Bou, through his project “Ornithographies”, explores the flight of birds using advanced photographic techniques that reveal patterns invisible to the human eye. His work is not only visually stunning, but also invites deep reflection on nature, the importance of preserving wildlife, and our place in it.
Josep Perelló is a professor in the Department of Condensed Matter Physics at the University of Barcelona (UB) and a researcher at the UB Institute of Complex Systems (UBICS). Founder of the OpenSystems-UB group, Perelló promotes scientific research projects with citizen participation and artistic practices. His work in citizen science and collective experiments for public space has been recognised and acclaimed both locally and internationally.
For all this, Perelló‘s historical knowledge and Bou‘s artistic and nature experience converge in a talk that fuses art and science from a different perspective.
The fusion between art and science
During the talk, Josep Perelló will provide a historical perspective on the intersection between art and science, exploring how these two fields have dialogued and influenced each other over the centuries. His experience as head and curator of the Science Area at Arts Santa Mònica, as well as his work at the Barcelona Office of Citizen Science and the Ciutat i Ciència Biennial, provides him with an enriching vision that promises to broaden our understanding and appreciation of this interdisciplinary fusion.
Xavi Bou, for his part, will share his personal experience and creative process. He will take us through the development of his project “Ornithographies”, from the initial inspiration to the technical and artistic realisation of his photographs. It will be a unique opportunity to understand art from the perspective of the person who creates it, and how science can be a powerful tool in the artistic process.
Do you want to attend?
We’ll be waiting for you on 4th June at 7pm at galeria SENDA (Trafalgar, 32). The talk is free and open to the public. You only have to confirm your attendance by clicking on this link and register.
From Galeria SENDA, we are pleased to announce that Chilean artist Sandra Vásquez de la Horra has been awarded the Käthe Kollwitz Award. For those who don’t know about the history of this annual award, it was born in 1960 and is named after the German artist Käthe Kollwitz. Kollwitz was a painter, sculptor and printmaker in the realist movement, who was very socially committed to this style during the 19th century and who embraced expressionism in the early 20th century. The Akademie der Künste – Berlin Academy of Arts – has awarded its prize this year to Vásquez de la Horra, who has been living in Germany since 1995.
More about the artist
Sandra Vásquez de la Horra, born in 1967 in Viña del Mar (Chile), graduated in Visual Communication at the University of Design in her hometown and subsequently completed her studies in Fine Arts at the Academy of Art in Düsseldorf (Germany). Abroad, in 2002, he studied photography, film and new media at the Kunsthochschule für Medien Köln – Academy of Visual Arts in Cologne. It should also be noted that since he moved to Germany in 1995, he has continued to produce his work from Berlin. Therefore, we can observe the great esteem and the indissoluble bond that the artist and the German country have created after years of living and creating new projects from there.
In Vásquez de la Horra‘s works, the artist uses wax crayon to construct a dark imaginary that evokes an imaginary and fantastical world that touches on subversive themes such as religion, mythology, sex, popular culture, social networks and death. Through this dystopian execution, the spectator is introduced into a universe of fictitious and enchanted creatures characterised by carnal and psychological concerns, a resource that Vásquez de la Horra uses to make us reflect on social issues that affect us directly, although we often leave them aside. Therefore, we could say that she is an artist whose visual language thematises the conflicts faced by today’s society.
Her works bring together a series of archetypes of the collective consciousness, questions of gender and sexuality, intercultural reflections and themes of spiritual practices. The reason for this artistic discourse that is so rooted in social protest can be explained when one gets to know the artist’s biography. Vásquez de la Horra grew up in an era which, following the coup d’état of the Chilean military junta in 1973 and the seizure of power by Augusto Pinochet, was dominated by torture, repression, disappearances and numerous human rights violations for more than seventeen years.
With the return of democracy in 1990, the population was able to digest and come to terms with the country’s history, the imprint of which can be seen in Sandra Vásquez de la Horra‘s artwork. In addition to showing the barbarities that her country experienced, her projects depict family confrontations, the mythologies of the indigenous population and the colonial domination of Europeans in Central and South America.
The drawings Vásquez de la Horra creates are both small and large format, on paper and cardboard, and are characterised by their density, colours and precision. Some of his creations are dipped in wax, a treatment that adds depth to the drawing and allows him to construct three-dimensional works in the form of an accordion.
Prize and celebration
On the occasion of the award ceremony of the Käthe Kollwitz Award 2023, the Akademie der Künste will exhibit a selection of Vásquez de la Horra‘s works; a total of more than 60 drawings, photographs and objects that will be exhibited in a site-specific installation. The ceremony will take place at the Akademie der Künste itself on 18 June at 7 p.m. and the special exhibition will be open to the public from 19 June to 25 August.
Currently, the work of Catalan sculptor Jaume Plensa can be seen in numerous venues around the world, including the exhibition at La Pedrera in Barcelona from March 31st through July 23rd, 2023. However, beyond this exhibition, Plensa‘s work is diverse and complex, and deserves an in-depth review. In this article, we want to explore his work beyond his current exhibition in Barcelona, and highlight his time in our gallery over the years.
From March 31st, at La Pedrera, you will be able to discover the most intimate and unknown Plensa in an exhibition that, for the first time, reveals the influence that literature, language and the alphabet have had on his work.
Installation of Jaume Plensa’s work at La Pedrera
This exhibition is a unique opportunity to delve into the most particular work of this internationally renowned sculptor. With a career spanning from the late twentieth century to the present, Jaume Plensa has stood out for his work on the human figure, where he often fuses matter, words and music in a constant dialogue. This exhibition, curated by Javier Molins, will show some of the artist’s most representative pieces, as well as his evolution over the years.
Jaume Plensa during the installation of his work at La Pedrera
From Galeria SENDA, having exhibited the sculptor’s work on more than one occasion, we are thrilled that the city of Barcelona receives it in such an honorable way. It makes us especially excited to remember his passage through the gallery, which never goes unnoticed.
At the end of 2016, Jaume Plensa held his first exhibition at Galeria SENDA: «El Bosc Blanc», after 7 years without exhibiting in Barcelona, his hometown. Plensa presented a work that confronted what is shown with what is hidden, the past with the future, the natural construction with the creation by the hand of man, and the sound vibration with silence.
Gallery view, 2016
Gallery view, 2016
The exhibition consisted of various sculptures of young, female faces representing individuality within the social collectivity. The white pieces, “Lou“, “Duna” and “Isabella“, seemed to float on the floor and were complemented by graphite drawings on the wall. Plensa sought for the viewer to connect with the pieces and find their own path through the works placed in the space.
At the end of 2020, he returned to present a new exhibition «La Llarga Nit» at Galeria SENDA, in which he praised the mysterious time of the night, capable of inspiring the soul of poets. The works in the exhibition presented sleeping and silent figures, with a lyrical and contemplative dimension. Plensa suggests that, by having to stop the machinery of doing, humanity is putting into function the machinery of thinking, generating new ways of living in the world. The exhibition included suspended sculptures, works on paper, among other works.
Gallery view, 2020
Gallery view, 2020
In addition, beyond the exhibitions, Plensa accompanied us on two occasions last year. The first time he participated with Javier Molins in a talk that took place at the gallery on the occasion of the presentation of the book “Artists in the Nazi camps”. In this talk, Plensa and Molins shared their reflections on the work of artists who were victims of the Holocaust and its importance in the history of art. The second occasion was also in 2022, when he participated in another talk together with photographer Jean-Marie del Moral and journalist Màrius Carol during the presentation of the book «Interior, 2022» by By Publications. In this #SENDATalks, they shared their experiences and reflections on art and creativity in today’s world.
However, even further back in time, in 2017, German sculptor Stephan Balkenhol and Jaume Plensa met on the gallery’s mezzanine to talk about «Sculptures and Public Space» in a dialogue about their trajectory and their interest in promoting sculpture as a value for society and culture.
We are grateful to have been able to witness Plensa‘s unwavering commitment to contemporary art and the opportunity to present his work in a gallery in his own city.
Last Wednesday, La Central Llibreria de Barcelona was the setting for the presentation of the latest monograph by Jordi Bernadó, “Project ID”. The event, in collaboration with the Museu Nacional De Catalunya and galeria SENDA, with the participation of the journalist Sergio Vila San Juan.
Jordi Bernadó is a photographer with a cosmopolitan and curious vision, a tireless traveler who has left his mark on the world of photography contemporary. One of his latest works, ID Project , was exhibited at the MNAC during the summer of 2022, and has become in the central axis of a publication that explores the complete work of this artist.
What makes Bernadó’s work so interesting is his “relational” approach. Instead of simply capturing images of his subjects, Bernadó acts as an intermediary between the subject and the audience, asking the subject to choose the place where he wants to be photographed. The result is a stage inhabited by a single person, whose identity is not revealed in the image, but in the accompanying text, written by Laura Ferrero.
This approach creates a territory of social experimentation and offers an alternative to the uniformity of human behavior. Instead of simply observing the subjects, Bernadó involves them in the creative process and makes them full participants in the final result. It is an approach that seeks to establish a relationship of trust between the photographer and the subject, and that allows the final image to be a truer and more authentic representation of the person being photographed.
Alejandro Castellote, for his part, carries out an acute and multifaceted analysis of Bernadó’s career, exploring the different readings that can be made of his work and his artistic approach. The publication, co-published with the MNAC in Barcelona and in collaboration with the Senda gallery in Barcelona, is a work that not only explores the work of an artist, but also delves into the very nature of photography and its ability to connect with the world around us.
During the presentation, Bernadó explained this “relational” approach and how this technique allows him to involve his subjects in the creative process and create more authentic and true images. He also spoke of his love of travel and exploration, and how it has influenced his work. It was an opportunity to discover the work of a unique artist in the world of contemporary photography. “ID Project” is a monograph that not only explores Bernadó’s work, but also delves into the very nature of photography and its ability to connect us with the world around us.
A peek into Elena del Rivero‘s studio in the heart of the East Village reveals walls adorned with her latest works of art and several unfinished pieces, each a testament to his artistic prowess.
Valencian artist Elena Del Rivero was kind enough to invite us into her studio in the heart of the East Village , share with us their latest work and pamper ourselves with a cup of tea. As we sat and drank, we talked about the latest art trends in New York, her life in the city, and her relationship with Spain. Each turn of the conversation shedding new light on the vicissitudes of her singular artistic career.
Elena’s visit was not only an opportunity for us to catch up on the latest happenings in the art world, but also to learn about her ongoing projects. Before leaving the studio, Del Rivero shared with us his latest project, “Home Address,” a tribute to the suffragette movement that was presented the next day at New York City Hall for International Women’s Day.
The artist Evru/Zush has been awarded the 18th Electronic Art Arco-Beep prize for his work Opaulo (1990), a digital print on canvas exhibited at our stand (9B21 – galeria SENDA). This award, established in 2006, and carried out in collaboration with the ARCOMadrid Fair, has been set as the origin, the triggering element, from the .BEEP { Collection;}, a pioneering initiative in the dissemination of electronic and digital art in Spain.
The work of Evru / Zush is a clear example of his ability to create art that transcends the limits of what is conventional. From the gallery we express our pride and satisfaction at having exhibited the winning work and at having collaborated with an artist who is a “universal pioneer in a world that promotes interactivity and viewer participation”.
Visit by Natalia Garriga, Minister of Culture of the Generalitat, Edgar García, director of the ICEC, Marta Gusta, Director of the Area of Visual Arts at ICEC, Ester Capella, delegate of the Generalitat (Madrid).
We congratulate Zush / Evru on their well-deserved award and thank the Beep Collection and the Newart Foundation for their important work in promoting electronic and digital art .
After the recent inauguration of the monographic exhibition “Zush in Ibiza ”, at the Fundació Suñol in Barcelona, in collaboration with the Museu d’Art Contemporani d’Eivissa, Evru/Zush returns to exhibit part of his work conceived in Ibiza (1968-1983), a fundamental period for the artist, who experimented with very different formats and techniques never seen before. Precisely at that time, in 1968, the young artist Albert Porta decided to become Zush and carry out a creative self-healing strategy after he had passed through the phrenopathy hospital in Barcelona.
If we were to read in a prestigious medium in the art world that an artist has created a highly personal proposal that is absolutely coherent, ingenious, solid and bold in the metaverse, with avatars and codes, languages of the world video game or augmented reality, with stereoscopic images, colors and unreal worlds, providing a radically new scenario to the world of creation, we would launch ourselves to discover the proposal of this advanced Artist.
That is precisely what Zush already did, more than 40 years ago!
Booth view 9B21 (Artist Project) #1
Booth view 9B21 (Artist Project) #2
Evrugo Mental State, a world as real as our own, but existing in an uncertain place (which today we would probably translate as some sort of metaverse) with its own language, characters that inhabit it, currency, anthem and so many other characteristics typical of a real world, it was worked on and defined by him for years and presented in different contexts, we have seen it at MACBA, at the Reina Sofía, the São Paulo biennials or at Documenta, and even in the fantastic exhibition of the “Wizards of the Earth” at the Pompidou Center by Jean Huber Martin.
That real world, it has been and it is and that shows us how advanced in his time our honoree always was and is, who launched himself to investigate and create (through some devices, then called Personal Computers and that were unattainable except for a few professionals or researchers) and with them, through tools that would surprise us today, to continue creating their fascinating world. The WWW had not even been imagined then. Before our today.
Several words like Scanahrome or Infographics had to be invented. Works worked through digitalization and then in some cases printed on those rudimentary devices that today we would call plotters.
Zush is undoubtedly a universal pioneer in this world and that is why we want to pay tribute to his work.
“My thing is individual mythologies. I am someone who generates his own way of thinking, of seeing reality or of seeing the world. What interests me is being a bridge between sanity and madness”.
Evru/Zush
Renusa, 1989-1990
Acrylic painting on photography paper mounted on wood
200 × 100 × 5 cm
Thus, once again, the bells are once again the protagonists in space, this time accompanied by their famous nagas, Hindu deities with a human face and torso, generally of a woman, and the body of a snake. In this way, the desire to return to being Evru materializes, under the representation of snakes, beings that, like the artist himself, shed their skin in a natural process of renewal and growth. This desire for transformation is a constant in his career, through turning points that allow him to reflect on concepts such as identity, otherness or the passage of time. Thus, the desire for death and rebirth is the declaration of intent of a transgressive and unclassifiable artist who denies himself and reaffirms himself more and more emphatically and immortal.
This was already announced by Richard Wagner when he coined the term “Gesamtkunstwerk”, referring to opera as a total work of art that integrates the six arts: painting, sculpture, music, poetry, dance and architecture.
The Wagnerian ideal seeks a fusion between all the participatory elements of opera, as Jaume Plensa, known for his multifaceted artistic vision, has done. The Catalan artist has taken on the challenge of directing the stage production of the opera Gran Teatre del Liceu in Barcelona.
Verdi’s well-known opera premieres this February 16 under the direction of Josep Pons, with a powerful aesthetic and ritual presence of Jaume Plensa. Inspired by Shakespeare’s Macbeth, the artist confesses that “it is one of the most profound and interesting reflections on duality between body and soul, between abstraction and matter“.
Plensa affirms that “it is one of Shakespeare’s most mental plays, because we have all been Macbeth, Lady Macbeth and other characters in the play at one time or another“, which is addressed “to the deepest sense of the human being“. All in all, for Plensa, Macbeth represents a deeply introspective theatrical work that resonates with the universal human experience. He explains that each character in the play is a representation of diverse aspects of the human being, inviting the viewer to explore his or her own psyche through the operatic narrative.
“I wanted to make a completely mental opera, to see in each scene moments that are like us, we have all been characters in the piece at one time or another“. Through the costumes, with most costumes out of his time, working on the choreography with Antonio Ruiz and lighting with Urs Schönebaum, Jaume Plensa aims to bring the viewer a more spiritual vision of the work, capturing in the best possible way the journey through the imaginary characteristic of the sculptor. His goal is to take the viewer on a spiritual journey through the rich imaginary that characterizes his work as a sculptor.
