The Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art (CAAC)dependent on the Ministry of Culture and Historical Heritage, brings together in the exhibition ‘Extraño’, a selection of works by thirty international artists from the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation, which commemorates his three decades dedicated to collecting contemporary art until completing one of the most important collections in Europe today.
The exhibition, which will occupy the Monumental Zone and the North Claustron of the old Carthusian monastery of Santa María de las Cuevas in Seville for the next few months, revolves around the idea of strangeness in the face of the future of today’s world and the possibilities offered by contemporary creation as a framework for thought and experimentation.
‘Extraño’ presents the works of some thirty artists –of the total, nineteen are women–, among which stand out Mona Hatoum, Hans-Peter Feldmann, Louise Lawer, Charles Ray, Trisha Donnelly y Paul McCarthy. The sample is made up of large installations, video installations, textiles, paintings, sculptures and drawings.
Thus, for example, the piece by the Romanian artist stands out for its enormous size Andra Ursuta titled ‘Stoner’ (Stoner, 2013). Located inside a large cage that occupies the entire central part of the old church, the installation of silicone rubber, concrete, fabric and metal, is made up of a ball machine that throws them at high speed towards a wall, making a noise shocking He talks about stoning, torture, contempt.
Four oils by British artist Lynette Yiadom-Boakye.
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On the other hand, the English Cerith Wyn Evans presents “We’re Off to the Night and We’re Consumed by the Fire (Damos vueltas en la noche y somos consumidos por el fuego, 1999)”, made in neon and plexiglass. Viewers can walk around the object and observe the mirror effect between the linguistic structure and the physical movement evoked by its meaning. The piece is inspired by the title of Guy Debord’s latest film.
The work also stands out ‘9/12 Frontpage (Cover pages from September 12, 2001)’from German Hans Peter Feldmanmade up of the front pages of 114 newspapers from around the world that were published on September 12, 2001, one day after the attack on the Twin Towers in New York. This piece encourages viewers to look for similarities and differences in the treatments chosen by journalists, who attribute the images to different political circumstances.
One of the rooms is totally invaded by the installation of the North American artist Paul McCarthy which is titled ‘Bang-Bang Room (The Bang-Bang Room, 1992)’. Made of wood with motors that move it, it is a living space whose wooden partitions are decorated with traditional wallpaper. As soon as viewers enter this seemingly domestic and harmless environment, the space begins to change incessantly.
Suddenly, the walls move and the doors open and close violently. Paul McCarthy’s characters and environments launch a deep attack on the dark side of the human psyche and manage to make the space uninhabitable in reference to the fears, obsessions and conflicts that confront man with his current monstrous condition.
The Minister of Culture, Patricia del Pozo, together with the president of the Foundation, Patrizia Sandretto, and the director of the CAAC, José Antonio Álvarez Reyes, in front of the work ‘Still, Untitled’ (2010), Pae White.
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In the textile section, the work of the North American Pae White titled, ‘Still, Untitled (Motionless, untitled, 2010)’. It is a huge tapestry 12 meters long that represents wisps of smoke on a black background. This work belongs to one of the artist’s production lines, made up of tapestries with images of crumpled silver paper and white smoke.
The video work of the Hong Kong artist Paul Chan ‘Untitled (after Lacan’s last laugh) (Sin título [tras la última risa de Lacan]2008)’ It is inspired by the Marquis de Sade. Chan’s work offers a reflection on the changes in the collective conscience and on the gradual displacement towards the frontiers of morality. In this case, uses an anonymous illustration taken from a highly erotic book from the 18th century.
This exhibition is part of a large institutional project organized by the Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art (CAAC) and the Patio Herreriano Museum in Valladolid, in whose exhibitions –different and simultaneous– an unprecedented display of the Sandretto Re Rebaudengo collection is made, which thus commemorates its 30th anniversary.
The Sandretto Re Rebaudengo Foundation, one of the first private foundations in Italy, was created in Turin on April 6, 1995. In Italy, the Foundation has two exhibition venues, the first in the Palazzo Re Rebaudengo in the town of Guarene d’Alba (since 1997) and its headquarters in Turin (since 2002). Founded by Patricia Sanddretto Re Rebaudengo, it is a non-profit institution that supports contemporary art and, in particular, the production of young artists.
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