2024 Inserció Bonart Segell IMPULSA CULTURA

Exhibitions

In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture

Proposals to rediscover the potential of art as a tool for social and ideological transformation.

Tren, Kassel, Sergi Aguilar (2012)
In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture
bonart barcelona - 14/01/25

The Virreina Center for Image focuses its programming on the concept of rupture, investigating how it has historically manifested itself in the field of art and how artists have challenged consensuses to generate new collective interests. At a time when many ideological tensions dissolve into superficial discourses, the program invites not only to read, but to take up dissident perspectives to overcome established languages and reconfigure the future.

In its historical dimension, La Virreina presents a selection of great authors who, despite their relevance, have often been excluded from the general vocabulary and collective imagination. This historiographic proposal reviews how artists and theorists have questioned the consensuses of their time, highlighting their capacity to disobey and disrupt established frameworks. Thus, the program reflects on what radicalism means in art today and how the thread of disobedience can be resumed.

In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture Chanéac, cèl·lules paràsites, fotografia aèria, Michel Ragon (1968). Donació Nelly Chanéac, Col·lecció Frac Centre-Val de Loire

Reviewing the margins of history

Already in February, this more historiographic part of the program will begin with Michel Ragon (Marseille, 1924 - Suresnes, 2020), a libertarian anarchist with a work marked by a constant exploration of alternative models of urban planning and society, in dialogue with the artistic and cultural movements of his time, such as the CoBrA group or Jean Dubuffet.

In April, the work of Sara Gómez (Guanabacoa, 1942-1974), an Afro-Cuban filmmaker who analyzed social, racial and gender conflicts in post-revolutionary Cuba, will be presented. This exhibition not only focuses on Cuban society, but also on the central role of women in the forms of organization of a society that was beginning to be built under completely new political codes. Her work places the people, and especially women, as protagonists of change.

The tour continues, also in April, with Eugenio Barba (Brindisi, Italy, 1935) and the Odin Teatret, protagonists of an exhibition that explores the interconnections between the theatrical scenes of Latin America, Europe and North America. This is the first time that Barba's work is presented in a museographic format, both nationally and internationally, proposing a new dimension to his cultural influence. Finally, the historical review includes an exhibition dedicated to Cathy Berberian (1925-1983), a key artist in experimental and performative music of the sixties and seventies. An emblematic and controversial figure, Berberian challenged the limits of sound and interpretation. The exhibition will include scores, recordings and visual documents that illustrate his unclassifiable and revolutionary career.

In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture Odin Teatret Archives. © Roald Pay

Dialogues with the present

In its contemporary dimension, La Virreina is committed to projects that propose new perspectives and question dominant narratives. In May, sculptor and photographer Sergi Aguilar (Barcelona, 1946) will present a monographic selection of his photographs, which has never been examined in this way. The images, charged with conceptual depth, address themes such as emptiness and the tensions of the landscape, while redefining the act of looking and framing.

In the fall, Vietnamese filmmaker Trinh T. Minh-ha (Hanoi, 1952) will propose a reflection on experimental ethnographic cinema, challenging the limits between document and fiction from a feminist and postcolonial perspective. Paloma Polo ( Madrid, 1983) will explore silenced historical stories, investigating in depth to open spaces for dialogue and cooperation.

At the same time, Isaías Griñolo (Huelva, 1963) will combine memory, ecology, flamenco and poetry to address issues of resistance and counterculture. Álvaro Perdices (Madrid, 1971), with his proposal, will claim learning free from hierarchies and imposed norms, suggesting a freer way of approaching knowledge and art.

The program will culminate with an exhibition that will establish a dialogue between the plastic work of Michelangelo Antonioni (Ferrara, 1912 – Rome, 2007) and the photography of Luigi Ghirri (Scandiano, 1943 – Roncocesi, 1992). The show will focus on Antonioni's collage project 'The Enchanted Mountains', related to Ghirri's images taken during the seventies, creating a connection between the filmmaker's visual language and his poetic exploration of the landscape.

In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture El Barro de la Revolución, Paloma Polo(2019)

Regarding the public program, La Virreina focuses on the review of artistic and ideological historiography in Catalonia, with four outstanding projects. A two-year heritage project (until 2026) will explore the trajectory of Carles Hac Mor and Ester Xargay , including the preservation of their archives, poetry festivals, interviews and a reference publication. The work of Arnau Puig will also be commemorated, with lecture series and a monographic notebook on his influence on historiography and its criticism. In addition, a tribute will be dedicated to Enrique Lynch , highlighting his contribution to visual storytelling in Catalonia. Finally, on the centenary of the birth of Manuel Sacristán , a symposium will be held on his legacy as the introducer of Marxism in Spain and his political and theoretical influence. These projects will be complemented by publications on figures such as Joseph Beuys , Sara Gómez , Oriol Vilapuig , Eugenio Barba and Odin Teatret , as well as the catalogue of the exhibition The City in Dispute.

In 2025 in La Virreina: the art of rupture 'Montagna incantata n. 176', Michelangelo Antonioni © Enrica Fico Antonioni i Rimini, Luigi Ghirri (1977)

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