Since December, the Casa de América in Madrid has been hosting an exhibition that establishes a dialogue between abstract geometric art and Ye'kwana art, one of the most prominent artisanal traditions of the Amazon. This exhibition, promoted by the collector Juan Carlos Maldonado and curated by Ariel Jiménez , explores the connections between contemporary artistic creation and the legacy of an indigenous community. The exhibition will be part of the official program of ARCOmadrid where Juan Carlos Maldonado's career as a collector will be recognized with the fair's A Prize.
A selection of over 110 works by artists such as Carlos Cruz-Diez , Josef Albers , Mathias Goeritz , Mira Schendel , Gego and Torres-García , share space with over 60 Ye'kwana pieces, acquired by Maldonado and previously collected by Venezuelan explorer and anthropologist Charles Brewer - Carías . The exhibition is divided into three axes: Technical Functionality and Symbolic Value, which addresses both the practical and conceptual dimensions of the works; Generative Models, which explores geometric patterns and their evolution; and Purity and Economy of Media, a comparative exercise between the formal essence of Ye'kwana art and geometric abstraction.
Awídi amohadóto-yekumédi (Remolí de 10 voltes)
In addition to its aesthetic dimension, the exhibition, which can be visited until March 8, invites reflection on the dialogue between cultures and the role of contemporary art in the reinterpretation of ancestral traditions. A common point between these two aesthetics is the use of essential geometric forms and the direct and determined application of plastic tools (color, drawing, texture), which constitute a shared basis between the two worlds. The formal proximity between these two artistic universes raises the question of whether there can be art that is truly contemporary. As curator Ariel Jiménez puts it: "It is impossible to deny that there is an affinity between these fabrics and certain aspects of kineticism as we see it in Carlos Cruz-Diez. In both cases, an ambiguity is perceived that denies the solidity of the form, the substantiality of the matter, and imposes on us, instead, a constant interaction between various geometric figures." Ariel Jiménez then opens the reflection with the question: "Could we say that the Ye'kwana created kineticism before the kineticists?".
'Constructif avec poisson ocre', Joaquín Torres-García (1932)