Exhibitions
Dreamers and temptations: a vindication of modernist sculpture
Almost a hundred pieces are exhibited at the MEAM to claim the central role of sculpture in the art of the time.
Modernist sculpture has been an artistic manifestation often overshadowed by the painting and architecture of the same period. Now, however, the European Museum of Modern Art has decided to put the spotlight on it and give it the space it deserves with an exhibition that aims to look at our artistic history with a more open and broader perspective.
Dreamers and Temptations. Sculpture in Catalonia in the Time of Modernism is the title of the exhibition that can be visited from now until September 28 at the MEAM. The proposal takes an extensive tour of Catalan sculptural production from the late 19th and early 20th centuries, and is presented as one of the most relevant and ambitious exhibitions in the history of the museum.
Under the gaze of curator Juan C. Bejarano , almost a hundred pieces draw an itinerary that connects names such as Josep Llimona , Miquel Blay , Enric Clarasó , Eusebi Arnau , Lambert Escaler , Carles Mani and Emili Fontbona with others less well-known. The aim is not only to vindicate these sculptors, but also to place their work in a broader context, showing how sculpture played a key role in the construction of the visual identity of the time. In addition to sculptures, the exhibition incorporates furniture, paintings, books and other objects that help recreate the creative climate of the moment. This allows us to clearly see how sculpture dialogued with other disciplines and to what extent it was part of the same cultural impulse.
A significant part of the works come from the MEAM's own collection, considered the largest in private hands dedicated to modernist sculpture in the entire Spanish state. This collection is supplemented by occasional loans from private collectors and some public institutions. Among the most outstanding pieces are emblematic works such as Desconsol by Llimona or Els degenerats by Carles Mani, but you can also see works that are being shown to the public for the first time.
Until now, modernist sculpture had been fragmented into occasional exhibitions dedicated to big names and, above all, Josep Llimona —who already starred in a major anthology at the MEAM in 2014— but never before had a global and profound vision of this sculptural universe been offered. This exhibition is, therefore, an opportunity to rediscover the art that gave shape to the dreams and temptations of an era that marked the authentic cultural golden age of Catalonia.
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