Exhibitions
The Casa Encendida celebrates the sculpture of Elena Mendizabal and Joan Rom
The Casa Encendida of the Montemadrid Foundation presents Gold Woven with Straw , an exhibition that brings together the work of two key figures in contemporary sculpture: Elena Mendizabal (San Sebastián, 1960) and Joan Rom (Barcelona, 1954). Active since the 1980s, both have shaped the art scene in the Basque Country and Catalonia, respectively.
The exhibition, which will be on view from September 11th to January 18th, offers a tour of his most recent works, with previously unpublished pieces that engage with earlier creations, highlighting the relevance of his artistic language. The exhibition is part of the 25th anniversary of the Generations program and honors the careers of artists born before 1965, who were excluded from this program due to the age limit—set at under 35 years old.
Work by Elena Mendizábal.
According to the exhibition's curator, Beatriz Alonso, "Elena and Joan paved the way for a renewal of sculptural practice in the 1980s and 1990s. They didn't know each other personally, although they both remember seeing each other's work in magazines like Lápiz. Their practices constitute other minority narratives surrounding the artistic production of the last decades of the 20th century in Spain."
Gold Woven with Straw focuses on materiality, exploring the fragility, plasticity, and power of the materials both artists employ. Through their works, the exhibition reflects on the instability of our present, the relevance of manual labor, and art's capacity to generate knowledge. The curator seeks to create a narrative of sculpture that transcends the limits of the masculine and questions the dichotomous vision that associates this practice solely with hardness, strength, or physical endurance. In her words, artists such as Elena Mendizabal and Joan Rom dare to reveal the wound and make visible vulnerability alongside strength, doubt alongside power, thus reclaiming the right to change and the multiplicity of identities that shape us.
Work by Joan Rom.
In Room C, one of Joan Rom's most notable pieces is Crosta (2023), in which the artist experiments with turmeric-based dyes. The epidermal work sprouts from the wall like a tumor and displays an intense tactile quality that evokes the healing process of a wound. His painterly training is revealed in his tendency to place many of his sculptures on the wall or make them emerge from it, as if they were three-dimensional drawings.
During her visit to Joan Rom's studio in Castellvell del Camp, the curator was able to observe the development of Erm , an installation made from wild asparagus stalks. Each branch has been carefully modified, fine-tuning its secondary ramifications until they become thorns. The result is a work of simple appearance and disturbing beauty, installed at ground level and in direct dialogue with the earth. According to the artist himself, an extended title for the piece could be: "There is no need to set foot in every corner of the planet; there is no need to climb the mountain."
