COMPLICITIES
10 YEARS OF ART AND SCHOOL
Exhibition related to ART + SCHOOL + GAME [+ info]
21.05 – 27.06.2021
Exhibition by Francesc Abad, Ana Álvarez-Errecalde, Ferran Blancafort, Recetas Urbanas / Santiago Cirugeda, Carme Collell, Toni Ferron, Joan Fontcuberta, Jo Milne, Tere Recarens and Jorge Yeregui
Curated by Miquel Bardagil
Opening of the exhibition, Friday 21th May at 7 pm
at Temple Romà (Pare Xifé, s/n Vic)
Presentation of the publication ART I ESCOLA. 10 ANYS
Thursday 27th May at 6 pm at Temple Romà
The presentation of the publication will be upload in ACVIC's Youtube, the Friday's 28th May.
Guided visits for educational center groups, related to the exhibition ART + SCHOOL + GAME
Free guided visits, contact with ACVic previously
[view program]
Photography: Ana Álvarez-Errecalde. Río de Piedras (2020)
COMPLICITIES (AND COINCIDENCES)
Ten years of Art and School constitute a remarkable milestone in the commitment to link art contemporary art – artists, an art centre, cultural managers – with education – students, teachers, educational institutions -- and the new generations. A risky and courageous gamble at the time, and also an endurance race, as the difficulty of establishing a connection between the various disciplines of contemporary art and society at large is no secret. Ten years later, a story may be told of achievements based upon a day by day search for, and a weaving together of, mutual understandings and agreements. Art and School is structured around a single theme every year; environments, time, networks, light, voids, chaos, taboos, shelters, fiction, and games/play. For this exhibition, an artist with a career that coincides with each theme has been sought.
JORGE YEREGUI captures in his photographs and videos the landscapes of the urban periphery, an environment not yet entirely urbanised, where human activities project a radical transformation in space, defined by tracts of land along lines of demarcation, and torn apart by adaptive interventions. The idyllic locus amoenus of the ancients, an idealisation of the concept of the "natural", has been supplanted by a banal, impersonal and gray landscape model, the result of submission to the economic dictates of post-industrial society.
FRANCESC ABAD links memory to time as two sides of the same coin. Faced with the devastating passage of time, memory stands as an antidote to oblivion. Memory, in its dual aspects of individual and collective, becomes the essential mechanism in the process of structuring both the social body and the subject against the manipulation and falsification of history. It must be preserved and protected from weathering and fading, however, as its fragility is exposed in the incessant struggle against time and oblivion.
TONI FERRON immerses himself in the universe of the virtual networks with the mindset of a lucid and critical observer who explores the contradictions and shortcomings in the world generated by digital information and communication technology. With this objective in sight, he has created a personal language that moves between the graphicism and the iconography of social networks in order to achieve a high communicative efficiency, from which he highlights the danger of individualism, loneliness and passivity replacing participatory action and solidarity, as well as encouraging the formation of hierarchies, and the will to control structures of the democratic paradigm.
FERRAN BLANCAFORT is interested in capturing the multiplicity of light, whether in the photography of interiors, of landscapes, or of architectural forms. Perhaps due to his sensitivity as an architect, his work shows a tendency towards reflecting images of compositions arranged by precise lines and volumes - but often with vague shapes - that structure the various areas of the ensemble. In Venècia V, we observe how almost suddenly light becomes tangible, in a moment of pause and stillness, while it floods with a subtle infinity of grays the depth of an unspecified space.
CARME COLLELL works with ceramics, with a clear interest in voids and colour. The first concept brings her work closer to sculptural and architectural discourses, the second to painting. This does not mean, however, that her work is a hybrid, but rather that she formally and conceptually evolves her ceramic pieces, with great technical mastery, enriched with contributions from other disciplines. The delimitation of the void, that is, of a private space of matter, creates an duality between interior and exterior, which is often resolved with an expansive energy from the inside out, often with geometries of containment that preserve the secret of the interior space
JO MILNE has achieved a visual rendering evocative of the concept of chaos; endless loops in constant motion projecting towards infinity, beyond space and time, in a combination of sequences determined by geometric combinations. The serialised repetition of curved lines (or strings, defined by string theory as one-dimensional objects) suggests that the origin of this universe lies in a rational component that, far from being cold, also speaks to us of emotions; the beauty of symmetrical shapes, the chromatic subtlety and vitality of expanding lines.
ANA ÁLVAREZ-ERRECALDE's works realise a sharp critical reflection on themes overlaid by a certain taboo in present-day society. They confront the viewer with life-events such as pregnancy, childbirth, illness, death, grief or loss, among others which appear in her works, often addressed directly and with reference to personal experiences. These are transcendental themes, highly relevant to any particular individual, but which remain in some way buried and largely ignored by a consumerist society guided by hedonism.
RECETAS URBANAS / SANTIAGO CIRUGUEDA work moves on the boundaries between the legal and that which is not illegal, fully immersed in the waters of regulatory ambiguity. He conceives of architecture in a register that brings it closer to the plastic arts, and develops strategies in the margins of the market and real estate speculation. The "Casa Pollo" is an example of architecture as a shelter, designed for the most vulnerable sectors, in which self-construction and cooperativism replace estate agencies. With a reduced surface area, and occupying disused plots of land, the "Casa Pollo" is intended as a temporary place of residence.
JOAN FONTCUBERTA has explored the paths of fiction in the field of photography, a medium that has long been considered the paradigm of the genuine. In the Sputnik project, he confronts historical reality with political manipulation, censorship with freedom of information, and the mechanisms for creating and disseminating fake documentation with critical skepticism about official discourse. Ivan Istotxnikov – who bears an extremely close physical resemblance to the photographer - is the protagonist of the story of a Russian cosmonaut, sent on a mission into space, who was silenced and hidden by the Soviet authorities.
TERE RECARENS has developed works that often incorporates certain ludic components which are charactieristic of games, turning these into an effective resource for breaking with the rigid conceptual structures of art, with the aim of bringing art closer to life. This interest in the fusion of life and art has been a constant in her work. Watere incorporates the childish, spontaneous, liberating joy of the game with an unexpected water-spout in the context of the harsh urban asphalt, ironically recovering and reinterpreting a scene reflected in several iconic photographs of New York.
Miquel Bardagil. Art critic
Francesc Abad (Terrassa, 1944) is one of the most significant Catalan artists among those whose creative careers began within the historic framework of the so-called conceptual art in Catalonia, very early in the 70s, both for his continuous line of work and by the transversal spirit characteristic of his body of work. He is one of the founders and founding members of the “Grup de Treball”//"Working Group", the most iconic collective of artists and theorists that emerged from the context of criticism and commitment encouraged by dematerialising artistic positions, and with which he participated in 1972 in the Kassel Documenta V. Throughout almost forty-five years of uninterrupted activity, Francesc Abad has regularly exhibited his work throughout Spain, and in recent years has also participated in significant national and international exhibitions and group shows based around historical and critical themes.
As Joseph Brodsky, to whom, by the artist’s own admission, he owes part of his poetic skills, once said: “By profession or, rather, by the cumulative effect of all that I have been doing for years, I am an artist; by trade, however, I am a drawing teacher. ” Also, as Hannah Arendt, another of his most enduring mainstays, put it: "I have no intention of pursuing a career, either out of conviction or ability."
Ana Álvarez-Errecalde. Argentinian artist living in Barcelona. She has presented her work at the Royal College of Arts in London and the University of Manchester (UK), at the CCCB, the FAD and Arts Santa Monica (Barcelona), Casa Velázquez and Canal Isabel II (Madrid), MET Quito - Centro Cultural Metropolitano (Equador), the Centro Cultural de España in Buenos Aires (Argentina), the Vžigalica Gallery in Ljubljana (Slovenia) and Klovićevi Dvori Gallery in Zagreb (Croatia) among other prominent places. Ana is the mother of two sons and a daughter. The experiences of childbirth, motherhood, illness, parenting, the deaths of loved ones, and surviving their losses, pierce throughout her works.
"CARE, cuidar importa"//"CARE, caring matters" (ed. Almafuerte 2020) is her second photographic book of social research, in which she exercises a respectful and committed look at people living with physical and/or mental disabilities and their caregivers, interrogating the visual representations accepted in contemporary art.
Ferran Blancafort. Architect, design teacher, draftsman and photography enthusiast.
A member of the photographers’ collective Roda de Recanvi, he has taken part in several exhibitions, both collective and individual, including “Afectes Efectes”//"Affects Effects" at the Galeria el Carme in Vic in 2017, "Silencis" at the ACVIC Centre d’Arts Contemporànies 2018 and the Centre d’Art Santa Mònica Barcelona 2018, 10 Photographers 10 Views, Arquitectures de l’Atlàntida 2020; and he was the Winner of the Perspectives de l’Atlàntida 2021 Competition.
Carme Collell Blanco. Degree in Art History from the UAB. Lecturer at the Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny de Vic from 1980 to 2011. While studying for a Master's degree in Art and Education at New York University, she began in ceramics with the ceramicist Lidya Buzio, a student of Josep Collell, with whom she continued her learning in her ceramics workshop in Montevideo. Member of the International Academy of Ceramics. Individual exhibitions in New York, and group exhibitions in Skellefteå (Sweden), Paris, Munich, Vic, Barcelona, Valencia, Chateauroux, Taiwan, Santa Fe (New Mexico) and Dublin.
Toni Ferron. He studied painting and design at the Escola d'Arts de Vic. In the late 90s he held his first exhibition, and until 2017 he regularly participated in group exhibitions and a number of individual exhibitions. His work has always been a reinterpretation of popular culture and media images. He won several awards, and in 2006 he was awarded the Ciutat de Vic Scholarship for Artistic Creation. Since 2017, Enrique Vila-Matas has called him "Bartleby", and Jean-Yves Jouannais has called him «an artist without oeuvre".
Joan Fontcuberta. He has followed a pluralist career in the world of photography as a creator, teacher, critic, exhibition curator and historian. Visiting professor at universities in Spain, France, Great Britain and the United States, he regularly collaborates in specialised publications. In 2013 he was awarded the Hasselblad Prize.
Jo Milne. She is an artist and researcher who works between Catalonia and Scotland. She has a degree in Fine Arts from Edinburgh College of Art and the University of Edinburgh, with a Master's degree in engraving from The London Institute (Camberwell College of Art), and a PhD in Fine Arts from the University of Barcelona. Her thesis "Invisible Structures", based on her practice as an artist, considered methodologies used by scientists, artists and visionaries to visualise the invisible. A research that was carried out in collaboration with programmers and scientists at CitiLab (Cornellà), the VHIR, Barcelona and the Department of Chemistry of the University of Barcelona.
She has received several awards and scholarships from the Generalitat de Catalunya (2020), Andrew Grant Award and Elizabeth Greenshields Foundation (Canada), among others, and has been a resident artist at the Institute for Biomedical Research (IRB Barcelona, 2020), Hangar (Barcelona), La Nau (Sabadell), and the Irish Museum of Modern Art (Dublin).
Her work in the last decade has been linked to cosmologies developed by scientists in relation to string theory, fractals and quantum physics, and has been presented in individual exhibitions such as Maneres de Fer Móns (Ways of Making Worlds) (La Mercè, Girona, ItinerART Fundació Vila Casas) Al Cau del Conill (Can Manyè 2018), Una tropa de Sensacions Errants (A Troop of Wandering Sensations) (La Sala, Vilanova i la Geltrú) and No faig prediccions, sinó excuses (I Don’t Make Predictions, Only Excuses) in the Espai Volart (Fundació Vila Casas, 2016). She has participated in various groups in the United States, Great Britain and Spain in exhibitions such as Drawn Away Together (Talbot Rice Art Centre, Edinburgh) and her work is presented in various private and public collections in Europe and the United States.
Recetas Urbanas Urban Recipes / Santiago Cirugeda. Develops interventions of high social and cultural impact, implementing unconventional projects of sustainable and self-built urban architecture. The group, led by Santiago Cirugeda, addresses fields such as ephemeral architecture, occupation strategies, urban intervention and the incorporation of built prostheses, in which it has become a pioneer and an international benchmark. Central to this success has been its study and research into the reuse of materials, as well as into formats of citizen participation in the decision-making process. The team's work is characterised by its continuous experimentation, using the city as a laboratory and a space for conflict resolution. The collective’s nonconformist approach, its continuous research in practice, and its record of achievements, have advanced knowledge and practice in architecture.
Tere Recarens. I studied art at the Escola Massana, Barcelona, and in 1992 I moved to 'Ecole d'art de Grenoble' and then to 'Ecole d'art Luminy Marseille' to do a postgraduate course in Art. I do art residencies at ‘art3’, Valence, and at the 1998-99 Studio Program, PS1 Contemporary Art Center, New York. Back in Barcelona, I split my time between Rotterdam and Turin. In 2001 I moved to Berlin and worked in Estonia, Tibet, Mali, Turkish Kurdistan and Iran. I exhibit internationally, and I am part of some Museums’ collections, including the MACBA Art Museum of Barcelona, where I also work in the education department with the 'Postdata' project. I also work with the Galerie Anne Barrault in Paris.
Jorge Yeregui. An architect by training, his work investigates the cultural dimension of the environment in those places where the confluence of multiple realities - social, environmental, political or economic - gives them a marked symbolic, as well as testimonial, value. The relationship between architecture and the environment or the influence of markets on urban growth are among the themes that interest him.
He has received awards, commissions and scholarships from the Fundación Botín, the Ministry of Education, Culture and Sport, the Pilar Citoler Prize, the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo Andalusian Center for Contemporary Art, and the Fundación Cerezales Antonino y Cinia.
Deshacer, borrar, activar (Undo, delete, activate) (2020), Sobre el derecho a la ciudad (On the right to the city) (2019), Acta de replanteo (Statement of Reconsideration) (2017-2016) or Inventario (Inventory) (2015) are among his most outstanding individual exhibitions. He has also participated in a number of group exhibitions, including the Ibero-American Biennial of Architecture and Urbanism, held in Medellin.
He has collaborated in research projects with the universities of Málaga, Córdoba, Salamanca and Cádiz, with whom he has published 3 books and a monograph dedicated to his work.
