English
In times of crisis, it seems that not even the major institutions of contemporary art have enough funds to invest in organizing innovative and real “contemporary” exhibitions in which to appraise actual creation and innovation, perhaps in which it is possible to get to know emerging artists who came to an idea that has not been seen before on that same way. In this respect, the example given by MACBA today, is not the best and yet, the show “Volum!” is worth seeing because it brings together three hundred and fifty works by artists who have marked our recent history.
This exhibition, which is the result of an agreement signed by La Caixa Foundation (the social responsibility of the Spanish bank) and the MACBA Museum, does little more than open the store and exposing the huge collection of works by the two institutions. On the one hand, it is clear that they had not invested much in conservatorship (also the curator is the same Bartomeu Marí, director of MACBA), and have risked nothing with this event. But on the other hand, we must also emphasize that many of the works presented here are milestones of contemporary art, not very often you have the chance to see them in the same space.
The concept of this exhibition, which explains the title “Volum!”, is the introduction of noise in the works of visual art during the transition from the twentieth to the twenty-first century. It is also the first of a series of three exhibitions, which will exhibit a selection of the 5,500 works from the common fund of La Caixa Foundation and the MACBA. The second sample, focusing on sculpture, takes place in the CaixaForum Madrid and is titled “The Persistence of Geometry”. The third “The inverted mirror” can be seen at the Guggenheim in Bilbao.
In fact, when touring the three floors occupied by the MACBA “Volum!”, an attentive viewer soon realize that there are many works that adhere to the concept chosen. Among them, certainly highlights the eclectic piece of Canadian artist Michael Snow, located on the ground floor. In this work, a series of cassette players output sound of a metronome deforming it into the most indistinctive mixture of shocks that seem to be created by a future machine. Perhaps, it is a premonition of the digital age?
The exhibition, which will be open until the 23rd of April at MACBA, for the first time in the history of the museum, takes a historical look at the key decade of the ´80s. Thus, also shows us a tour of the most famous bars in those years by a series of photographs that emphasize the creation of Barcelona’s design style. More information on http://www.macba.cat/ca/expo-volum/1/actuals/expo.
So if you happen to be in the capital of Catalunya, do not miss the chance to come and see the classics: Tapies, Hamilton, Rauschenberg and many more. You can also rent apartments in Barcelona and take the opportunity to enjoy a weekend devoted to art.
