ADN Galería

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SCRATCH
Dates: December 18th – January, 31th, 2010
Opening: December 22th at 7h30 pm.
ADN Galería, c/Enric Granados 49, Barcelona

Scratch is the third group exhibition at ADN Galería entirely dedicated to drawing. The first one took place in May 2007 under the title “Drawing and Dreaming”. Although that show revolved around the contrast between black and white as a formal resource, one of the most relevant subject matter of the exhibition was its investigation of the dreamlike realm, strongly related to emotions, and utopian aspect of drawing. This strategy was presented as a personal lexicon, working as a connector between the most private and subjective face of each author with the spectator’s reality, the empiricism of real world, making the conception of new notions of society possible, always departing from humor and irony. The narrative of the exhibition also pointed out the relation of its pieces with cartoon strips, due to the great expressivity of the images produced. All this proved that just a pencil and a paper are necessary to write drawing. The main characters for that occasion were Judas Arrieta, Abdelkader Benchamma, Petra Mrzyk y J.F. Moriceau, Pierre la Police y Virginie Barré.

For the second one, carried out about a year after “Drawing and Dreaming”, the chosen title was “Paperless Marks” to enunciate an exhibition in which the drawing was told not to use its conventional support: paper. “Paperless Marks” had a more formalist script, based on its physical support and presenting a myriad of approaches. The show was an analysis of the graphic practice itself, exploring its possibilities, expanding its traditional appearance, investigating on its expressive and creative capacities, characteristic of the opened moment that fortunately contemporary art is going through. For this second chapter we were glad to have works by Abdelkader Benchamma, Marc Quintana, Frank plant, Qubo Gas, Jesus Galdón, Fleur Noguera and Federico Solmi.

On the present occasion, the dialogue between works is developed on a more conceptual context. SCRATCH puts together critical, direct and unambiguous proposals, really necessary to avoid the collapse of the art realm into a “entropic fainting”, to say it with José Luis Brea, and that art finishes loosing its meaning, its capacity to deny, to point out difference. We understand that this is only possible through reinforcing the message and investigating on the optimization of its transmission through formal manipulation. The works here presented do not only transmit powerful ideas, but do so with great eloquence, expressivity and rapidity, as a scratch to the public, avoiding indifference.

SCRATCH refers to the communicative gesture, to the immediacy of the drawing for transmitting messages. But on its relation with music, we can also think about creation as a post-productive process. Scratching is a contemporary musical practice consisting in the creation of new sounds from existing materials, working with ready-made samples to generate new compositions. Bourriaud established the parallelism between a trend in contemporary art and djing practice. The original condition of the creation is superimposed to a basis of previous elements; this process lies in the introduction of variations to the existent reality. Taking this parallelism, we understand post-production as a common process in some trends of visual creation, probably strongly developed in the most recent art, but not specific nor exclusive of it, shared by some of the artists we are presenting here. The work of some of them is eminently post-productive, as they use editing methods strongly related/connected to new media. Some others use, appropriate indeed, the symbols continuously generated by our mass society to introduce variations, remixing them, giving them new senses and finally inserting them back to a new circle of collective imaginary.

We can understand the title of the exhibition from these two proposed meanings: scratch as the quick and direct communicative action, or scratch as the post-productive process (scratching). Through this reasoning we try to contribute and defend the expansion of drawing, as we understand that, far from being a minor or preparatory technique, drawing has been already consolidated as an absolutely relevant medium in contemporary art. SCRATCH is our proposal to support the power of art. These works are full of meaning, of critical sense, full of expressive necessity. We appeal to a non-conformist art that returns to its full vitality and potential in the social field, but paradoxically presented on a weak and humble media. The subtlety of the media contrasts with the power of the message.

This group show includes works by Marc Bijl, Rebecca Bournigault, Democracia, Rainer Ganahl, Kendell Geers, Basim Magdy, Eugenio Merino, Bruno Peinado and Federico Solmi. Finally, we are considering drawing as a common ground for all artists presented here, who even sharing an interest on codifying messages carrying political and socio-cultural meaning, come from different traditions. And even thought these are artists who Rosalind Krauss would inscribe within the post-medium condition, we highlight here their skills on drawing, presenting their graphic works, not as a complementary practice, but as an essential technique in their artistic career.

Marc BIJL: He lives and works between Berlin and Holland, where he was born. His work fluctuates between painting and drawing, sculpture and mix-media installation, always with a strong political content, dialectical and revolutionary. His works present rough finishes, and it is through the harshness of technique and iconography used that he often represents violence, linking conceptual and formal issues it what has been identified as post-punk aesthetics. His raw materials are symbols generated by pop culture, used here to contradict what derivates from them. Marc Bijl remixes worldwide known and apprehended images to generate new discourses. His work has been recently exhibited at Domus Artium in Salmanca (Arrested Development, 2009), and at different institutions in Holland and Germany as Kunsthalle Fridericianum de Kassel (The Simple Complexity of it all, 2009) o CoBrA Museum Amstel de Holanda (Brave New World, 2007). He has works at MUSAC Collection (Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Castilla y León) and at private collections in Europe and United States.

Rebecca BOURNIGAULT: She is internationally renown as a portrait artist. She travels from video, to photography to painting constantly investigating on vital issues as violence or love. Bournigault shows a constant interest on metaphysical matters, especially on psychoanalysis and its relation to the development of a person. Often her work borrows the defining issues of fairytales, as she believes that this approach has on children a catharsis effect that makes possible the reappearing of some unconscious thoughts; on a parallel level. art would work on a similar way for grownups. Her work evolves from a political background, coming in one hand from feminism, and on the other hand from French revolutionary ideology, always reflecting the moment she is living in, multicultural in the social field, multidisciplinary in the artistic field. Rebecca Bournigault’s work has recently been exhibited in some relevant galleries in France, Belgium and Switzerland and international institutions as Québec National Museum of Fine Arts (Emporte-moi / Sweep off my feet, 2009) or Palais du Tokyo Paris (La chambre interdite, 2005). She has also taken part of some international fairs such as FIAC, ArtBrussels and ARCO.

DEMOCRACIA: DEMOCRACIA is the name of the group from Madrid fromed by Pablo España and Iván López, both co-founders of the dissolved El Perro (1989-2006). From the beginning of their trajectory, they have shown a constant interest on the current socio-cultural reality. Their projects can be defined as interventions in the social field, created not only as an analytical method, but also as a critical one. Their works reflect a strong interest in the ever expanding staging of the coexisting contexts in public space; evident not only due to the importance of the image, that keeps growing, but also in the gradual incorporation of fiction in different areas of reality, as politics, technology and culture. Democracia also works in the editorial field as directors of Nolens Volens as well as curating shows. Democracia has taken part of Taipei Biennale (2008), Istambul Biennale (Not Only Possible, But Also Necessary, 2007), regularly particupate at international art fairs and has been exhibited at institutions like Chelsea Art Museum (The Promised Land, 2008), Kumho Museum Seoul (Tomorrow, 2007), Organización Nelson Garrido de Caracas (No Futuro, 2007) or Santa Mónica Art Center Barcelona (Entresijos y Gallinejas, 2007).

Rainer GANAHL: Austrian established in NY, Ganahl develops his artistic work basically through photography, video and performance. His work can be defined as “processual”, due to the enphasis of the artistic process, but also because of his interest on evolving concept. Often his works make clear the evolution of the proposal, from its germinal moment to the eventual ending, as a work in progress (i.e. “9/11”), or when he documents a historical or social event, as the advent of Euro in Austria, that provoked the disappearance of their traditional currency, the schilling. His work constitutes a methodical social criticism, being Ganhal a political and cultural engaged artist, what is clear not only through his art but also in his pedagogical practice. Rainer Ganahl has recently taken part of important biennials as Venice (2009, Pavilion of Urgency; 1999, Offene Handlungsräume, Australian Pavilion), Shanghai (2008) or Istanbul (2007). He has also participated at international art fairs and exhibited at institutions like Centre George Pompidou (Web, 2001), Kunstraum Niederoesterreich, Vienna (LA PETITE HISTOIRE, 2008) or Centre d’Art Contemporain, Ginebra (Photo_Traffic, 2006).

Kendell GEERS: This South-African artist, performer, musician and film maker, has examined over the years the different appearances violence has been embodying in societies under the strong power of mass-media colonizations, paying special attention to the trivialization of the violence's description through these media. His works are full of political and racial references, being the Southafrican issue a frequent item in his imaginary. Also, Kendell Geers is known for his bravura gestures as changing his date of birth during Venice Biennale in 1993 to May 1968. In the same context, Geers got internationally notoriety when he urinated in Marcel Duchamp’s Fountain. Kendell Geers’ work has been exhibited at an great number of galleries, art centers and international institutions. He has recently participated at DA2 Domus Artium 2002, Salmanca (Irrespektiv, 2008), B.P.S.22 Espace de création contemporaine, Charleroi (Auto-Da-Fé, 2007), Centre d’Art Contemporain Georges Pompidou, Paris (Dionysiac, 2001) and events as Contemporary Art Biennale, Moscow (2007), the first Biennale of the Canary Islands (2007), Taipei Biennale (The Sky is the Limit, 2000) or the 11st edition of DOKUMENTA, Kassel (2002).

Basim MAGDY: This Egyptian artist is currently living and working in Basel. Even thought he started off mainly utilizing drawing to convey meaning, he has recently presented very effective installations. His works narrate strange, almost sinister situations. We recognize the elements of his works as familiar, but something tells us that, although talking to us about our world, they do so utilizing fantastic plots. Due to his high narrative capacity, his images are closed to cartoon, or even they seem to be storyboards, and due to the strange situations he creates, he assimilates his work to the science-fiction realm. It Is in this game between real and unreal, truth and fiction, dream and wakefulness, that the critical messages codified by Basim Magdy have to be understood. Basim Magdy’s work has been exhibited at North-African galleries (On A Better Day Than This, Townhouse Gallery of Contemporary Art, Cairo, 2008), European (Fragile Monuments, Suzie Q Projects - Galerie Bob van Orsouw, Zurich, 2009 –vv.aa.-) and American (In the Grave of Intergalactic Utopia, Newman Popiashvili Gallery, New York, 2006; Your New Life with Your Old Enemies, ObjectNotFound Project Space, Monterrey, 2005); he has participated at great international art fairs (Gazing at the Miracle of Civilization, ARCO Projects, 2007; NADA Art Fair, Miami, 2005; Artissima 12 Art Fair, Turin, 2005).

Eugenio MERINO: Throughout his short career Eugenio Merino has shown himself to be really skillful at the different media he works, mainly neo-realist sculptures, installation, video, painting and drawing. His irreverent drawings, as well as his sculptures and installations, are strongly direct and univocal. Merino takes pop culture’s imaginary as raw material, and through its symbols he generates new, clear and strong messages, distorts reality and suggests new narrative structures. Merino is definitely a professional of present time and he express it on a universal way; his pop language allows him to reach all corners of reality. Eugenio Merino has extensively exhibited in Spain and taken part of some of the relevant international art fairs, such as Volta New York (ADN Galería, 2009), ARCO (solo project, ADN Galería, 2009), Art Brussels (ADN Galería, 2008), FIAC (Galería La Fábrica, 2004), or more recently his work can be seen at the Biennial Animamix, Taipei (2009). At this moment he is preparing an exhibition at Domus Artium de Salamanca and his participation on a show at BPS22 in Belgium.

Bruno PEINADO: We must understand the work of this young but emblematic French artist from multiple perspectives. Bruno Peinado’s work always hides a critical message, being socio-cultural, or purely artistic. His work is inspired by the Duchampian dynamics, explored today from all artistic disciplines: the creative process of appropriationism and ready-made. The artist does not only use industrial objects as raw materials, but also takes the imaginary of pop culture to introduce slight variations that change the meanings of the original message, most of times radically. And besides of his multidisciplinary ability, which is a condicio sine qua non of his work, we would like to point out his inexhaustible capacity of reconfiguring scenarios in which quotes from high and low culture cohabite in unexpected ways. The work by Bruno Peinado has been vastly exhibited in Europe as well as in North and South America. We would like to remark his participation at art centres like Georges Pompidou, Paris (ME, MYSELF AND I, 2008), Palais de Tokyo, Paris (Perpetuum Mobile, 2004), the Sao Paolo Biennale, Biennal de la Luz in Portugal, and also at international art fairs as ARCO, Art Cologne, FIAC, Volta show, The Armory Show or Art Brussels

Federico SOLMI: This Italian artist established in NY has been recently awarded with the Guggenheim Fellowship in the category “Video & Audio” by The John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation. Through his naïf designs of high expressive potential and strongly colored, Solmi narrates critical and explicit stories, full of sex, destruction and violence. His stories, even though presented through an imaginary typical of cartoon and apparently more related to a fictional world, represent a skillful and efficient criticism of the shared reality. He is well known for his video “The Evil Empire”, that generated great controversy and reactionary critiques because of its images of a Pope in explicit sexual passages. Federico Solmi has taken part of important art fairs like Art Brussels, Pulse NY, Slick Paris, Pulse Miami or Artissima Turin. His works has been exhibited at galleries as Van Der Stegen, Paris (I Mostri, 2009, curated by Yann Perol), Scaramouche Gallery de New York (practice of Joy before Death; just would not be a party without you, 2009) or LMAK Projects at the same city (The Evil Empire, 2008). Likewise, has participated in museums and art centres like Georges Pompidou (The Rencontres Internationales, 2009), Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo (The Rencontres Internationales, 2009) or Drawing Center New York (Emerging Animators Screening, 2007).