A portrait of Jacqueline, carried out by Picasso in 1957, was the origin and original inspiration of the performance by Eulàlia Valldosera, The Other Invisibles, which took place on 9th May in one of the galleries of the museum. In an exercise of self-hypnosis, the artist turned her body into a sort of antenna and with the help of the attending public, invoked Picasso and Jacqueline herself, Picasso’s last wife and the recurrent model of his paintings in the last years of his life, by means of the vibration and recordings of the painting, in a very moving action that ended up in a reconciliation between the couple.
Eulàlia Valldosera, during ‘The other invisibles’ action, in front of the portrait of Jacqueline by Pablo Picasso, 1957
Eulàlia Valldosera, during ‘The other invisibles’ action, in front of the portrait of Jacqueline by Pablo Picasso, 1957
The action of The Other Invisibles was the prelude of the exhibition IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER, curated by Rosa Martínez, which will be installed in the Mauri Gallery of the museum from 7th June to 24th September. In the exhibition, the piece of Valldosera, which Rosa Martínez defines as a “mediumistic interpretation”, will be projected in a complete video, among around thirty other works by ten contemporary Spanish artists. The exhibition aims to analyze the persistence of Picasso among current artists but goes beyond a simple homage or formal reinterpretation of Picasso’s works. “We want to explain how current artists can see Picasso as a father that they should respect, but they also reflect on his patriarchal influence and how they are capable of deconstructing and reinterpreting his work from new paradigms and multiple perspectives”, assures Rosa Martínez.
In addition to Valldosera, the exhibition includes the participation of the artists Cristina Lucas, Daniel García-Andújar, Miquel Barceló, Pilar Albarracín, Rogelio López Cuenca, Elo Vega, Santiago Sierra and Tania Berta Judith. The family of the flamenco singer Enrique Morente – who in 2011 sang in front of Guernica, a few days before dying – also participates in the exhibition with a performance in the room of Las Meninas of the museum, the video of which will also be included in the tour.
The artists’ proposals deal with their relation with Picasso in very diverse ways. Rogelio López Cuenca has reflected for some time about how the name of Picasso is commercialized and in this case will exhibit a work, expressly produced for this exhibition, focusing on the “commercial” relation of Barcelona with the painter. Miquel Barceló will exhibit the original painting of the poster for the last bullfight that took place in Barcelona, never before exhibited. Aurora Carbonell, widow of Enrique Morente, painted the eyes taken from the sketches for Les Demoiselles d’Avignon on a jacket for a performance in the Liceu by the flamenco singer, while in another textile work, the young artist Tania Berta Judith embroidered on the sheets of a great-grandmother a sweet and peaceful Minotaur which has nothing to do with Picasso’s aggressive Minotaur. The work of Santiago Sierra is also related to Les Demoiselles d’Avignon with a critical work on the remuneration of prostitution.
Furthermore, Cristina Lucas has drawn up some cartographies about the history of the bombings on the civilian population in a clear allusion to Guernica. Daniel García-Andújar, on the other hand, in the work Communist Picasso, shows how the painter was investigated by the FBI for his membership of the Communist Party. Included in the rooms of the permanent collection of the museum, the public will also be able to find a work by Pilar Albarracín which is a dissected dove (next to the painting The Doves) and two ceramic works by Valldosera that dialogue with the Picassian ceramics.
To a certain extent, the exhibition IN THE NAME OF THE FATHER connects with the exhibition Post-Picasso. Contemporary Reactions, which took place in 2014 and which in that case exhibited reinterpretations of Picasso’s works by international artists.
Written by the museum
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