Tasneem, owner of Tasneem Gallery in Barcelona, could be forgiven for having been slightly nervous ahead of last night’s inauguration of the exhibition: El placer es más importante que la victoria, having shipped delicate works of contemporary art across the Atlantic from Peru to Spain to display the works of some 13 contemporary Peruvian artists. The opening of the Peruvian art exhibition in Barcelona was a resounding success.
Peruvian Art Exhibition
On a very lively and busy evening, people from Barcelona, Madrid and across the world adjourned upon a packed Tasneem Gallery to witness the opening of what is an aesthetically very pleasing exhibition, featuring an array of pieces created from different materials, media and lots of bright colors. The 13 artists represented were José Luis Martinat, Ishmael Randall Weeks, Eliana Otta, Harry Chavez, Pablo Patrucco, Natalia Revilla, Giuseppe Campuzano, Camila Rodrigo, José Vera Matos, Alfredo Márquez, Gilda Mantilla, Santiago Quintanilla and Juan Javier Salazar. You can view all of the artwork from the show here.
To begin what it must be said was a very glamorous evening, Tasneem made a brief speech presenting the gallery, the show, and introducing the curator Miguel Lopez along with Aracari founder and director Marisol Mosquera. Marisol then made a brief speech explaining Aracari’s participation (you can read more about that here).
During his own talk, in which he gave a very clear and succinct rundown of the essence of the exhibition, curator Miguel Lopez told guests that “The show aims to portray the reality of Peru today.” In what was an absolutely brilliant performance, he touched upon such themes as the economic boom currently being experienced in the country alongside the hard times that have been withstood in the not-so-distant past.
Miguel went on to run guests through the ideas behind the specific works; from those depicting the extasis of celebration and partying (“Simulacro” by Camila Rodrigo) to the hangover (“El Conchal” by Juan Javier Salazar); the effects of hallucinogenics (“La Mente” by Harry Chavez), and the exploration of the fragility and tension being experienced in the current moment. He also shed light on the unusual materials used to portray rather common and poor objects (“Mercado” by Ishmael Randall Weeks and “sin título” by Gilda Mantilla).
The show is an exciting proposal for reflecting on how enjoying the current abundance in Peru is absolutely legitimate and fabulous, though offering stark warning that this carries a price and is a fragile pursuit.
On the whole, the guests were thrilled, happy and reenergised to observe something new and cutting edge (and to help them escape from the current doom and gloom engulfing Europe). Perhaps quite ironically given the content of the show, all of the wine ran out … though we shall take that as a good sign!
“El placer es más importante que la victoria” opened yesterday and runs until the 31st of January 2011 at Tasneem Gallery. For full details, please read our press release.
