The works by Diego del Pozo, the triptych ‘Deconstructing the hate’ (2013), and by Estefanía Martín Sáenz, ‘The ravens which adored the women’ (2015), have won the 13th Biennal Martínez Guerricabeitia. This way have decided the majority of commission of experts formed ‘ex profeso’ for the occasion, which had to choose among 20 works of the exhibition of La Nau from 11 March to 1 May.
The works have been acquired by the General Foundation of the Universitat de València and will be incorporated to the Martínez Guerricabeitia collection, the most important one, managed by a public university- it is formed by more than 500 works-. In fact, the Biennial is the main mechanism to the acquisition of works with the objective of increasing the valuable artistic heritage of social and political content of the art collection of the Universitat de València.
The commission of experts has been formed by Vice-Principal for Culture and Equality of the UV, Antonio Ariño; manager of the General Foundation of the Universitat de València, Cristóbal Suria; director of the Martínez Guerricabeitia collection and curator of the Biennal, José Pedro Martínez; artists Francisco Sebastián Nicolau y Chema López; professor José Martín Martínez; Carlos Mataix, from Heineken España S.A.; the four ex-members of the former Patronat Martínez Guerricabeitia; Valencian artist Mavi Escamilla, who co-won the 12th Biennal; Culture Management director of vice-principal’s office for Culture and Equality of the Universitat, Ana Bonmatí; designer Lupe Martínez; curators Alba Braza and Nuria Enguita; and the head of Asociación Valenciana de Críticos de Arte (AVCA), Ángela Montesinos.
According to the commission, the works of Diego del Pozo and Estefanía Martín Sáenz “are the ones who better adapted to the Collection spirit” and the motto of the 13th Biennial, titled ‘Superstitions and Manipulations’, in accordance with the ordinal number of the Biennial and the issue of social and cultural criticism which has its origin in the earliest stages of civilisation, the superstition (especially, the one induced by religions), which transcends until today transformed in manipulation to agitate and subject the critical thought by power.
Likewise, the commission of experts have decided to highlight the artistic quality of the young, yet experienced, couple, who have a promising future.
The work by Diego del Pozo, from Valladolid, presented at the Adora Calvo Gallery in Salamanca, is composed of three sequences of 37 x 120cm pictures and drawings. This piece is included within a broader work the artist dedicates to the “care” economics, that is, “any public or private policies aimed to produce or intensify a particular emotion, whether hate, love, fear or hope... in relation with oneself, the members of the same community or others belonging to a different community”, explains the artist.
‘Deconstructing the hate’ is inspired in the event which happened in 2013 during the Roland Garros tournament: the boycott by a man belonging to a homophobic movement generated in France due to the approval of the homosexual marriage law. He wore a white mask and went to the tennis court carrying a flare during the worldwide broadcasting. According to Del Pozo, his composition “displays critic and poetic narrative to demonstrate some invisible hate mechanisms behind this event”. From a sequence of pictures taken from several points of views, the tryptic shows three situations, says the artist, “in which connections are established with the myths of masculinity construction and the consciousness which challenge the authoritarian, violent and excluding aspects that perpetuate certain masculinity models”.
For her part, Estefanía Martín Sáenz, from Bilbao, presented by Madrilean critic Óscar Alonso Molina, has used mixed media on 150 x 220 cm printed fabric. “It is a fable storytelling of disturbing and even terrible literary scenes of gothic reminiscence”, says Alonso Molina when referring to the artistic work of Martín.
The piece ‘The ravens which adored the women’, work made for the participation on this Biennal, is, according to the critic, “the result of the artist’s interest in anthropology and ethnography, from which she accesses to the ancestral iconography, rituals and customs linked to the symbolic thought and magic which coat her artistic project focusing almost exclusively in the women’s role within the fields”. Ravens dyed yellow or black are in the painting. They are barely seen, but they are there “feeding superstitions and manipulating landscapes”.
The acquisition has become official during the presentation of the artists in the Cultural Centre La Nau, the historical building of the Universitat de València, headquarters of this 13th Biennal edition. Vice-Principal Antonio Ariño, José Pedro Martínez; Cristóbal Suria; Carlos Mataix, representative of Heineken España S.A.; and Antonio Valldecabres, regional director in the Valencian Community of Bank Santander.
The Biennial Selection Committee
Martínez Guerricabeitia Biennial, which has just celebrated 26 years of existence, is possible due to the committee, formed by experts and galleries, which ensure the artistic quality of the works and, therefore, the acquisition which will increase the collection of the Universitat de València.
This year committee has been formed by critics Óscar Alonso Molina (Madrid), Iván de la Torre (Seville), Mariano Navarro (Madrid), Chus Tudelilla (Zaragoza) and Alicia Ventura (Valencia); and las galerías Alarcón Criado (Sevilla), Ángeles Baños (Badajoz), Adora Calvo (Salamanca), Set Espai d’Art (Valencia) and Juan Silió (Santander).
The 20 artists who exhibited their works have worked on several sides of superstition and manipulation, opting for a wide range of techniques.
Last update: 24 de may de 2016 07:00.
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