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Exhibitions

 

AESTHETICS AND REASON. THE VALENCIAN CURVED FURNITURE AND THE MODERNIZATION OF THE HABITAT (FROM 1880 TO 1936)
From December 19, 2023 to January 21, 2024

In the dawn of the 20th century Valencia made an initial successful attempt at modernization through curved bentwood furniture. This type of furniture marked the transition from traditional workshops to modern mass production factories, a transition that ensued from the concept of product rationalisation and the adoption of assembly line production. The very design of mass-produced parts introduced a new logic regarding the simplification of construction elements and assembly systems in order to maximise structural resistance while minimising the number of elements. The resulting aesthetics of this new process of wood bending and the new methods of product organisation and the construction of parts radically changed the domestic environment. The furniture was lighter in weight and volume, its preservation and cleaning became easier, the soft and gentle lines created silhouettes that embellished spaces without overloading them, as was the case with previous generations of handcrafted furniture, thus introducing the very first modern aesthetics in our country. 

Schedule:

Tuesday - Saturday, 10:00 - 14:00 h and 16:00 - 20:00 h                            
Sunday and holidays, 10:00 - 14:00 h
Free entry
Limited capacity

Centre Cultural La Nau. Room Bigues

Organized by:

Arxiu Valencià del Disseny
Fundació Caixa Vinaròs
Vicerectorat de Cultura i Societat, Universitat de València
Escola Superior de Disseny de València
Fundació General de la Universitat de València
Centre Cultural La Nau de la Universitat de València

Sponsored by:

Agència Valenciana de la Innovació                                         

Collaborates:                                                                                                                 

Asociación de Diseñadores de la Comunitat Valenciana
Colegio de Interioristas de Interior de la Comunidad Valenciana
Fundació del Disseny

Commission:

Xavier Giner
Julio Vives

 

 

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JOSÉ MARTÍNEZ-MEDINA AND ARTISTIC INNOVATION IN VALENCIA

 

Contexts of the Martínez Guerricabeitia Collection - University of Valencia 

From 20 December 2022 to 16 April 2023 

 

Beginning in 1952, José Martínez-Medina y Montoro (1919-2006) took over the company he had inherited from his father, the founder of the furniture factory, Juan Martínez Medina, together with his siblings. José did not only collaborate in the management of the family business but also had a career as a designer for the company, which is currently considered to be one of the main contributions to the modernisation of furniture and interior design in Valencia during the second half of the twentieth century. His training at the city's School of Fine Arts and his experience working in the family business from a very young age made him a highly skilled drawer, product design creator and interior designer. However, his constant interest in all things associated with artistic creation, as well as his concern for adapting himself and his productive environment to the new aesthetic trends of his time, also made José Martínez-Medina an influential figure in the Valencian art world. 

                                           

Thanks to José's impetus, the shop that the Martínez-Medina family opened in Calle Poeta Querol in Valencia in 1962 became a meeting place for those who shared his interest in an innovative approach to creativity, either from theoretical proposals, as in the case of Vicente Aguilera Cerni, or artistic practice, as in that of Ximo Michavila. In addition to his relationships with artists who had already gained some recognition in academic and critical circles, José Martínez-Medina contributed to increasing the prominence of a large group of emerging young people. For decades, he arranged the aforementioned furniture shop as an exposition space for recent creations, some of which were the result of creative experiments and strongly non-conformist attitudes towards more conventional ideas. In this way, he acted as a contact and facilitator for even those who opted for the most daring proposals to find ways to enter the art market and show their work. 

 

The main body of the exhibition comes from the Martínez Guerricabeitia Collection of the University of Valencia, which contains a good representation of paintings and graphic works thanks to artists who are known to have had an artistic relationship with José Martínez-Medina. Other works have been added to this contribution from the Martínez-Medina family itself, as well as loans from the IVAM and various artists or their heirs, covering the period of José Martínez-Medina's greatest artistic involvement from the sixties to the end of the twentieth century. In addition to the interest that these works themselves have as evidence of the vitality of artistic creation in Valencia over a long period of time, the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny of the University of Valencia, as the organising body, wishes to focus this exhibition towards showing the strong structural and homologous connections between the world of design and that of the plastic arts within the great framework of creative practices inspired by the ideal of innovation. 

 

 

Vicente Plan Vivas 

Exhibition curator

 

PARTICIPATING ARTISTSVisita

Cristina Alabau
Andreu Alfaro
Anzo
Rafael Armengol
Manuel Boix
Javier Calvo
Camelia
Equipo Crónica
Amadeo Gabino
Josep Guinovart
Artur Heras
Manuel Hernández Mompó
Carmen Michavila
Joaquín Michavila
Ana Peters
Eusebio Sempere
Salvador Soria
Manuel Valdés
Aurora Valero
Salvador Victoria
José María Yturralde

 


 

ACTIVITIES

 

Guided tours

Free tours to the exhibition by Vicente Pla Vivas, co-director of the AVD and curator of the exhibition.
Days and times: 9 and 23 March at 18:00 p.m.
Link for registration: https://go.uv.es/EBml7CW

 

Colloquium between Cristina Alabau, Artur Heras and Aurora Valero. 22 March, 11:00h.

Colloquium between Cristina Alabau, Artur Heras and Aurora Valero in which the aim is to examine the influence of José Martínez-Medina on the Valencian art scene from the 1960s to the end of the 20th century and to explore the artistic structures that interested him over the course of those forty years. All of this will allow us to reflect on the relationship between business and artistic creation and its multiple possibilities.

The critical edition of this colloquium will form part of a new line of publications by the Arxiu Valencià del Disseny.

 

 


 

Hours:
Tuesday - Saturday: 10:00 - 14:00 and 16:00 - 20:00
Sunday and public holidays: 10:00 - 14:00
Free entrance
Limited capacity

Center: Centre Cultural La Nau

 Exhibition hall: Sala Martínez Guerricabeitia


 

Organized by: Universitat de València - Arxiu Valencià del Disseny
Financed by: Generalitat Valenciana - Agència Valenciana de la Innovació
With the support of: Fundació General de la UV - Col·lecció Martínez Guerricabeitia
Collaborating: José Martínez Medina, La Nau centre cultural de la UV, World Design Capital Valencia 2022, Ajuntament de València