CAAC Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo

See Not, Hear Not, Speak Not. 1990-2015

27 Mar - 13 Sep 2015

Carrie Mae Weems
Triptych with Daughter left panel (Kitchen Table Portfolio), 1990
SEE NOT, HEAR NOT, SPEAK NOT. 1990-2015
27 March – 13 September 2015
Exhibition Session: 25th Anniversary

Artists: Rafael Agredano · Ángeles Agrela · Alfonso Albacete · Pilar Albarracín · Louise Bourgeois · Joan Brossa · María Cañas · Nuria Carrasco · Chema Cobo · Patricia Dauder · Pepe Espaliú · Ruth Ewan · Peter Friedl · Victoria Gil · Alonso Gil y Francis Gomila · Curro González · Candida Höfer · José Jurado · Jonathan Lasker · Rogelio López Cuenca · Carrie Mae Weems · Juan Luis Moraza · José Miguel Pereñíguez · Guillermo Pérez Villalta · José Piñar · Manolo Quejido · Inmaculada Salinas · Allan Sekula · Annika Ström · Wolfgang Tillmans · Juan Uslé · Jorge Yeregui

In its 25 years of existence, the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo has come full circle, ending up right where it started: in the midst of a major financial crisis. The economic troubles in the 1990s were precipitated by the First Gulf War and the bursting of the Japanese asset price bubble, and the latest crisis, from which we have yet to recover, can also be traced back to the stock and property markets, but the profound social inequality it has created is a catalyst for potential political changes. It is in this situation and context that we must now analyse the art that has emerged during the CAAC’s 25 years of activity.

The show opens with one question and three commands drawn from the work of two artists: Rogelio López Cuenca and Curro González. First of all, we must ask ourselves, paraphrasing Hölderlin’s famous question: What are artists for in a destitute time? There are many possible answers, and some of them may be found on the journey through this exhibition. This institutional criticism ties in with certain questions implied by the show’s title, based on the transcription into words of three drawings by Curro González: see not, hear not, speak not. This triple imperative aims to reveal how our freedom of action has been curtailed, defining the limits imposed on citizens by the system but also those imposed on artists and their audiences by the museum institution as part of the establishment.

With different galleries that successively examine the role of the artist and aesthetic, cultural, gender, identity and social issues, this exhibition attempts to analyse the art of recent decades -focusing on the local context but adopting a global perspective- illustrated by works from the collection that the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo has acquired over the past 25 years.

 

Tags: Rafael Agredano, Alfonso Albacete, Pilar Albarracín, Louise Bourgeois, Joan Brossa, Chema Cobo, Rogelio López Cuenca, Patricia Dauder, Pepe Espaliú, Ruth Ewan, Peter Friedl, Candida Höfer, Jonathan Lasker, Juan Luis Moraza, Manolo Quejido, Allan Sekula, Annika Ström, Wolfgang Tillmans, Juan Uslé, Guillermo Pérez Villalta, Carrie Mae Weems