2010 August
Aug 30
All that could’ve been and wasn’t
icon1 valenciablogger | icon2 Valencia | icon4 08 30th, 2010| icon31 Comment »

The Patronato Martìnez Guerricabeitia of the General Foundation of the University in Valencia prepared an exhibition titled “All that could’ve been and wasn’t” which is going to be shown in the historic building of La Nau until October 12th, and which is thought to reflect upon the period of transition through works by Equipo Crónica, Genovés and Mompó.

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“All that could’ve been and wasn’t” will show the Martíney Guerricabeitia collection with more than 30 works of art of contemporary artists, the most important being: Equipo Realidad, Sempere, Soria, Yturralde, Antoni Miró, Armengol, Michavila or Canogar.

The exhibition is divided in three themes (“12 painters from Valencia”, “6 screenprints” and “Art and cultural revolution. A contribution in the memory of Rafael Alberti”), which will not only present paintings, but also screen prints, figurative and abstract works, donated to the University of Valencia by Jesús Martínez Guerricabeitia in ’99, turning it into Spain’s most important public university in regards to collections of contemporary art.

The works shown are from the period between 1975 and 1976, which were selected by Promociones Culturales del País Valenciano and by the socialist party, because it was during this period that different political formations used to raise funds through the sale of artistic compilations.

And this is why these artworks have such a strong political background and give historic evidence of that certain period. Vicent Sanz, director of Actividades del Patronato and curator of this show, underlined that this is a “wasted opportunity” and that this is also the reason why he chose that specific title for the show. If you want to visit “All that could’ve been and wasn’t”, rent apartments in Valencia and enjoy these political artworks and the historical events they make reference to.

Aug 23

Summer promises fun and adventure until we realize that perhaps we have neglected our body and we begin to lament our protruding bellies. Learn to love what you’ve got even when you’re surrounded by hundreds of perfect bodies.

obesity-epidemic

This late in the summer you’ve probably realized that that spare tire isn’t going anywhere anytime soon. But don’t sweat the “perfect 10´s” you see bronzing on the beach. Get out of the habit of asking the same question over and over again, why can’t I have a body like that? Or the classic negative thoughts like “I’ll never have a body like that.” It’s much more important to learn to love your body as it is and look in the mirror and feel sexy … because we are what we are and our curves, flesh and imperfections all make us the complete, individual, sexy creatures that we are.

The difference is clear if you put aside the constant barrage of images of supposedly perfect bodies we take in every day from the media every day and learn to live with what we are. In fact, learning to love our bodies is the basis of a more open sexuality: if you are busy being ashamed of your body, it is hard to enjoy sensuality. Love your body for what it feels and what it makes others feel, not the image, and learn to take advantage of these sensations.

One of the best cities in which to display all your charms, both physical and otherwise, is Valencia. Undoubtedly, renting apartments in Valencia will be a blast. Tour its beautiful beaches, bars and nightclubs and don’t forget that the Valencian coast gave its name to one of Spain’s most famous musical exports, bakalao style Techno. Enjoy a well deserved holiday in Valencia, relax, live it up, and most importantly, love yourself and live in the moments. Confidence is always sexy!

Aug 17

An excellent solo exhibition of the architect Ramón Esteve will be shown in the Instituto Valenciano de Arte Moderno –IVAM- until the October the 2nd. Under the title “From architecture” the show gives us insight into the creative ways of Ramón Esteve, whose work doesn’t leave room for easy composition or random space. On the contrary, his adaptation of the terrain to the cultural and social context, to climatic conditions, as well as the necessities of the program are the basis of this architectonic proposal of this great master, giving constructive solutions which are paving the path of the aesthetic outcome.

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Considered one of the most important representatives of Valencia’s contemporary architecture, Esteve founded the Escuela Téncica Superior de Architecture de Madrid (Superior School of Architecture in Madrid) and his prolific and versatile oeuvre has wandered through all the possible variants, from urban infrastructure projects to home architecture, with high quality family homes and industrial design, being a natural progress of his architecture projects that have given rise to the creation of various furniture collections for international and prestigious firms.

The show at the IVAM is divided in for sections: the studio, where the visitor gets to know the architect and designer, with a chronological summary of twenty years of artistic career. The second is called Architecture and will immerse us into his creative and formal universe as an architect, through the means of photography, exhibition panels, scale models, texts and drawings that will help us to enter his visual language.

The third section is dedicated to his artistic and multidisciplinary career in design showing a collection of the most important and interesting furniture pieces design by Esteve. Finally, the fourth block Contests, will show his more recent projects of his studio. These works will be presented as videos and with scale models.

What we should always remember about his work is that Esteves housing design has been a huge success. Minimal houses, predominantly built with stone and wood, the white and the light and the geometrical games are meant to construct a space where the exterior can penetrate into the interior of the home. And this, from an aesthetic perspective that avoids all irrelevant, enacting a minimalist stance.

This space artist and designer, starting from architecture, manages mixing a strong rationalistic stance with harmony and contextualization. This is how we can sum up Esteves work, which you can see renting apartments in Valencia this summer.

Aug 13

Cuisine is undoubtedly one of the most striking things when we travel, and many places around the world are known not only for their museums but also for their great appetizers, main dishes and desserts. Valencia is, without doubt, one of these cities.

paella

That is why now Valencian cuisine will be the protagonists for no less than 10 days of the Universal Exposition held in Shanghai, China’s largest city and one of the world’s most populous, with the help of chefs from restaurants the Valencia restaurants Branch and Vertical, with have both been awarded Michelin stars.

For this reason from July 12th on Jorge de Andres and Jorge Berton, heads chefs of these two restaurants, will be offering highlights of Valencian cuisine in the five-star Meliá Shanghai Restaurant, a culinary landmark of the city. This is ideal an ideal way to get to know Valencian culture for people in china .

But if you’re not in Shanghai, don´t worry because you can rent apartments in Valencia and enjoy the food in town; as you can see, it is recognized worldwide, even in distant and exotic places like China, for being tasty and sophisticated.

The menu will consist of dishes inspired by traditional Valencian food but, they said, not without innovation. Some of Valencia’s most famous foods are “menjar blanc”, “all i pebre” and rice dishes like paella or “fesols i amb naps,” among many other dishes.

Aug 11

The most elite musicians often earn a fair bit of money for their performances, which is why the president of the Palau de la Música in Valencia, Mayrén Beneyto, asked them to reduce their economic expectations and perform more concerts. The woman revealed that the economic crisis has forced them to cut the number of concerts performed by the Orchestra of Valencia by half (there were six major productions a year and now there are only three.)

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As artist’s asking prices increase, it is virtually impossible to maintain ticket prices stable. The only option is that artists ask for less money. The good news is that many musicians have been willing to accept lower salaries so that the audience can weather these hard times without feeling the pinch.

The Valencia Orchestra will celebrate the centennial of the death of Mahler with performances of all the international composer’s symphonies except the eighth. But not to worry, despite the lowered salaries, there will still be guest artists like the soprano Ainhoa Arteta or the director Rafael Frübeck. Renowned Argentine conductor Daniel Barenboim will direct that the piano concertos of Franz Liszt.

Next season, the Orchestra of Valencia will have a new schedule: concerts from Monday to Thursday at the Palau de la Música begin at 20:00 instead and not 20:15 as in previous years.

The is amazing concert hall is located in the old Turia River promenade and has several rooms for musical shows, conferences, exhibitions, performances and film projections. If you want to visit and enjoy Orchestra performances from various artists from around the world, it’s as easy as renting apartments in Valencia right now. Music will make you whole!