2011 April
Apr 18

In the period between 1948 – 1951, the years between its founding and collapse, the art world was witness to the activities of vibrant avant-garde group COBRA, whose name was based on the initials of the three cities involved (Copenhagen, Brussels, and Amsterdam). Key artists of the group included Belgian Pierre Alechinsky, Dutch Karel Appel and Danish Asger Jorn.

morten selettemeas

The group, headed up by Belgian painter, poet and creator of logograms, Christian Dotremont, was known for its love and admiration for the prehistoric and primitive arts. In many ways pioneers in conceptual art, the artists of COBRA rejected the movements of Western culture in favour of an art of spontaneity which was based on experimentation.

Alongside primitive art, the art of children and the mentally ill were also strong influences. The objective was to create a new type of art for the people, and to try and fuse text and image – to bring together different artists and sculptors in order to put into practice the Duchampsian idea of readymade, such as for example exhibit perishable objects such as potatoes, which have to be replaced; thus drawing attention to questions about authorship of art work.

Along with the work of Danish paintor, sculptor, writer and filmmaker Per Kirkeby, and other exponents of the Nordic post-war expressionist period, other pieces which resonate are those by prestigious, promising Norwegian painter Morten Slettemeås, whose stimulating work, which has been shown in art fairs in Madrid, Bologna, Rome, Puerto Rico and Mexico, is now on display at the Luis Adelantado gallery in Valencia, from 25th of March until the 11th of June.

The title of the exhibition is Sticks and Stones, which makes reference to the British proverb, Stick & Stones may break my bones (but words will never hurt me), which is used when somebody wants to make it clear that nothing anybody says against them can hurt them. The proverb was also played with by Neil Hannon of The Divine Comedy with the song Sticks & Stones (may break my body but words can tear me apart).

In the show, there are nods and references – particularly in terms of the structure of the pieces – to the Spanish baroque art of the 12th and 13th centuries.

For more details: http://www.luisadelantadovalencia.com/index_news_esp.htm

 

 

 

 

 

 

Paul Oilzum Only-apartments AuthorPaul Oilzum

If you rent apartments in Valencia over these dates, go down to the Luis Adelantado gallery, and let yourself be seduced by the perversely exquisite profanity of Slettemeås.

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Poppy Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Poppy
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Apr 12

Often the biggest attraction of this tournament is that it traditionally concerned surprises, a competition where in theory everything is possible and teams that flag in the long and sustained effort required by the League, meet in the Copa del Rey their chances of winning a major title.

copa del rey

But in recent decades the Cup has suffered some devaluation due to the fact that too often there has been a sense that the giants of the Spanish League, Real Madrid and FC Barcelona, neglected this tournament preferring to focus their energies on the struggle for most prestigious titles such as the League or the Champions League.

Probably the most extreme case, although not the only one, took place last year by the elimination of the almighty club of the capital of Spain by a second division team, the Alcorcon, which, moreover, won by a humiliating 4-0 in the first leg; the club’s image eroded appreciably.

Hence one of the objectives of the Real Madrid this season was to rebuild their image by giving this tournement the same attention as to the other competitions where the club aims to beat FC Barcelona and retrieve a hierarchical position in the Spanish (and global) football from which the Catalan club seems to have been displacving steadily in the course of the last two decades, despite Madrid’s remarkable achievements in this period as the achievement of three Champions Leagues and six Spanish Leagues (and three Champions Leagues and ten Leagues achieved by its closest rival).

Despite this impressive list of achievements by both teams in the Spanish league and the Champions League, only four Copa del Rey titles have been reached between the two teams during the same period (one for Real Madrid and three for FC Barcelona). However, this year, nearly thirty years after the last final that faced the two main football teams, FC Barcelona and Real Madrid will again face off in a final on next April 20 in the neutral ground of Valencia’s stadium Mestalla.

We certainly state that this is for both teams’ fans as well as for neutral spectators the dream final. It will not only face two teams that mean one of the most legendary rivalries in international football, but also will face the two richest clubs in the world and the two media and best paid stars of the world, the Argentinean Leo Messi and Portuguese Cristiano Ronaldo.

In principle, FC Barcelona is the favorite. This team has not only won Real Madrid comfortably in most of the last duels, but it counts with the player who has been chosen golden ball the last two seasons and with the heart of the Spanish national team that has achieved the European and world championships the last two years. No praise for their game seems exaggerated. However, with one single match left and with a title at stake, the Madrid counts with high quality players to dream of defeat.

Paul Oilzum Only-apartments AuthorPaul Oilzum

More than half the world will be watching this match on April 20. You can experience live your emotions if you rent apartments in Valencia 

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Maria Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Maria
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Apr 8

On at the Valencia Museum of Modern Illustration until the 25th April is Ilustraciones 1970-2010, an exhibition of the work of the great illustrator Miguel Calatayud. The retrospective is made up of 382 works which are divided into four areas – comics, children’s books, collaborations in magazines, and press.

miguel calatayud

The idea behind the show is to draw attention to the history of the illustrated book in Spain over the last 100 years. Calatayud’s work not only forms part of this history, but it was also instrumental in the innovative period of Spanish art in mid-20th century, and the new aesthetics of comics and story books.

Miguel Calatayud Cerdán was born in Aspe, Alicante in 1942. He first studied drawing at the Murcia School of Applied Arts, going on graduate in Engraving and Painting from the Valencia Faculty of San Carlos. His illustration career began in the 1970s, when he collaborated with magazine La Trinca for the series Peter Petrake y Los doce trabajos de Hércules. Colour is what dominates Calatayud’s pretty, highly stylised drawings, as well as exciting narrative thread – and it was these qualities which quickly made him stand out from the rest.

Calatayud’s search for a more sophisticated style led to more experimental work, reminiscent of Picasso and cubism, which helped to transform illustration into an art in its own right – saying himself, “I have had to be very alert to all the different art movements of the world.”

With his passion for children’s narrative, Calatayud has created characters full of humour and magic. His book M’alicias is 12 brief tales all centred round one charming protagonist who is like a modernised version of Lewis Carroll’s Alice – her adventure starts whilst she is bored, staring into the computer screen. The book, popular amongst adults as well as children, was named one of the top 100 Spanish children’s literature of the 20th century at the VI Simposio de Literatura Infantil y Lectura, organised by the Germán Sánchez Ruipérez foundation in 2000. His talent for igniting children’s imaginations has also brought him to illustrate works by García Lorca and Cervantes.

The area dedicated to Calatayud’s work on posters is also interesting – particularly the poster he designed for the 1991 Madrid Jazz Festival, which, in a minimalistic black and white is very close in style to cubism, playing with perspective, line and form. Each and every poster demonstrates Calatayud’s mastery of creativity and technique.

For more information http://www.muvim.es/home.html

 

 

 

Nancy Guzman Only-apartments AuthorNancy Guzman

To see almost half a century’s worth of Calatayud’s drawing and illustration, go along to this exhibition if you happen to be renting apartments in Valencia – and then enjoy this wonderful city.

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Poppy Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Poppy
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Apr 5
Baltasar Lobo at the IVAM
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On the 1st of March IVAM opens it’s doors for a retrospective exhibition of the work of Spanish sculptor Baltasar Lobo. The show, which closes on the 1st of May is a reflection of the mature, original voice which resonates his works – particularly those made from bronze and marble.

baltasar lobo

The range of pieces selected by IVAM in tribute to the sculptor seek to highlight the mastery of his technique, and how the purity of the work impacts the spectator.

Baltasar Lobo was born in 1910, into a modest family in Cerecinos de Campos, Zamora. Since childhood, he displayed a talent for drawing and model-making, and at 12 he became an apprentice’s assistant in the workshop of sculptor Ramón Nuñez in Valladolid, as well as starting out as a modeler at the Escuela de Artes y Oficios. In 1927, with the help of a scholarship, he was able to continue his studies at the San Fernando School of Fine Art in Madrid.

Lobo was a meticulous perfectionist as a student, and a dedicated follower of the Spanish artistic vanguard of the time: Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Gargallo, amongst others. In spite of a total immersion in the world of sculpture, Lobo also found time to become involved in politics, and the great social debates of the time. An active anarchist, he joined the worker’s union, and designed for a number of anarchist publications. Like many artists and intellectuals at that time, he and his wife, Mercedes Comaposada he supported the Republicans during the Civil War. When the war was over, he took exile in Paris.

Once in Paris, Lobo worked in the studio of sculptor Henri Laurens, who was a great source of inspiration, as a practitioner of the simple forms and curves of the postcubism style of sculpture. This process of simplification of aesthetic would continue into the 1940s, leading to an abstract, pared down style.

Lobo’s interest in the female form resulted in recurrent, iconic themes of bathers, motherhood, nymphs, and later on, centaurs. Two works in particular emphasise his sense for the monumental art work, and his unwavering social conscience – the two male nudes “A los españoles muertos por la libertad” (Annecy, 1948) y el “Homenaje al poeta León Felipe” (Zamora, 1983).

During the Franco period, he was prevented from showing his work in Spain, which brought him instead a widespread, international recognition. It wasn’t until the 1980s that Lobo encountered the Spanish art world again, when it finally celebrated his work, and contribution to art, with the Premio Nacional de las Artes in 1984 and the Premio Castilla y León de las Artes in 1985.

For more information http://www.ivan.es/exposiciones/2853-baltasar-lobo

 

 

 

Nancy Guzman Only-apartments AuthorNancy Guzman

If you are around Valencia, don’t forget to stop by this brilliant Baltasar Show, where you will see not only sculptures, but the realization of a dream and an artistic vision and the mastery of a great man. And since yawning is contagious, go and rest your body and soul in apartments in Valencia and carry on dreaming.

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Poppy Only-apartments TranslatorTranslated by: Poppy
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