The Inverted Mirror:
Art from the Collections of “la Caixa” Foundation and MACBA
31 Jan–2 Sep 2012
Avenida Abandoibarra, 2
48001 Bilbao, Bizkaia
From January 31 to September 2, 2012, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao will be hosting The Inverted Mirror: Art from the Collections of “la Caixa” Foundation and MACBA, a superb selection of works belonging to two outstanding contemporary art collections that represent the most significant tendencies and movements spanning the second half of the twentieth century to the present, such as Dau al Set, the El Paso group, the Vancouver School and the Dusseldorf School.
Curated by Álvaro Rodríguez Fominaya, Curator of the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, the exhibition features 93 photographs, paintings, publications, sculptures, installations and videos by 52 celebrated artists such as Antoni Tàpies, Sigmar Polke, Julian Schnabel, Jeff Wall, Martha Rosler, Michelangelo Pistolletto, Thomas Ruff, Gillian Wearing, Bruce Nauman, Andreas Gursky, Martín Chirino and Antonio Saura, among others.
The exhibition is structured around the points of agreement and divergence between the Fundación “la Caixa” and MACBA collections and highlights the art movements that play an outstanding role in both collections, such as the beginning of Art Informel in Spain and the establishment of objectivity as a current in contemporary photography.
The exhibition title derives from Michelangelo Pistoletto’s work Mirror Architecture, which is featured in the show. The image of a mirror is a metaphor for the processes of accumulation, transfer and interference that are a fundamental part of the birth and development of all art collections. In connection with its title, the show highlights two contemporary art collections located in Barcelona, which are extremely relevant in Europe and are being presented for the first time together outside of their respective venues, in keeping with a collaboration agreement signed in 2010.
