DIALOGUE BETWEEN GEOMETRIC ABSTRACTION AND AMAZON AT CASA DE AMERICA
Casa de América, in Madrid, hosts Convergences / Divergences. Two Aesthetics in Dialogue, a complete exhibition curated by Ariel Jimenez in which Ye'kwana craftsmanship, a community of the Venezuelan Amazon rainforest, and modern and contemporary geometric abstraction, represented by more than a hundred works from the Juan Carlos Maldonado Collection, are in dialogue. The exhibition delves into the relationship between the different aesthetics developed contemporarily by both groups and, above all, highlights the reference to modern art movements and their partial debt to the techniques and motifs of the peoples of the Amazon.
Starting from the concept of a proposal, already a statement in itself in terms of the collector's value, in which all the elements are part of the same background -since the Ye'kwana pieces on display are part of the acquisition made by the Juan Carlos Maldonado Collection from Venezuelan explorer Charles Brewer-Carías-, the outline of synergies and study is centered on three aspects that shape the conversation.
The first of these, functionality and symbolic value, precedes the result itself, prioritizing efficacy and the transmission of oral tradition as bastions of the artifact itself. In spite of the apparent and obvious distance of the approach, the tour also points to the possibility of a relationship with contemporary art, especially in the second, more aesthetic aspect, indicating the reflection of tradition in Joaquín Torres García and his geometries or the points of connection with certain works by Mira Schendel, Carlos Cruz-Díez or Mathias Goeritz. These examples highlight the use of patterns, of an innate geometry and its order.
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
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Imágenes de la instalación Convergencias / Divergencias. Dos estéticas en diálogo. Cortesía de Casa América
The production and the system of generation of the works is also an aspect to be studied within the framework of the dialogue. Again, the differences seem to be more evident than the similarities, but the scrutiny of the limits in the production techniques starts from a basic system of availability that contemporary art imposes on itself, while Amazonian art disposes of the existing. In this capacity of choice, however, lies the reference of abstract geometry, imitating or making use of processes to reach a certain aesthetic. Faced with functional elements, the chosen works of Jesús Rafael Soto or Sigfredo Chacón advocate certifying this line of connection.
This concept also seems to be linked to that of purity and economy of means, an evident link that, since practically the beginnings of art, can be easily observed in terms of a result in which the emotional and the aesthetic prevailed notably. There will also be the urgency, the ulterior purpose and the most intrinsic contact with anthropology. The paintings of Gonzalo Fonseca or Josef Albers seem to give off this sense, more innate and evident in the Ye'kwana contraposition, but still visible.
The example proposed in Convergences / Divergences. Two Aesthetics in Dialogue leads us to certify that contemporary art has a certain intimate relationship with the artistic production of what has come to be called ethnic art, although there is a basic discrepancy between what is called art and craft and work and artifact. However, the aesthetics built around color and geometry treasure a large number of synergies, communications and transfers that have built a relationship increasingly claimed from the institutions.
Convergences / Divergences. Two Aesthetics in Dialogue can be seen until March 8 at Casa de America, Pl. de la Cibeles, Madrid (Spain). During the week of ARCO (March 3 to 8), the exhibition will extend its regular opening hours.
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