THE CIRCUS IN SPANISH ART

January 30 – May 18, 2008

The circus is an eminently modern spectacle which provides a much needed dose of freedom, fantasy and dreams in a society which is so submerged in productivity and rationalism. This search for desire instead of reality has inevitably attracted a large number of artists owing to its gallery of strange characters, the display of ideas and absurdity, its colorfulness, and also the space for fantasy which it offers, free from the restrictions of the real world and even the laws of physics.
The aim of the exhibition is to recognize and pay homage to the circus, “the greatest show on earth”, which has occupied a particularly important place in the work of artists from the beginning of the avant-garde in the 20th century to the present day.

The exhibition is divided into a series of themed sections to allow onlookers to compare the different treatment given to the same subject by different authors, in different styles, or in different historical periods. Among these themes the circus tent and the ring particularly stand out, interpreted in different ways from magical imagination to abstraction.

Other themes include domestic and wild animals in sculpture and on canvas; movement and balance, symbolized by the trapeze, the tightrope and juggling; and the ever unnerving gallery of monsters and wonders which gives life to the dark and fantastic side of the circus; and the side of loneliness, nostalgia and sentiment which is set against the fragile stronghold of happiness of the circus.

The collection comprises a broad and varied list of around seventy Spanish artists. From Goya, who is considered to be the father of modern art, to members of the Spanish and Parisian avant-guarde (Picasso, Juan Gris, Vázquez Diaz, Maruja Mallo, etc.), from mid-twentieth century realist and abstract painters (Benjamin Palencia, Modest Cuixart, Guinovart, Joan Ponç, Equipo Crónica, etc.) to present-day artists (Chema Coco, Juan Muñoz, Dis Berlin, Mateo Charris, Alfonso Albacete, etc.). The panorama is completed by a careful selection of contemporary photographers (Isabel Muñoz, Sergio Belinchón, Alberto Garcia-Alix, Cristina Garcia Rodero, etc.).

Do come and see this motionless show which takes us through one hundred years of laughter and movement, as these artists were able to capture it.

Sponsored by Junta de Castilla yLeón.