In the framework of the Barcelona Gallery Weekend, Fundació Mies van der Rohe and Ana Mas Projects present an intervention by artist Laercio Redondo, which explores History and its multiple narratives. The aim is to create a dialogue with the space itself, raising questions of memory and effacements in time, especially in relation to its construction and later reconstruction.
To Redondo, architectural landmarks such as the Pavilion not only have a history but also tell a story. They are essentially narrative devices, that serve its time (and dominant ideology) by highlighting certain aspects of history while deflecting others. That is why the intervention here is subtle: it seeks to produce almost invisible disruptions in space that magnify such effacements.
Laercio @annamasphoto
“The starting point for the research that sustains my intervention in the Pavilion is the history of the construction and reconstruction of the building, and the time gaps, appearances and erasures that cross it. The proposal is to change the space of the pavilion through a concept dear to Mies van der Rohe: the dilution of the separation between painting, sculpture, design and architecture, to then activate a dialogue between the multiple narratives of the local history.” - Explains the artist Laercio Redondo.
Laercio @annamasphoto
The central piece consists of a set of translucid displays, made out of silk, and meticulously distributed along the glass panels. Depicting the few surviving photographs of the original building which served as models for its reconstruction, they confront the viewer with a superimposition of past and present. Offering, thus, a composite perspective on the building and the outside garden.
Laercio @annamasphoto
The artist has also created a set of prints on plywood displayed on supports that use the same kind of travertine stone as the Pavilion’s floor. Appearing at first glance as completely black monochromes, these images depend on the movement of the spectator's body (and gaze) to reveal themselves in tenuous contrast. A sound piece installed in the garden completes the intervention, offering a multi-layered account on the work of the architect and his collaborator Lilly Reich.
Laercio @annamasphoto
“The interventions in the Pavilion and the collaborations with institutions and events of the city of Barcelona as in this case with the Barcelona Gallery Weekend, allow to activate and know more in depth and from different perspectives this emblematic construction. In this case, Laercio Redondo invites us to think deeply about the suppressions and interpretations that have taken place around the modern movement and he make it using a material, silk, not used directly in the construction of the Pavilion but whose industry it played a key role in the possibility that Mies and Reich could transform the mountain of Montjuïc representing German industries. ” – Ivan Blasi, Curator of prizes and programmes, Fundació Mies van der Rohe Redondo’s interest for the Mies vas der Rohe Pavilion arose since architecture is a recurrent topic in his artistic production as shown in works such as The Glass House (2008), Memory from Brasilia (2012), Façade (2014) and Detour (2015) among others.
Laercio @annamasphoto
About Interventions at Mies van der Rohe Pavilion:
The site specific interventions by visual artists that take place at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion are lightweight, short-term installations or exhibitions that aim to stimulate critical reflection and generate new perspectives on the Pavilion, promoting it as a space for inspiration, experimentation, and innovation. The intervention program provides a type of activity unique to the city, based on the exceptional spaces of the Pavilion. The installations can be seen as a way to maintain active interpretations and give meaning to the Pavilion’s present.
Laercio @annamasphoto
About the artist:
Laercio Redondo is a Brazilian born visual artist, he received his MFA at Konstfack, University College of Art, Craft and Design in Stockholm, Sweden (2001). In his artistic research, Redondo engages extensively with collective memory and its erasure in society. His work is often based on the interpretation of specific events in relation to the city, architecture, and historical representation.
He is the recipient of various grants, among them the Akademie Schloss Solitude fellowship in Stuttgart, Germany; IASPIS residency program in Stockholm, Sweden and also the Clark Art Institute, Williamstown, USA.
His work is featured in collections such as Region Stockholm, Stockholm Stad,
Norrköpings Kommun, Museu de Arte do Rio de Janeiro, Museu de Arte Moderna do Rio de Janeiro, Pinacoteca do Estado de São Paulo and the Museu de Arte Contemporânea da Universidade de São Paulo.
Laercio @annamasphoto
VISIT THE INTERVENTION:
From September 16 until October 12, 2020
Opening: September 16, 2020 - 19:00h at the Mies van der Rohe Pavilion > Opening hours: Monday to Sunday from 10:00h to 20:00h
Location: Mies van der Rohe Pavilion (Av. Francesc Ferrer i Guàrdia, 7)
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