Duration: March 28th / June 28th, 2007
Author(s): Various

Organised with Caceres Museum, Vostell-Malpartida and MEIAC’s holdings, this exhibition tried to offer a criticism on the different policies of acquisition of heritage, developed in the realm of the Autonomous Community of Extremadura during the last 25 years, from the beginnings of the democratic transition up to the present time, which is characterised by proceedings of cultural capitalism, globalisation and technological change.

The creation of the three museums in Extremadura was due to three periods and three strategic proposals, which although diverse, where complementary between them. Their later evolution outlines an uneven trajectory, caused by some shortages and difficulties, but at the same time powered by unexpected, anticipating, and in a certain way, singular initiatives, which gave the artistic culture in Extremadura an identity in the complex process of its incorporation to Modernity.

Organised according to that criterion, the exhibition allowed an interesting approach from the Extremadura cultural sphere to some of the most outstanding moments in the process followed during the last 30 years in the sphere of artistic contemporary production: Informalism in the fifties and sixties, constructivist trends which were also characteristic of that moment, the neofigurative trends and the new artistic practices (from happening to performance) generated during those decades, the neodadaist movements, Fluxus and conceptual trends and their repercussion in the Iberian scene, etc. From a more recent point of view, the exhibition also reflected, and in a very meaningful way, the repercussion of the new, digital media in the world of art, or the strategic lines of action in the approach to Portuguese and Latin American culture which were encouraged from Extremadura.

A great diversity of authors were represented by the the works in this exhibition: Spanish artists from mid-20th century, such as Ortega Muñoz, Saura, Tapies, Palazuelo, Juan Barjola, Luís Gordillo, or Equipo Crónica; several figures of the Fluxus movement and their upcoming derivations, such as Wolf Vostell, Allan Kaprov, George Maciunas, Yoko Ono or Nam June Paik; Spanish, Portuguese and Latin American artists which had an outstanding role in the international artistic scene in the latest years, such as Julião Sarmento, Helena Almeida, Jorge Molder, José Pedro Croft, Francis Alÿs, José Bedia, Alfredo Jaar, Juan Muñoz, José María Sicilia, Susana Solano or Juan Uslé; and a broad register of some of the most renowned artists in the international scene who are currently working in the domain that links artistic creation to new media, such as Vuc Kosik, Eduardo Kac, Jhonn F. Simon or Brian McKern.

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