plataforma² - Contemporary Voices

plataforma² & verse present CONTEMPORARY VOICES

7 - 16 October 2021 / Carrer Nou de la Rambla, 145, 08004 Barcelona, España

Preview: 7 October 2021, 6-9 pm
Visits by appointment only

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plataforma² is pleased to present “Contemporary Voices”, a group exhibition with participating artists Albert Puigcercós, Ángel De León, Aurea Tanttu, Jordi Clotet, José Capaz, Juan Sebastián Peláez, Mattea Perrotta and Raúl de Nieves curated by Pepe Baena Diví.

“The mystery of human existence lies not in just staying alive, but in finding something to live for.” Fyodor Dostoevsky.

The starting point of this group exhibition is born from an existentialist search. A common feeling that makes us reflect on our self-perception and the capacity of adaptation in the environment in which we grow and develop our experiences. From the moment we are born, we attend to social issues that govern our thoughts, actions and decisions. Through the gaze of eight local and international artists, “Contemporary Voices” responds to an introspection concerning historical and contemporary events, where action and transformation play a crucial role between the person and the environment. The works on display present a two-stage journey united by the idea of questioning uncertainty, challenging the dynamic forces in which we participate but have neither intention nor control. The consequences of human actions are rooted in sociopolitical contexts, intertwined with transformations on multiple scales. Similarly to the current global situation, understanding the human being with his environment to advance and prosper towards an egalitarian society becomes both an act of self-awareness and a path for change and acceptance.

In the first stage, the reasoning about the environment and the factors that motivate it. In “The Triumph of Dead (after Pieter Bruegel the Elder)”, Ángel de León represents a memento mori, the triumph of Death over worldly things where preconceived moral and social ideas and truths are questioned. In “Ataraxia”, José Capaz is inspired by the harshness of his native Cuba. Capaz takes the Greek term of the same name as its starting point, which synthesizes the search for serenity and happiness in a contemporary society going through a physical and existential crisis. Jordi Clotet’s sculptures question intermediate comfort zones such as the limbo between the real and the virtual, exploring durability and temporality. Through literature, mathematics and classical plastic arts, Albert Puigcercós’ “Plastic Canons” confront the perception of the origin of forms and materials.

In the second stage, the different realities to which we are exposed have an objective; to make us participate in the freedom of choice as a source of search, revelation and creation of meaning. Mattea Perrotta embodies a minimalist process where she celebrates femininity. Rather than objectifying the female body, Perrotta skillfully portrays the beauty of the essence through organic forms. Using natural materials, Aurea Tanttu embodies the search for the sublime. In “Untitled”, Tanttu transports us to a forgotten romanticism, one in which the central figure makes us present in time. In “Pocahontas” from the “Ewaipanoma” series, Colombian Juan Sebastián Peláez reinterprets and critizices drawings of the natives from the 16th-century conquerors, commonly depicted as headless monsters. Closing the exhibition, “Excerpts from Vida Perfectas (3)” by Raúl de Nieves breaks with any imposed hierarchy, composing a celebration of life, an ode to existence itself.

JUÁN SEBASTIÁN PELÁEZ
Pocahontas de la serie Ewaipanomas, 2017
Cardboard Cutout Standee
208 x 81 cm

ALBERT PUIGCERCÓS
Canon de plástico, 2015
Mixed media
45 x 36 x 5 cm

ÁNGEL DE LEÓN
Law of attraction (After Hans Holbein) - 2020
Oil on Canvas
180 x 150 cm

ÁNGEL DE LEÓN
Covid and Goliath - 2020
Oil on Canvas
200 x 170 cm

AUREA TANTTU
Untitled 78, 2019
Oil on panel
67 x 79 cm

ÁNGEL DE LEÓN
The Triumph of Dead (after Pieter Bruegel the
Elder), 2021
Acrylic, spray paint, oil and chocolate coins on
canvas, artist frame
150 x 180 cm

Chocolate coins detail 'The Triumph of Dead' (after Pieter Bruegel the
Elder), 2021 ÁNGEL DE LEÓN

AUREA TANTTU
Branches, 2020
Color pencil and ink on paper
23 x 20 cm
42 x 32 cm (framed)

AUREA TANTTU
Pancake divination, 2020
Color pencil and ink on paper
30 x 30
42 x 53 cm (framed)

ÁNGEL DE LEÓN
Untitled, 2020
Pencil and pastel on cotton paper
23 x 20 cm
42 x 32 cm (framed)

JOSÉ CAPAZ
Asceta, 2019
Oil on canvas
144 x 144 cm

PAULO LICONA
Untitled (Piñata), 2018
cardboard and paper
23 x 20 cm
42 x 32 cm (framed)

JOSÉ CAPAZ
El Orígen del Óbito (The Origin of the Death I II III IV) , 2021
Oil on canvas
45 x 45 cm

JORDI CLOTET
Premio Floral, 2021
Carbon steel varnished with pine resin
Variable dimensions

JORDI CLOTET - 'Holy Trinity' Installed

JOSÉ CAPAZ
El Orígen del Óbito (The Origin of the Death), 2021
Oil on canvas
45 x 45 cm

Installation view of 'Canon de plástico' ALBERT PUIGCERCÓS, 2015
Mixed media
45 x 36 x 5 cm

ÁNGEL DE LEÓN
Covid and Goliath, 2020
Oil on Canvas
200 x 170 cm

RAÚL DE NIEVES
Excerpts from Vida Perfectas (3), 2018
Fotocopias, acrílico, purpurina, abalorios,
hilo, pegamento en papel
92 x 61 cm

MATTEA PERROTTA and AUREA TANTTU Installed works

JORDI CLOTET
Sagrada Familia, 2021
Carbon steel
Barcelona’s historical pavement circa 1800
Dimensions Variable

JORDI CLOTET
Nit de Llum, 2021
Carbon steel and candle
Barcelona’s historical pavement circa 1800
Dimensions Variable

JORDI CLOTET
Aromas silvestres, 2021
Carbon steel and candle
Barcelona’s historical pavement circa 1800
Dimensions Variable

JORDI CLOTET
Sagrada Familia, 2021
Carbon steel
Barcelona’s historical pavement circa 1800
Dimensions Variable

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