Published on /artmag.saatchigallery.com/brian-eno-lightformssoundforms/

Lightforms/Soundforms, an enlightening (quite literally) show on view until 1 October at Arts Santa Mónica in Barcelona devles into the current state of affairs of visual artist and musician Brian Eno. Brian Eno who claims with verve to love this city, where he recently delivered inspiring talks at Sonar 2016 and the CCCB Center, and attended a 1992 conference at the same Santa Mónica location. So, honouring this personal link, he chose to showcase his own work here, too.
Produced in collaboration with Sonar+D, in a building owned by the Generalitat de Barcelona, the show occupies three floors. One site-specific installation called New Space Music is placed in an old cloister, Claustro Max Cahner, where the acoustics are rather sweet indeed. It also promises to be a popular hangout spot for the whole city, as it’s found at a popular spot near the end of the famous Ramblas.

Curated with passion by Lluis Nacenta, this exhibition might require some framing for the average viewer who is not overly familiar with Eno’s work. His research his based on the use of light as a primary medium fused with sound components, both redefining chosen architectural spaces (each piece lives comfortably in its home) and the multi-sensorial possibilities that come from such combinations.

On the third floor of Lightforms/Soundforms is Eno’s 77 Million Paintings, a large-scale audiovisual installation that requires some time to be enjoyed properly in all its beauty. Perhaps the same amount of time needed to spend before his light boxes on the second floor, to appreciate the shades and nuances of colours blossoming almost meditatively into other hues that the artist calls “colourscapes.” The aim is to lose yourself within these pieces, to therapeutic effect.

The show doesn’t cut off at Arts Santa Mónica, but is extended to Barcelona’s El Prat Airport, where travellers hear Eno’s compositions at baggage claim, an experiment he already tested in other cities.  This other, non-museumy side of the exhibition is freer and wide open to all sorts of interpretations. Just like David Bowie and Bjork, who both have retrospectives hanging at this moment, Eno has been capable of stretching the form of pop music into something else, andLightforms/Soundforms is perfect proof of this.

During the press review, I had a chance to ask his opinion about the state of the art world and its future; where is everything headed, Brian Eno?
He sagely replied, “I have this idea that we have spent most of the last five hundred years thinking that there are some people called artists and then there are some people called the audience. And the people in the audience are not the same as the people who do the art. A lot of what I am doing is trying to break that idea down. I think as we move into a future where anything that can be automated will be automated, that means all the non-creative jobs will be automated soon. We have to accept that we are all now in the position of being artists of some kind.
“Now, some of us do it for a living, like I do. Most people do not realise it, but they spend a lot of their time thinking like artists, thinking creatively. So I believe we should start to dignify that. And start to say that is actually the most essential part of our education. In my third world country we just moved away from that idea. We now have a system that says the most important things are science, technology, engineering and maths. They do not include arts on the list. And this to me is such a fatal mistake.

“Of course those four things are important, it is essential that we know about those. But it is also essential that we understand that we are in the process of making the world, all of us, creating the world, we are not just containters into which you plug the right information so we can go and do nice office jobs, we are the people who will make the future, and we have to accept the responsibility and the joy of being creative people.
“So I am very pleased to see that now everybody is a photographer. For example, everybody has their phone and suddenly everybody is taking amazing pictures. It’s bad news for photographers, ’cause they’re out of a job, but it is very good news for everybody else. And I am very pleased to know that everybody can make an album now, and they do not need to struggle to convince someone in a record company to give them the money to do so.
“I have this phrase that I use sometimes which is: children learn through play (we all know that), but adults play through art. So I think that the continuation of our learning life is that we carry on thinking of ourselves as children and as artists and I am looking forward to see art developed in that way. That’s the direction I want art to go in.”

Published on http://artmag.saatchigallery.com/david-bowie-is/

An immersive and exciting experience. It’s one way you could summarise, in a few insufficient words, the show David Bowie Is. Co-produced by the Victoria and Albert Museum and curated by Victoria Broackes and Geoffrey Marsh (who have been culling materials from his outstanding archive in NYC), the exhibition has landed in Barcelona at the Museu del Disseny. Sumptuously showcased are more than 300 objects, including lyrics, costumes, photographs, videos, set designs and instruments, that pertained to the glitter-dusted life of the world’s best-loved Starman.

Bowie’s creative process, ways of working and communicating favoured by this musical innovator and cultural icon, are explored through shifting styles and his continuous reinventions of himself, his collaborations with other musicians and evidence of his being influenced by a diversified spectrum of visual art, design, drama and beyond.

This majorly articulate show has already been on worldwide tour since 2013, visiting nine venues (next stop: Tokyo, Japan) and it promises to attract lots of visitors in Barcelona, too, where an exciting series of special events have been organised in relation to the show over the upcoming summer months.
While walking through this impressive collection of memorabilia, you will listen to his music and get lost in his fantastic charisma, that still pops electrically off vintage album covers and photo ops. From his calligraphy to the colourfully crazy clothing he chose to wear (often designed by fashion’s most-famous names), his eclectic persona shines through the things on view inside the museum, far from cold relics. Though it is Bowie’s remarkable energy and inimitable personality —  which expressed itself through many kinds of media, and over several decades —  that is undeniably the true source of inspiration meant for the viewer to admire.

Disclaimer: you might just find yourself dancing during the show.
David Bowie Is.  The title stands as a lingering statement, because there is no single answer to encapsulate what the man represents; it is up to us to think about on this very special occasion. David Bowie here is still alive, his presence continues to influence us as average people and generations of artists that will follow after. His example encourages individuals in the creative industry to question the existing rules to create novel and more personal standards, and hopes we all will discover what’s inside of ourselves and chase after our dearest, most bizarre dreams.

In this same way David Jones, born in Brixton, South London, transformed into David Bowie (and Ziggy Stardust, among others), by believing in his own fantasies and sorting out sources of inspiration for himself in the great artists he admired.
The exhibition is a pure treat for lovers of Bowie’s complex story and those who are not so familiar with his legacy. Not only because his work was often groundbreaking, but also because the show is in fact extremely well curated and appealing to physically explore. It was clearly put together with great attention to all the details and deep love for this amazing human.

Against all pressure to conform to society’s bland regulations, there’ll always remain the example of David Bowie, who was ever shocking everybody with a new direction, who is an eternal herald, calling us to wake up and see the world glimmer in a brighter light of our own making.

Published on http://artmag.saatchigallery.com/gustavo-diaz-sosa-if-anyone-has-eyes-let-him-see/

Presented by Gallery Victor Lope, lodged the unique frame that only the city of Barcelona can provide, a solo show of Gustavo Díaz Sosa‘s work provides us a perfect chance to get to know the artist better. Please enjoy some images and ideas conceived for this occasion, discussed in his very own words.
This monographic exhibition of yours has a great title, would you mind explaining your choice to us?
Nowadays, we are individuals who are part of a Whole. This Whole, Society, is full of mysteries and successes which sometimes go unnoticed by most of its functioning parts. Like sheep, and in a gregarious way, everyone joins the flow that leads to consumerism; steeped in shallow knowledge and others’ tastes it can be difficult to choose the right path or find a proper sense of life for ourselves.  It is because of this that, in a poetic way, I represent an anonymous crowd, lost and guided along the path that someone with more power has designed for his convenience.
Most of us, blinded by the comparison between equals, competition, ambition, cravings for power and possession; trying to elevate ourselves and touch some form of His Glory by dealing in clichés and hiding in agglomerations, ceasing to be authentic and to take part in new stratagems. But not all know (nor want to),  see or understand how regrettable the situation is. This is why, as a simile of the warnings of Saint John in his Revelation, I convene the public to find the truth, but to do it, they must take away the bandage that blinds them and know how to use their authentic eyes…”If anyone has ears, let him hear!”, “If anyone has eyes, let him see!”

Interview

​Your sketchbooks are prominently on view, how do you work and what paths lead you from ideas to finished compositions?
My notebooks and sketches display the constant and unceasing search for myself. It is my way of liberating myself from the bandage, which I just mentioned, that blinds humanity. Usually I never expose my notebooks, no. On this occasion, though, exceptionally, I let the public have access to the research process that leads me to final renderings. It’s in the notebooks where you can find the real work of art. It is the thought unveiled in ink. It is the voice that echoes outrageously in my brain, looking for and fighting to find the truth.
My artwork is constant, is the continuous reflection of myself as an individual and as a social being, and, consequently, as the society I’m part of. These notebooks are the tool I use to rub my eyes clean. The notebooks are the spontaneous instant, the eruption, the outbreak…The final work, the canvas or the sculpture, is just the finished image, already consolidated, of a thought or an idea. The process of creation on a canvas is an enrichment ritual, a fight, almost esoteric and of a great metaphysical connotation, which materialises the thought in a physical object, and this way the work that later will be given over to the public is born.

What art historical references fuel your creativity, and what inspires you?
Regrettably, this is the most classical question when interviewing an artist. I always avoid replying to it or cross my fingers so no one asks me that. I don’t consider my muses the ones that the public, journalists or critics expect to hear. Nonetheless, I try to please the interlocutor using German expressionism as my main reference, because it is the most obvious one. For example, I reckon Fritz Lang has caused a ruckus in the aesthetic and conceptual evolution of my work. So has Anselm Kiefer and other significant representatives of film noir and German expressionism. I also have to mention the literature of George Orwell, Franz Kafka, Goethe, Dante, Schiller, and lots more.
I can’t not mention the South-African William Kentridge, or the American artists trading in new figuration. But if I want to give a complete response, I can’t ignore the work of Leonardo and the mysteries of his notebooks, or the unbeatable drawings of Michelangelo, or simply the never-ending narrations of El Bosco…But if I want to be even more honest, I must confess that the architecture of Antiquity and its mysteries are a bigger source of inspiration…

What specifically about the visual arts appeals to you and how does the outside world affect your work?
In the visual arts, I just try to communicate, unveil, transmit, materialise, discover and experiment through my thoughts and emotions. I don’t look for anything specific, I find everything along the way. I consider my work as intimate and, honestly, I find it hard to share it with the world. Nonetheless, I feel like it’s accomplishing its duty towards society and it would be unfair to not share with others the fascinating stories I discover in it.
I don’t intend to do anything with my artwork. My ambition is only to have the chance to keep on creating in a sincere way and, consequently, continue that search with myself, connect with the Universe, and stay out of the flow originated by those who don’t want to see. I try to cultivate the virtue of Being in this investigative process and I consider that this way I contribute to the illumination of society.


What is your dream as an artist and what do you see yourself doing in the future?
My dream as an artist is to always be able to create whenever I wish to, that this creation is honest and that I can have all the time I need to finish the artwork. As any other artist, I’ve wished that someday my work will be appreciated on the walls of big museums or art galleries, but it’s not my ambition, nor my greatest dream. My dream is not having limits to create. To have time and enough materials for infinite creation. Creating is to me a process of education, permanent learning and personal overcoming; so not having limitations to work is the only thing I desire. Where are my steps taking me? I don’t know. I don’t know where the path I’ve chosen will pass by in the future, but I trust it’s leading me to the light.

​
Diana di Nuzzo