
Gallery façade.

Gallery façade.

Exhibition view (Matthew Benedicr, Jorge Queiroz, Muntadas).

Exhibition view (Jorge Macchi, Tony Oursler, Juan Ugalde, Jason Kraus, Victoria Civera).

Exhibition view (Jorge Macchi, Tony Oursler, Juan Ugalde, Jason Kraus).

Exhibition view (Jorge Queiroz, Matthew Benedict).

Exhibition view (Jorge Macchi, Miren Doiz).

Exhibition view (Jason Kraus, Rita McBride, Guillermo Mora, Miren Doiz, Matthew Benedict).

Exhibition view (Doris Salcedo, Jason Kraus, Juan Uslé, Rui Toscano).

Exhibition view (Ligorano_Reese, Jason Kraus, Rita McBride).

Exhibition view (Guillermo Mora, Miren Doiz, Matthew Benedict).

Exhibition view (Carlos Irijalba, Santiago Giralda, Doris Salcedo, Jason Kraus).

Exhibition view (Carlos Irijalba, Santiago Giralda, Doris Salcedo, Jason Kraus, Juan Uslé).

Juan Uslé. Notas para SQR. 2017. 56 x 72 cm. Mixed media on paper.

Miren Doiz. Sin título. 2011 - 2018. 25,2 x 25,2 cm c/u. Collage on paper.

Santiago Giralda. Lir (mañana). 2018. 41,5 x 33,5 cm. Oil on linen.

Tony Oursler. One-act X. 2014. 108 x 82,8 cm. Mixed media on paper.
Information
Galería MPA is pleased to present its final exhibition of the season, MPA on paper, which brings together works on paper by a diverse group of artists: Matthew Benedict, AA Bronson, Victoria Civera, Miren Doiz, Santiago Giralda, Carlos Irijalba, Jason Kraus, Ligorano/Reese, Jorge Macchi, Rita McBride, Guillermo Mora, Muntadas, Tony Oursler, Jorge Queiroz, Doris Salcedo, Rui Toscano, Juan Ugalde and Juan Uslé.
This exhibition doesn’t attempt to feature connecting threads or a cohesive curatorial line. Instead it endeavors to show the different states of art by applying similar artistic disciplines with varied results, through the work of a number of artists who maintain links from professional practice with their work. We believe that it is galleries’ responsibility to commit ourselves to grassroots collecting efforts and to give opportunities to anyone who would wish to own a work of art, or to engage with collecting as a practice. As María Dolores Jiménez-Blanco writes in her book Art Collecting in Spain: A Historical and Contextual Approach published by Cuadernos de Arte y Mecenazgo, we could say that the main problems affecting private collecting in Spain stem from two issues: the lack of training, which is possibly explained by the absence of an immediate tradition; and the lack of political support, which manifests itself in adverse taxation policies and the inexistence of a necessary new Patronage Law.
On the one hand, the professionalization of the artist is problematic (Guillermo Mora affirms in a recent interview, “Art has a problem in this country, and it’s that it isn’t valued within the educational system. This generates an additional problem: not understanding that being an artist is a profession”), that runs counter to the romanticization and idealization of the artist’s way of life. Something similar happens with the figure of the collector, since “there continues to be a lack of knowledge about collecting, which is often thought to be dark and mysterious”. On the other hand, there have been many initiatives carried out by institutions and galleries to try to produce a change in the current legislation and to the high VAT taxes that are placed on acquisitions. However, a lack of political stability, along with ever-increasing misinformation and an insufficient sensibility towards the world of culture, make this work gravely difficult. We will not be able to make change if not through education.
MPA on paper is the gallery’s attempt to generate knowledge about artistic processes and procedures for our current and future clients, offering them an accessible and diverse set of contemporary works, and giving rise to a way of normalizing collecting within our sphere of influence.