The fourth presentation of the ARTIUM collection, Cross-referenced messages. Talk with reality in time is very different from the exhibitions shown until now in this Centre-Museum. While previous exhibitions taken from this collection dealt with chronological and stylistic aspects as their main theme, examined the different thematic discourses of art or analysed the development of some of our artists, this new exhibition represents a radical change of direction as it contains a mixture of classical works of art from other museums placed side-by-side with works of contemporary art from ARTIUM's own collection. Past and present, in an orderly mix, are juxtaposed in an unusual blend that causes disparate styles and epochs to coexist in an unexpected concurrence of messages.

The exhibition compares twenty-nine pieces from the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art of Alava and the Fine Arts Museums of Alava, Bilbao, Seville and Zaragoza, with another twenty-nine works of contemporary art from the ARTIUM collection. The aim is to demonstrate that art forms of different periods share common features, which are sometimes obvious, sometimes subtle, but which an eager and intense look can reveal and interpret freely. These artistic pairings, linked by similarities and parallelisms of form and meaning, show that art is not only what it appears to be on the surface, reality, but goes far beyond that. It is a door that provides access to another, purely mental and personal state. For that reason, interpretations may be as far-ranging and varied as the members of visitors who contemplate these works, and are independent of the historical moment in which they were created. Each pair of works is accompanied by a commentary and a number of interpretations from other eras to provide visitors with a number of contrasting references with the aim of making the final view of the whole more illustrative and enriching.

Some of the works have been paired because of their subject matter, others by analogies in their formal appearance, or due to a concurrence of essential ideas. In this way, visitors can examine pair of works that demonstrate how certain universal aspects are reflected in art over the centuries. Themes such as the passage of time and the ephemeral quality of life expressed in the still life by Juan de Arellano and the snails photographed by Hannah Collins, or the Baroque still life of Antonio Pereda and the painting by Cristino de Vera; or the Vanitas of Eduardo Arroyo and a San Francisco in meditation from the 17th century.

The portrait has also been an essential genre of artists of different epochs. The contrasting portraits of Vicente López and Antonio Saura reveal that the expressive force of the portrait does not stem merely from capturing a likeness and an attention to detail. The dignity and simplicity of the portrait, such as the dwarf by Angel Larroque or the hunchbacked lottery seller by Manuel Losada, contrast sharply with the circus-like and contrived tone of the dwarfs portrayed as bullfighters by the young Carlos Aires.

Religious painting, which features strongly in the exhibition, takes on a new dimension on being shown next to the profane works of some contemporary artists. This is the case of Tapies and Ribera, united by the powerful symbology of the cross. Or the rapture of the blessed martyrs of the workshop of Zurbarán and the Saints of Ribera compared to the anonymity of ordinary men and women in the photographs of Humberto Rivas. Or the sinuous forms of the sculpture by Chillida that seem to blend with the convulsive suffering of a Gothic Virgin wrapped in her twisted cloak. Or the innocence of children perceived in an ambiguous manner in the wicked malice of the giant baby by Sagástizabal compared to the rigid and artificial naivete of San Juanito.

Martyrdom, the pain of the body, power, identity, violence, social exclusion, the vision of nature or the symbolic value of objects are some of the questions posed by other works included in the exhibition. Of course, these are not the only subjects. Everyone, here in the present, with their experience, preferences and interests, will take it upon themselves to develop their own cross-referenced message.

Curator: Javier González de Durana and Daniel Castillejo
Coordination: Permanent Collection Department
Our gratitude to the Diocesan Museum of Sacred Art, the Fine Arts Museum of Alava, the Fine Arts Museum of Bilbao, the Fine Arts Museum of Seville, and the Zaragoza Museum and the parish of Santa Coloma de Angostina (Alava).

With the support of

The ideas of the public.

Workshops and activities in the didactic space of the exhibition.

In this space, each participant can organise his or her own exhibition. Based on images of different works of art, it is possible to create new players and associations between historical and contemporary art. Participants also have the opportunity to write texts to justify their own selections or to add their own opinion to the comments presented next to the works on show.

There is free access to this workshop while the exhibition is on show. However, on Wednesdays and Sundays there will be organised activities.

Wednesdays from 7 PM to 8 PM.

Sundays from 11 AM to 12 PM

On both days there are limited places.

Information and reservations: 945 20 90 10