A Political, Sensorial Cildo Meireles at the Palacio de Velázquez del Retiro

Brazilian artist Cildo Meireles came back to Madrid on May 23 to present some of his career’s most outstanding installations at the Palacio de Velázquez del Retiro, including a few of them that have never been exposed in Spain, such as Olvido, Entrevendo, Elemento que desaparece / Elemento desaparecido (pasado inminente) and some newer ones like Amerikka, consisting of a carpet made up of 20,000 wooden eggs under a roof of 50,000 bullets, a combination the artist has used to blast the attitude of the National Rifle Association in the United States.

Politics is a major player in his works. One of the highlights in that field –showcased as well as the Palacio de Velazquez- is his Coca-Cola bottles series on which the phrase “Yankees Go Home” has been splayed in an effort to carp at the mechanisms that run the current economic and trade system.

A forerunner in his country’s conceptual art, Meireles is the author of sculptures and installations that speak volumes of his view of art contemplation as a sensorial experience. That explains his nonstop references to space and time, as well as his demand to make spectators be a part of the exhibit.

The exhibition –it’ll remain open through September at the Retiro- the artist has unveiled some of his greatest pieces, approximately a hundred artworks –either sculptures or paintings- that go far beyond the implicitly-marked conceptual and spatial limits and serve as allegories and metaphors to look into the relation possibilities between the art and the public. Abajur, for instance, is a huge lamp hemmed in by seascapes. This lamp –he came up with this piece three years ago at the Sao Paolo Biennale- is flipped on and off through a dynamo triggered by the viewers’ physical effort.

The exhibit will remain in display at the Reina Sofia through September and it’ll then travel to the Serralves Foundation in Oporto in the month of October, only to head for the Hangar Bicocca in Milan in the spring.

Source: Press Release