ARCO Madrid 2022
In this edition of ARCO Madrid 2022 we propose a homage to the great poet, philosopher and politician Dante Alighieri on the 700th anniversary of his death. We address the journey made by Dante in his Divine Comedy in which, accompanied by Virgil, he visits Hell, Purgatory and Paradise. Our stand will be divided into three different spaces, which will include a series of works linked to each of these literary scenarios.
In Hell, the stand will feature one of the imposing flat-paintings by the British artist Simon Callery. It will be accompanied by a highly intense black piece by Regine Schumann, which the German light artist will execute for the occasion, evoking the darkness of the night. This space is completed by “Inferno”, a pictorial representation of this Dantesque scenario by Edgar Plans, and a sculpture from the 1980s by Susana Solano entitled Reclòs (in English, "Confined").
As dawn breaks, we arrive in Purgatory, which will be presided over by a large installation that will be created in-situ by the sculptor Alicia Martín, piling up fragments of glass and books, the latter being the key element in her work. As a backdrop, a large canvas by Miguel Ángel Barba made from small graphite crosses, with repetition acting as a kind of incessant penance by the artist.
Finally, our journey ends in Paradise, whose concept has its origins in pre-Islamic Persia, and alludes to lavish gardens located in desert environments in which water was one of the protagonists, via ponds, canals and fountains. For this reason, another sculpture by Susana Solano, this one entitled Recipient (“Container”), will be located at its centre. This area also features Bosque (“Forest”), one of the dreamlike landscapes by the German painter Sabine Finkenauer, who has just taken part in the exhibition Pintura: renovación permanente (“Painting: permanent renewal") curated by Mariano Navarro for the Museo Patio Herreriano in Valladolid. Both will be accompanied by another of Schumann's pieces, this time with a very airy, almost ethereal appearance, like the light of midday
