A selection of 50 works from Kells Collectionone of the most prestigious private collections of contemporary art in Spain, is exhibited for the first time in the Valencian Community, more precisely in Valencia, in an exhibition centered on the pair of material and language.
The exhibition ‘Babel. Subject and language It has been on display at the Carme Center for Contemporary Culture (CCCC) in Valencia since this Friday, when it was presented by the general director of the Museums Consortium, Nicolás Bugeda; the curator of the exhibition, Juan Bautista Peiró; and the owners of the Kells collection, Juan Manuel Elizalde and Choli Fuentes.
The exhibition, visible until March 2, brings together 50 works from the Kells collection, with notable artists such as Eva Lootz, Juan Uslé or Victoria Civera, and where a wide representation of Valencian artists stands out.
The exhibition presents a careful selection of contemporary art works, including paintings and sculptures of different techniques and styles, mainly abstract, which have been compiled over three decades of collecting.
The curator of the exhibition underlined that the material is the starting point of the exhibition, followed by the language to “highlight one of the eternal debates in contemporary art: how we approach works of art” .
Peiro detailed that the four bedrooms They are divided into four “unclosed” thematic blocks. The first is the material, with different types of materials and even a work with three trash bags, which represents “the remains of a work that was abandoned or destroyed and which ends up being a new work of art.”
The second room focuses on construction and deconstruction, with work with cement blocks presiding this space. The third is created by color and is separated from the previous one by another work, a blue canvas suspended from the ceiling; while the last room relies on language, through books, sentences, photography and figuration.
In the exhibition, which predominates sculpture and paintingit is highlighted that everything is contained and that everything is part of the material: dimension, proportion, color, composition, texture, figure/ground, reading, interpretation, symbolism, expression and even energy.
The works of names in contemporary art such as Eva Lootz, Francesc Torres (Velázquez Prize for Visual Arts 2024), Ángela de la Cruz, Juan Uslé and Victoria Civera are on display.
They are joined by eleven leading Valencian artists, in addition to Civera herself, who perform in the exhibition, such as Álex Marco, Vicente Machí, Gemma Polanco, Guillermo Ros, Inma Femenía, Luce, Clara Simó, Irene Grau , Enric Fort and Nuria. Faster.
young artists
During the presentation, Peiró highlighted that the Kells Collection “is relevant for two aspects: on the one hand, it focused on young or emerging artists, who need support at the start of their career and served of push and promotion; and on the other hand, because in three decades of collecting, these artists have established themselves over time and are today internationally recognized.
In this sense, Juan Manuel Elizalde highlighted the “model” followed by the Kells Collection of “support young artists”with whom they then maintain contact. On the other hand, he affirmed that “consciously” there was no coincidence between the works they acquired.
For his part, Bugeda highlighted the representation of Valencian artists and described the assembly as “impeccable”. In addition, he emphasized that with this exhibition they “reconnect” with culture after the shutdown due to the dana, which devastated the province of Valencia on October 29, and highlighted the importance of rebuilding the cultural sector .
Collection with more than 400 works
The Kells Collection is the result of the passion of the Cantabrian couple formed by Juan Manuel Elizalde and Choli Fuentes by modern art and collecting since 1996. An approach to the art world that initially focused on painting and sculpture from the mid-20th century, such as Feito, Saura, Sempere or Genovés.
In 2004, the Kells Collection turned its attention to contemporary works and creative processes, including character objects, through the acquisition of early works by emerging artists.
Conceptually, they understand the collection as “an intense journey of learning and emotion.” Currently, the Collection is made up of more than 400 works, structured around an eclectic character, reflecting their interests and the themes for which they feel a particular affection and sensitivity: language and communication in their different fields occupy an important part from the Collection.
