Opening September 28th 8.p.m
Visits: Thursday to Sunday and holidays from 11 am to 5 pm. Admission is free with prior reservation on the website of MACRO and/or on a first-come, first-served basis.
Conceived at a time when museums were exceptionally closed, The State of Things proposes a reflection upon the art world, its agents, conventions, and borders. After decades marked by the rationale of the markets and the shows, this temporary shutdown and slowdown have paved a singular way for a return to experimentation and critical analysis.
The exhibition is named after a film by Wim Wenders about the shooting of a science fiction film interrupted due to the lack of funds, leaving the cast and crew adrift in a desolate hotel. This critical situation becomes an opportunity for them to conceive a new form of bond beyond the roles imposed by the productive model, and to reflect upon the fiction they embody.
The conditions of existence in the art world have been the focus of the work of numerous artists. In contrast to romantic conceptions of art, their pieces highlight the professional dimension, confronting bureaucratisation and standardisation through critical comments, period portraits, irony, and the subversion of conventions.
Is it possible to make a living on art? Or rather, can art encourage other ways of living? After the unlimited expansion of visual production through social media and their design, what is the role of artists in society? What happened with the promise of liberation that came with the idea that we are all artists?
Photo: No puedo, Alfredo Frias, 2018.
Accompanies the presentation at BIENALSUR 2021 of Kent Chan (SGP), Mondriaan Fund; and Shiro Masuyama (JPN), Japan Foundation.
