Manolo Valdés in dialogue with the Carmen Thyssen Collection
Espai Carmen Thyssen, Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Spain
05 July - 24 October 2024

‘Entre Obres. Diàlegs prefigurats amb la col·lecció Carmen Thyssen’, or in English ‘Between Works, Prefigured Dialogues with the Carmen Thyssen Collection’, is an exhibition curated by Pilar Giró, running from July 5th to October 24th, 2024, at the Monastery of Sant Feliu de Guíxols. This showcase, featuring artists such as Opera Gallery represented artist Manolo Valdés, is the first sculptural exhibition in twelve years at the monastery, which plans to open its doors at the end of 2026 as the Thyssen Museum.

The exhibit’s inauguration took with the participation of Miquel Noguer, the President of the Girona Provincial Council, Carles Motas, deputy and mayor of Sant Feliu de Guíxols, Pere Parramon, the subdelegate of the Spanish Government in Girona, and Josep Calataiud, the director of the Territorial Cultural Services in Girona, in addition to the presence of representatives of the social and cultural fabric of the region.

Curator Pilar Giró explains that they wanted to establish a dialogue between the sculpture and the place the artworks occupy, the monastery. For each of the sculptures and installations in the exhibition, a virtual correspondence with a piece from the Carmen Thyssen Catalan Painting Collection has been selected. ‘Entre Obres’ navigates the two spaces with the physical presence of the sculptures and installations in the exhibition, and the digital space housing the images of selected paintings.

The handbook of the exhibition includes texts of the stories created for each of the dialogues, of an aesthetic or symbolic nature, among the works present in the exhibition and those prefigured in the Carmen Thyssen Collection, the La Caixa Foundation, the Barcelona Museum of Contemporary Art, Chillida Leku, the Sant Feliu de Guíxols History Museum, the artists' studios and Opera Gallery. The sculptural works thus interact with pieces from the collection and other institutions, through the digitally linked pictorial works.

This includes a resin Menina by Manolo Valdés which has been paired with an oil on canvas by Ramon Casas. The relation between the works can be recognised in their approach to the representation of femininity. While Casas represents a modern woman in a natural and informal environment, Valdés reinterprets a historical female figure with a contemporary and abstract approach. Both show a commitment to innovation and a willingness to challenge artistic conventions, reflecting a changing vision of women and their representation in art.

‘Entre Obres. Diàlegs prefigurats amb la col·lecció Carmen Thyssen’ features a total of 27 contemporary artists, including Nei Albertí, Manel Álvarez, Alfonso Alzamora, Ricardo Campos and Rosa Rosell, Josep Canals, Eduardo Chillida, Xavier Corberó, Xavier Escribà, Sílvia Gubern, Cristina Iglesias, Eva Lootz, Manel Marzo-Mart, Gerard Mas, José Luis Pascual, Enric Pladevall, Miquel Planas, Jaume Plensa, Pepa Poch, Juan Miguel Quiñones, Samuel Salcedo, Susana Solano, Alberto de Udaeta, Manolo Valdés, and Pilar Viviente.

Learn more here.