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EXHIBITION “MEMORIAS DE IDENTIDAD FUTURA (MEMORIES OF FUTURE IDENTITY)” BY MARIA FLAWIA

Showing of artist Maria Flawia’s residence.
Thursday 5 November, at 19:30h

 

Memories of Future Identity

Commissioned by Espacio Reflex

by Maria Flawia Litwin

 

Memories of Future Identity is a research-based art project that looks into the acquisitions of public and private collections of contemporary art in the Basque region of Spain. The first part of the project consists of data collection on works acquired between 1995-2015. The parameters include the size, medium and content of artworks as well as the citizenship, gender and age of art producers. In the second part, the data is used to create artworks that are most likely to be collected. How do the criteria of Iberdrola, Guggenheim Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes or Artium differ from each other? This exhibition attempts to provide the answer by casting a wide net, including various institutions and their approaches to collecting.

One may wonder why collections are still of interest. We are undergoing an economic crisis, where large travelling exhibitions, art fairs, biennial events, and short-duration pop-up windows are the most visible artistic events today. This new radiance on the contemporary art scene seems to leave institutional collections in the dust.

Collections do not address immediacy, entertainment or performances. Collections are investments in today and tomorrow’s collective heritage. They create the memories of a future identity. Decisions made by entities that collect will affect the image of future generations insofar as what was relevant for their predecessors. This is a great responsibility. Some institutions are focused on works that have been purified by the market, while others see it as an opportunity to create a historical lineage. Further still, others provide a general view of the Basque Country for future generations. I hope that this exhibition lives up to its title and inspires reflective practises in collecting art.

 

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