someone Carmen Calvo (Valencia, 1950) A figment of imagination that is as critical as it is ironic. Fruit with a very special character that, when transferred to art, leads to flawless pieces. And the artist who created such a personal visual mark is now preparing to establish a dialogue between his own work and the work of another creator with a unique stamp. pablo picasso.
in celebration Picasso YearValencian, held to commemorate the 50th anniversary of the death of the cubism genius, anthology exhibition It is a book that brings together examples from his long career, from his first studies at the art and crafts school at the age of 12 to the last works that came out of his studio, and focuses on the author of Guernica. An example Curated by Emmanuel Guigon and Victoria Combaliawhich can be visited in the Picasso Museum May 5 – September 3, 2023.
As a multidisciplinary artist, as Calvo has worked throughout his life in drawing, painting, sculpture, and even film, any format could have sufficed for his work to fuse with those of the Malaga man. However, she chose the postcard, a resource that “is fascinating because of its ancestral function and use to reproduce works of art.” In 2018, the author made a series of these modified cards, which he called ‘.Exciting time’. The set is now complete with new additions, postcards from the Picasso museum, manipulated by methods such as collageresults in an attractive fragmentation of reality.
Feminism, child protection and rejection of social archetypes
Carmen Calvo’s work clearly structures Social critique of Spanish memorystill has its roots in Francoism and the post-war period. Her works reject archetypes imposed on society and many inherited from those years: “Women’s obligation to marry in order to devote themselves to being housewives, men’s need to constantly demonstrate their masculinity, juveniles are more adult-oriented with corrections and methods that lead to violence,” explains the artist. .
Children are a recurring theme in his work. They are represented in school uniforms, as altar boys with corsets, or as victims of sexual and psychological abuse. It roughly reflects ‘A cage to live in’, a recreation of a white cabinet filled with dolls, stuffed animals and other children’s objects that can only be seen from the outside through peepholes in the walls of the big box. a staging Reminiscent of a real event that happened in 1997and Carmen Calvo learned from the news: The Story A seven-year-old girl who was kidnapped and put in some kind of cage for weeks.
Although the artist assures that he is only talking about “things that upset him” and that he does not follow “any script” or consciously intends to “make a societal complaint in his work”, gender issue It is another of the themes that most often inspires his work. The large painting featured at the opening of the exhibition speaks volumes, it’s an untitled piece that he created in 1969 and is featured in. an armed hunter pulling a woman’s hair as if exhibiting a newly caught rabbit. Or a set of mannequins that figuratively represent victims of aggression or erotic games between women.
Carmen Calvo’s has never been a feminism of “overt or programmatic manifestations.”, however, explains the text of the exhibition that it subtly and ironically denounces “roles traditionally associated with women.” When asked how she felt about displaying her works at the Picasso Museum and learning about her controversial relationship with women, the Valencian woman replied, “don’t enter that area of persecution” and not to judge the events of the past with the eyes of the present. “Things should be said softly but without being annoying. I’m with my work in a space full of Picasso’s paintings, but I’m interested in Picasso’s story, not his private life.”To add.