Breaking the time barrier. The Mubag exhibition Seriation and kinetic chromatism brings together two writers from different eras, highlighting their shared concerns across time and space. On view until June 15, 2024, the show pairs Alicante’s Eusebio Sempere, who passed away in 1985, with Argentine Felipe Pantone, born in 1986, to reveal how closely their approaches echo one another despite not overlapping in life. The dialogue emphasizes a visible kinship between these artists.
Thus, the exhibition stages a conversation between Sempere’s graphic practice and Pantone’s graphic language, where convergence points emerge through geometric forms and visual perception. For both artists, printing becomes a process of reinvention, experimentation, and creation rather than mere reproduction. The works on display reflect a rigorous study of geometric structure, light, optical illusion, and the sensation of movement.
Across Mubag, 56 works are presented, 28 from each artist, arranged to face one another within a carefully crafted curatorial narrative. Sempere, a pioneer of screen printing in Spain, explores a chromatic palette aimed at capturing nature’s colors and light’s potential. Pantone, originally tied to graffiti, engages the languages of a digital and hyperconnected world to probe color and illumination. Their pieces combine kinetic and lyrical tendencies, born from contemplation of landscapes and the consumption of images that shape abstract perception.
The exhibition is a dual project curated by Óscar García and María José Gadea. García notes that these two artists push the viewer’s perception, making the eyes the final arbiters of form and meaning in the works.
Alicante spirit
The close ties of both artists to the province influence the sense of place in La Terreta. Eusebio Sempere, born in Onil in 1923, is among Alicante’s most internationally recognized figures, with exposure at venues like the Venice Biennale and the Museum of Modern Art in New York.
Felipe Pantone, who relocated to Spain at a young age, began exploring graffiti in Torrevieja at age 12. He studied Fine Arts in Valencia, where his studio operates and where he investigates dynamism, transformation, the digital revolution, and current events. His murals, installations, paintings, and sculptures circulate in museums, galleries, and cities worldwide.
The Seriation and kinetic chromatism exhibition also signals the gallery’s commitment to local artists. Sempere’s enduring influence has helped put Alicante on the art world map, while Pantone’s experiments trace back to Torrevieja.
Embracing contemporary art
Mubag is advancing as a gallery receptive to diverse forms of art. This exhibition coincides with a shift on the museum’s ground floor from informalist works to a group rooted in geometric abstraction and optical art, part of the County Council collection and featuring artists such as Victor Vasarely, Carlos Cruz-Diez, and Julio Le Parc among others.
The event aligns with Mubag’s twenty-second anniversary, during which two new issues of the museum magazine were released just before opening. This year is notable for Mubag’s recognition as an official museum by the Generalitat Valenciana and for hosting two major shows devoted to Valencian icons: Sorolla, in celebration of Sorolla year, and a metamorphosis-focused exhibition on Dalí that features more than 230 works. Reports indicate attendance in the thousands, underscoring Mubag’s growing regional and international profile.