Alicante University Museum (MUA) has renewed its annual exhibition, showcasing works from fifteen artists gathered under one overarching theme: Art as a storyteller. With the title and a subtitle that invites reflection, Loosely translated as “Many stories,” the exhibit presents visual narratives drawn from the MUA collection and is installed in the Arcadi room, open to visitors until July 31.
Across fourteen pieces by fifteen creators, the show blurs the line between real and imagined worlds. It carries sincere memories, social observations, adventures of love and desire, and reflections on the times we live in. The curators note that these works rise beyond mere depiction to become original visual stories that can convey intense and gripping experiences.
The works span diverse media, including painting, photography, collage, and video, and feature artists from multiple generations: Marco Algovia, Pedro Álvarez, Begoña Baeza, Dis Berlin, Nacho Bolea, Joan Castejón, Cayetano Fernández, Cristina Fontsaré, Laila Hotait, Alicia Lamarca, Javier Lorenzo, Paloma Muñoz, Walter Martin, and Santi Tena. The selection highlights how varied approaches can illuminate a shared narrative intent and invite viewers to engage with each artist’s unique voice.
The museum technicians describe the exhibition as a celebration of figuration as a boundless resource for storytelling. They emphasize that each piece acts as a door to another world, offering the viewer a chance to travel through imagination. It is a meeting with creativity that expands perception and underscores the transformative power of art. Painting, in particular, remains a timeless medium for artists to articulate concerns, dreams, and sleepless nights, while revealing personal principles, ideologies, and visions.
Photography has decisively moved beyond mere documentation, proving itself as a cornerstone of contemporary creation. It draws viewers into frozen moments that reveal life’s essence, touching on love, pain, and hope. Collages offer a dynamic method to fuse disparate elements, forge unexpected connections, and reinterpret reality. In this medium, the visual language demonstrates how separate pieces can converge to tell a fresh, compelling story. The inclusion of video further enriches the narrative, presenting a truthful and emotionally charged account that speaks to social concerns with nuance and empathy.
Together, the works invite audiences to witness a tapestry of scenes where personal memory intersects with collective experience, creating a multifaceted portrait of contemporary life in both private and public spheres. The exhibition thus stands as a vibrant testament to how art, in its many forms, can illuminate the questions we ask about our era and our place within it.