A performer from Elche collaborates with ten voices in a compact, cube-sized soundscape as a new chapter opens this Friday in Madrid. The project centers on Picasso: Untitled, a contemporary cultural center show that runs through an ongoing period. The opening coincides with the exhibition, which gathers ideas and energies around the late works of Picasso and a community that embraces live experimentation.
In this edition, fifty invited artists were asked to interpret Picasso’s late period through fresh titles, reimagined listening experiences, and new perspectives. The Elche artist joined the event with a distinct approach, aiming to avoid a standard concert and instead to weave together diverse voices that mirror the themes of the exhibition. Francisco Contreras, known as Niño de Elche, a respected singer and musician, explains that the project invites a chorus of varied timbres and textures to connect with Picasso’s late pieces in unexpected ways.
A casting call was issued, forty individuals were shortlisted, and a personal workshop has begun in preparation for the Friday performance. The plan is not a conventional recital; it promises something more performative and cinematic than a typical concert.
The artist describes this as stepping into the unknown—an ensemble that he did not know yesterday, yet which is now becoming a platform for creating a new piece. The performance will run about forty minutes and feature two transitions, with a focus on a unifying, identity-centered sound that crosses generations and backgrounds in search of a shared vocal language.
Niño de Elche reopens flamenco with a simpler, more sincere and radical voice
The artist seeks to understand sound as something larger than a single note. While some assume singing is straightforward, he maintains that every voice is capable of resonating differently depending on context and audience. He is drawn to textures like screams, whispers, and raw vocal textures, aiming to widen listening experiences and form a chorus that echoes the exhibition. Audiences have responded with generosity to these explorations, which are described as deeply satisfying by the performer.
The selected participants come from diverse generations, genders, races, morphologies, and personalities. They will explore texts and gesture in tandem, using their bodies and voices to create a stage presence that sits between pop and experimental forms, with nods to artists such as Jonathan Richman and The Modern Lovers, David Bowie, and an interplay with phonetic poetry.
The show emphasizes sound over traditional music, drawing from Picasso’s late period while also nodding to earlier movements. The exhibiting project refuses decadent or overly formal visuals, favoring a raw, minimal expression that blends with cubist and graffiti-inspired aesthetics. From this vantage, sonic parallels are drawn with the choir members, weaving a network of connections around the works on display.
The artist has presented one piece within the exhibition, offering a personal reading that reframes the broader project. The exhibition title was revised to reflect how many of Picasso’s pieces were named by close associates or gallery owners, emphasizing a view from inside the viewing cube and inviting contemplation about how art is perceived and judged.
New album, theater project, and a forthcoming book
The Elche-based artist is engaged in multiple ventures for 2024, including a celebration-themed work, a new flamenco album slated for release next year, and a theatrical adaptation inspired by a New York poet. The project will feature new musical directions under the guidance of Lorca Carlos Marquerie and will move onto the stage with a distinctive creative approach. A new book is in the works, and the artist is set to participate in a February fair. In addition, a guest appearance at the Sydney Biennale will be planned as part of a collaborative effort with the artist and curator Pedro G. Romero.