In a world perceived as dangerous and unpredictable, the notion of shelter takes on a singular relevance. This need for protection — of ourselves and of what we hold dear — drives us to imagine possible refuges for the body and for the soul. Perhaps this is the moment to consider what deserves to be saved or preserved for future generations. Even if we arrive at no definitive conclusions, the exercise of debating them is valuable in itself, offering an occasion for self-knowledge and for dialogue.
The group exhibition Albergue Transitorio (Temporary Shelter) brings together a series of works in varied formats and materials. Without claiming that our selection is exhaustive, we believe these pieces deserve to be treasured, cared for, and preserved. In gathering them, we give them a space and a moment in which to speak to one another and to prompt reflection while living under the same roof. It is as though a group of strangers, seeking refuge from danger, found themselves compelled to get to know one another and to discover common ground. That ground includes the effects of climate change, the role of women, the search for identity, and memory and its preservation. More broadly, the works raise questions about what is real, what is threatening, and how much untruth we are willing to bear in order to quiet the anxiety of uncertainty. All of it is examined through the visual arts and their impact.
These works come from artists immersed in society, sensitive observers of their surroundings. Through what they make, they convey their thinking and their sensibility about contemporary concerns. The paintings of Norton Maza and Sebastián Leyton address, chiefly though not exclusively, climate change and its effects. Bruna Truffa places her weary women in nature, surrounded by what germinates and grows, leaving clues about the female capacity to create. Virginia Guilisasti draws on that same capacity to expand her intuition and her imagery into a collection of small scenes, or stories, held together by a red palette that likewise speaks of life.
The reflection on the role of women deepens in the works of Fernanda Gutiérrez and of the collective Hipermercado Casino. The image of the perfect woman, modeled on an ideal now in retreat, no longer holds — but what if that perfection has simply become another set of demands? In A Granel (In Bulk), a video performance, the participants take issue with the waste produced by retail consumption, set against an older way of buying — in bulk or wholesale, where brands and packaging mattered far less. Packaging that lends identity to things that are, in fact, uniform.
Identity, in more than one sense, is questioned in the paintings of Pascual Ovalle and Paula Solís, and in the masks of José Pérez. The theme surfaces again in Daniela Claro's woven sculptures, which address individual identity superimposed on mass-produced objects that have none. These works are made of numerous fragments, each woven separately, which come together to form a single body.
The reflections on waste that begin with Daniela Claro's pieces are enriched by the view of Norton Maza, who will represent us at the next Venice Biennale. Maza rescues toys with which he forms an emotional bond, tending and repairing them with great care, chiefly in wood. He seeks to leave these objects as an archaeology of the past, a tangible memory of childhood and of consumption. Along similar lines, the language of the past merges with the contemporary language of social media in a 3D-printed stone by Alfredo Da Venezia, which stands as an archaeology of our own time. Will the same happen to the emblematic brands of years past that Yisa presents in his paintings, emulating giant advertising billboards?
Looking at art allows us to empathize with different sensibilities, and it trains a critical eye that will be essential for moving through the culture of images in which we are, and will remain, immersed. Catalina Torres confronts us with images and phrases that recall the new order of time and space arrived at after centuries of human inquiry — a space, a time, and a reality that will change drastically in the future, and for whose understanding we are now preparing.
We invite you to reflect alongside us, and to begin a conversation that gathers us under the shelter of knowledge and art.
