Sector 1 Gallery is delighted to present Arantxa Etcheverria’s solo show, curated by Cristina Bută. At the opening, the artist presented her performance THE ALPHABET/BABEL (2022-2024), for the first time in Bucharest, in an extended form.
“The ensemble of works presented by Arantxa Etcheverria in the exhibition comprises the performance Alphabet, alongside new sculptures and objects reflecting on the visual and symbolical affinities between language and architecture. Since 2014, the practice of Arantxa Etcheverria developed in relation to the modernist architecture of her studio in Bucharest, expanding into new works that fascinate with their elegant aesthetics.
Whether it is painting, sculpture, installation or photo and video montage, her creations are the result of a meticulous analysis of the geometry of space. Incorporating Suprematist or Constructivist influences, she also draws inspiration from religion, tradition or myths. Some of the recurring themes at the basis of her visual and philosophical reinterpretations include the Apocalypse, presented in different writings or the myth of the Tower of Babel.
The evolution of the artist’s body of work which composes itself as a whole is visible in the exhibition. The totality of architectural reliefs, sculptures and performance integrate temporal references and subtly reveal the power of structure to convey memory. The sculptural works accompanying the performance include large tableaus, diptychs, windows and doors, true aesthetic manifestos that, even when taking concrete models of Bucharest s modernist architecture as starting point, become “inquiries on an imaginary city”, as the artist herself affirms.
The performance takes as central inspiration the myth of the Babel tower. In the choreography, the bodies of the performers become letters, reproducing one alphabet, speaking of a world where language was the same for all, as it was in the beginning of time before God’s punishment, according to the biblical myth. Etcheverria employs careful attention to the set-up of architectural elements and costumes that form a mise-en-scene. Whilst presenting us with something real, these architectural forms and set-ups also give free reign to the imagination.” (excerpt from the curatorial text)
Arantxa Etcheverria (born 1975, France) lives and works between Bucharest and France. She studied visual art at Villa Arson in Nice, and scenography and costumes at the National Theatre of Strasbourg. She had solo exhibitions at Victoria Art Center Bucharest, Atelier 35, Bucharest, Creart Gallery and Sector 1 Gallery, Bucharest, Centrul de Interes, Cluj-Napoca, Baril Gallery, Cluj-Napoca.
Her works have been part of numerous group exhibitions internationally and in Romania, including at: the National Museum of Contemporary Art Bucharest, E-Werk Luckenwald, MARe – The Museum of Recent Art Bucharest, Art Encounters Biennial 2023, and 2017, Timișoara, Club Electro Putere, Craiova, Bucharest Contemporary Art Biennale, Media Art Festival, Arad, Art Safari Bucharest, Museo di Roma, Maison de l’International, Grenoble, the Romanian Cultural Institute, Vienna and the Benetton Foundation, Trieste.
Her works are part of the collections of the National Museum of Contemporary Art, Bucharest and the collection of the Museum of Recent Art, Bucharest, as well as private collections in Romania and abroad. The artist is represented by Sector 1 Gallery in Bucharest and Galeria Casado Santapau Madrid.
Performance, Alphabet/BABEL, 2022-2024
Concept, choreography and design: Arantxa Etcheverria
Performers: Maria Mora, Eliza Trefas, Mara Verhoogt
The exhibition is organized by Sector 1 Gallery, Bucharest
