Marc Vives / David Bestué
The Centro de Arte 2 de Mayo presents two installations by the artists David Bestué and Marc Vives. The first one, entitled Acciones en el universo, 2007, presents us with a type of tunnel of horror or experimental corridor and is divided into 11 separate spaces.
The first block comprises five rooms and explores physical reality on an ascending scale, from the microscopic to the cosmic. The second block, which has the same number of rooms, analyses different philosophical and psychological notions, commencing with the universal and culminating in the breakdown of concepts and systems. The 11th space, situated mid-way along the exhibition itinerary, articulates and relates the meaning of the two blocks, acting as a hinge between the physical and the mental. This installation was first presented from 3 to 20 April 2008 in a rented commercial space in Berlin, as part of the “Projects” programme of the Maribel López Gallery. It then travelled to the Espai Zero1 in Olot (Girona province), where it was on display from 17 May to 20 July of the same year.
Acciones en el Universo is one of a series of four actions that the two artists have produced in recent years. The exhibition will also feature references to these pieces, namely Acciones en Mataró (2002), Acciones en casa (2005) and Acciones en el cuerpo (2006).
Primarily, the Bestué/Vives “Actions” revisit blocks of themes addressed in 20th-century art, but they also leave room for the artists’ own imagery. All of the actions share a complex starting point and a deliberately exaggerated development.
The second installation, entitled La Confirmación, follows a character through different stages of his life that lead him to re-examine some of the certainties he has hitherto regarded as irrevocable. The first space in this piece is designed as a film set, enabling the spectator to repeat the character’s itinerary. The final room contains a video of this itinerary.
La confirmación marks a step forward in the artists’ work, borrowing and elaborating on many of the ideas they have previously raised, such as the domestic/universal binomial, the use of their own body and the desire to generate an intense debate about the fundamental issues of human existence.
ARTISTS: David Bestué (Barcelona, 1980) and Marc Vives (Barcelona, 1978) both studied at the Faculty of Fine Arts of the University of Barcelona. They have been working together since they met in 2002 when they both participated in the “Olla de Grills” project, although they each sustain a certain level of individual activity. As solo artists, David produced a highly personal project on the architecture of Enric Miralles, which was exhibited at the now closed Montcada Gallery run by La Caixa. Meanwhile, Marc produced a series on porn entitled Porno acrobático.
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