adn galeria
  •  english
  •  castellano
  • català
Menú
  • adnplatform
  • adnfactory
  • adncollection
  • artists
    • maría maría acha-kutscher
    • carlos aires
    • marcos ávila-forero
    • virginie barré
    • abdelkader benchamma
    • tobias bernstrup
    • santiago cirugeda
    • jordi colomer
    • democracia
    • domènec
    • igor eskinja
    • mounir fatmi
    • daniel & geo fuchs
    • kendell geers
    • núria güell
    • margaret harrison
    • bouchra khalili
    • adrian melis
    • eugenio merino
    • carlos pazos
    • bruno peinado
    • federico solmi
    • pep vidal
  • collaborations
    • alán carrasco
    • iván argote
    • ivan brazhkin
    • luz broto
    • regina josé galindo
    • jean-luc moerman
    • mireia sallarès
    • avelino sala
    • ulrich vogl
  • editions
  • links
  • exhibitions
    • 2019-2020
      • carlos aires - nothing new
      • 5994 is just a number
      • alán carrasco - a soviet militiaman eats a mcdonald's hamburger in moscow
    • 2018-2019
      • democracia - order act i. eat the rich - kill the poor
      • federico solmi - mundus novus
      • kendell geers - #iprotestthereforeiam
      • domènec - y la tierra será el paraíso
      • margaret harrison - it hasn't changed: and babies?
    • 2017-2018
      • núria güell · levi orta · adelita husni-bey - al final de todos los sueños humanos no hay más que polvo
      • marcos ávila forero - desde las montañas
      • adrian melis - memoria selectiva
      • pep vidal - who wants to be an impatient gardener?
      • jordi colomer - baixar al carrer / bajar a la calle / descendre dans la rue / going down into the street
      • salim bayri - welcoming
    • 2016-2017
      • eugenio merino & tobias bernstrup - home swiss home / south of heaven
      • democracia - order. act iii. dinner at the dorchester
      • virginie barré & bruno peinado - soft power
      • kendell geers - propagandada
    • 2015-2016
      • núria güell - buenas intenciones
      • carlos pazos - naufragios recientes
      • iván argote - la puesta en marcha de un sistema
      • bouchra khalili - foreign office
    • 2014-2015
      • pep vidal - trees, treelines and global patterns
      • avelino sala - walk to the end of the world
      • adrian melis - surplus production line
      • marcos ávila forero - paisajes revoltosos
      • mounir fatmi - light and fire
      • democracia - os protegemos de vosotros mismos
      • luz broto - 17m (artnou)
    • 2013-2014
      • cómplices y testigos
      • carlos aires - this is not just fucking business
      • adrian melis - time to relax
      • art nou - rebel karaoke by ivan brazhkin & time to relax by adrian melis
    • 2012-2013
      • "ten is more than a number" - exposición colectiva de artistas de adn galería por su 10º aniversario
      • iván argote - un millón de amigos
      • núria güell - alegaciones desplazadas
      • chus garcía fraile - cuestión de fe
      • democracia - ser y durar
    • 2011-2012
      • igor eskinja - right constructions
      • adrian melis - nuevas estructuras de producción
      • kendell geers - hellraiser
      • abdelkader benchamma - le signal faible
      • ulrich vogl - she brings the rain
    • 2010-2011
      • virginie barré - close up
      • bruno peinado - wild angle
      • carlos aires - let's get physical
      • democracia - ser y durar
      • regina josé galindo - xx
      • santiago cirugeda - for sale
      • eugenio merino - we don't need another hero
      • tobias bernstrup - body 5 arrives
    • 2009-2010
      • igor eškinja - nowheristan
      • daniel & geo fuchs - forces
      • jean-luc moerman - hybrid icons
      • scratch
      • democracia - ne vous laissez pas consoler
      • concha pérez - lo que nos queda
    • 2008-2009
      • carlos aires - danzad, danzad, malditos
      • virginie barré - pieces
      • bruno peinado - masses
      • chus garcía-fraile - megalópolis
      • sin estado
      • ismael iglesias - red skywalker
      • fermín moreno - zeropean
      • abdelkader benchamma - même les choses invisibles se cachent
      • eugenio merino - global warming
    • 2007-2008
      • five is only a number
      • paperless marks
      • federico solmi - evil empire
      • igor eskinja - fleeting (fugaz)
      • judas arrieta - monday
      • daniel & geo fuchs - works of a decade
      • concha pérez - refugios / ausencias / abandonos
    • 2006-2007
      • marc quintana - ad hóminem
      • drawing & dreaming
      • tobias bernstrup - enemies of the earth
      • virginie barré & bruno peinado - blissfully
      • te mando un colega
      • ismael iglesias - dancing with your eyes
      • chus garcía-fraile - se vende
    • 2005-2006
      • shiro masuyama - intervention
      • federico solmi - king kong and the end of the world
      • wolf hamm - a vida o muerto
      • fermín moreno - double top
      • concha pérez - alojamientos
      • tobias bernstrup - killing spree
      • screening 1
      • valérie prot - oh my god!
      • nic hess - a room with a window
    • 2004-2005
      • tengo que cortarme una oreja
      • adn 2
      • marc quintana - ikons 2
      • situaciones urbanas: unidades de ejecución 2 y 15
      • architecture parallax: the blind architect - t.b.a.
      • carlos noria & carmen gómez - contrapeso y... sobre las íes
      • virginie barré & bruno peinado - el corte francés
      • ismael iglesias - let us play
      • alejandro vidal - protecting idols
  • fairs
    • 2019-2020
      • untitled - miami
      • loop - barcelona
      • artissima - torino
      • estampa - madrid
      • swab - barcelona
      • paréidolie - marseille
    • 2018-2019
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • the armory show - new york
      • arco - madrid
      • untitled - miami
      • loop - barcelona
      • artissima - torino
      • 1-54 - london
      • paréidolie - marseille
    • 2017-2018
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • arco - madrid
      • untitled - miami
      • artissima - torino
    • 2016-2017
      • volta 13 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • art paris - paris
      • arco - madrid
      • art genève - genève
      • untiltled - miami
      • artissima - torino
    • 2015-2016
      • volta 12 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • arco - madrid
      • drawing room - madrid
      • untitled - miami
      • artissima - torino
      • fiac - paris
      • art international - istanbul
    • 2014-2015
      • volta 11 - basel
      • arco - madrid
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • untitled - miami
      • artissima - torino
      • art international - istanbul
      • artrio - rio de janeiro
    • 2013-2014
      • volta 10 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • arco - madrid
      • pulse - miami
      • pinta - new york
      • art international - istanbul
    • 2012-2013
      • volta 9 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • arco - madrid
      • artbo - bogotá
    • 2011-2012
      • volta 8 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • swab - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • drawing now - paris
      • arco - madrid
      • artefiera - bologna
      • artbo - bogotá
      • artplatform - los angeles
    • 2010-2011
      • volta 7 - basel
      • swab - barcelona
      • loop - barcelona
      • arco - madrid
      • artefiera - bologna
    • 2009-2010
      • volta 6 - basel
      • loop - barcelona
      • swab - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • salon du dessin contemporain - paris
      • volta ny - new york
      • arco - madrid
      • artefiera - bologna
      • slick - paris
    • 2008-2009
      • volta 5 - basel
      • volta ny - new york
      • arco - madrid
      • photo miami - miami
      • slick - paris
    • 2007-2008
      • artesantander - santander
      • swab - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • miart - milano
      • arco - madrid
      • photo miami - miami
      • slick - paris
    • 2006-2007
      • artesantander - santander
      • swab - barcelona
      • art brussels - bruxelles
      • miart - milano
      • valencia art - valencia
    • 2005-2006
      • artesantander - santander
    • 2004-2005
      • dfoto - san sebastían
  • gallery
  • news
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
    • 2015-2016
    • 2014-2015
    • 2013-2014
    • 2012-2013
    • 2011-2012
  • press
    • 2019-2020
    • 2018-2019
    • 2017-2018
    • 2016-2017
    • 2015-2016
    • 2014-2015
    • 2013-2014
    • 2012-2013
    • 2011-2012
    • 2010-2011
    • 2009-2010
    • 2008-2009
    • 2007-2008
    • 2006-2007
    • 2005-2006
    • 2004-2005
adn galeria
C. Mallorca, 205
08036 Barcelona
Tel. +34 93 451 00 64
info@adngaleria.com
Carlos Aires - Danzad, danzad, malditos
documents  ·  images
...
Carlos Aires - Danzad, danzad, malditos
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009
...
Carlos Aires, Danzad, danzad, malditos, 2009

Violence, in the most general sense of the word, has been a common subject to be studied, analyzed and represented throughout Art History. From Ribera to Tarantino or Günter Brus, it has been expressed in such different ways, but in rare occasions the result might be an affable image.

Although the work of Carlos Aires talks about an uncomfortable reality, this is only its background. Sometimes the image hides its acidity by mimicking itself with pop colors; sometimes the image adopts the shape of its own content. At any case, the result is always a beautiful image, easy to see, or at least of a concealed sweetness. But the image offers to the spectator the factor of surprise, the possibility of discovering most of times under its appearance an acid, perturbing and politically incorrect lecture. This concealing is evidenced by the title of the exhibition.

 

“Danzad, danzad, malditos” is the Spanish translation of the film by Sydney Pollack “They shoot horses, don’t they?”. Produced in 1969, is the story of a dance marathon, that were common during the Great Depression of the USA. These contests, fed by the strong economical and social crisis, offered the poorest ones the opportunity of seeing the American Dream becoming true. The fact is that this kind of spectacle was possible not only because of the economical situation, but also because of the growing power of the new media, Hollywood industry especially. Young desperate people used to go there and dance, following the illusion of showing themselves in public for the chance to succeed as cinema stars, and of course, with nothing to lose. This was definitely its nicest face, the possibility of an opportunity.

But if the American Dream is defined by the opening of possibility, its attractive appearance is also hiding hard effort, suffering and pain, which are constantly increasing by the related growing of ambition, and this is on what the film insists.

This double appearance of reality is characteristic of Carlos Aires’ work, being basically, the leitmotiv in his artistic career. So, starting from the postulate that reality is always showed as manipulated, pre-generated to us, through different filters as mass media, he seems to have decided to distort it.

                 

In the series “Love is in the Air” the paradox appears on the relation between its elements. In the case of the vinyl cut-outs, it is easy to compare these works with Pollack’s film, so while Aires treats images with a high sexual content from the affability of a musical vinyl, Pollack talks about what was a real torture for quite a lot of people, decorated as a kind of spectacle, with lights and live music. In his inox edition, an isolated image, or a phrase out of context, seem to be far from a violent narration. It is the knife itself what is able to transmit the horror of its original context, as the images were found in the Photography Museum of Ambers, all them classified as “catastrophe”. In this occasion, Aires is also presenting his most recent version of the series, consisting in silhouettes caring the same meaning but this time materialized on fifty Euros bills. The cuttings are now shown subjected by pins, as a collection of insects. The composition is titled “El Jardín de las Delicias” (The Garden of Earthly Delights”).

 Born in Andalucía, Carlos Aires is actually living between Spain and Belgium, where he early went to develop his artistic career. It is possible to say that his transit between these two countries, and also the enormous potential of the new media, helped him to get enriched by innumerable referents, which he would study and incorporate to his work, always with an ambiguity aesthetics that is yet typical in his work, and with an analytic attitude to our perception of reality. Goya’s or Velazquez’s portraits have been an open source to his work, what is clearly evidenced in the treating of his photographs, but always with a constant adaptation to nowadays context. Example of this are his baroque frames, which under a wooden appearance are just polyurethane reproductions, or his reinterpretations of baroque altars.  

In “Danzad, danzad, malditos” Carlos Aires not only shows himself to be quite able to transit between narrations, contents and containers, but also express himself comfortably through the most different media. He is presenting, apart of the mentioned series, “Mister Hyde”, a video where an infrared camera recorded images from two different situations. The first one is a terror castle in a funfair, the other one is a dark room of a gay discotheque in Antwerpen, the Belgian city where the artists lives. The images, after an edition process, are almost undistinguishable.

 

The work of Carlos Aires confronts us to a world where opposites coincide. Reality and fiction, true and false, natural and artificial, tradition and contemporariness, are dichotomies that here are confused. The unity of his work is defined in the right moment where these dichotomies are conciliated.

 

Previous Next

Cookies policy We use third-party cookies that analyze browsing our website. If you continue to browse, consider accepting its use. You can get more information on our Cookies policy.

Disclaimer