"Si Volse a Retro" by Jordi Díaz Alamà and Grzegorz Gwiazda at the MEAM

Until June 26, the MEAM, which promotes and disseminates the figurative art of the 20th and 21st centuries, presents Si volse a Retro, the first joint exhibition by the Spanish Jordi Díaz Alamà and the Polish Grzegorz Gwiazda.

The exhibition consists of 63 works; 54 paintings by Jordi Díaz and 9 sculptures by Grzegorz Gwiazda, and is part of the celebration of the 700th anniversary of the death of Dante Alighieri, paying homage to his most celestial work, the Divine Comedy. In this exhibition, the works that form part of this exhibition project created by the Catalan painter in collaboration with the Polish sculptor are presented in a concrete and detailed way.

The epic poem tells the story of a vision of a journey in which Dante, transported to the supernatural world of medieval theology, contemplates the storms of those condemned to Hell, the purification of souls in Purgatory, and the joys of the Righteous. in Paradise. The series Si Volse a Retro focuses on the different scenes of Hell, pictorially materializing Dante's most shocking imaginary. Each song is represented by a large format painting (mixed media on canvas).

However, Alama moves away from explicit narration, remarkably exploring abstract and experimental resources to capture and sublimate the infernal landscape and the terrible torments of sinful souls. The performance of the songs will be joined by sculptures by Polish artist Grzegorz Gwiazda and complementary material consisting of portraits of characters and creatures painted by Alamà that will help enrich his vision and interpretation of Dante's Inferno. Alamà first approached Divine Comedy in his youth during his pictorial training in the city of Florence. On his way home from the Academy where he was training artistically, he crossed the Piazza della Santa Croce every day for three years, presided over by the sculpture of Dante (1865), the work of Enrico Pazzi.

Reading Dante's work buried the seed of a restlessness. He felt that when the time came, he should try to capture these pages in images with his own brushstrokes, with his own character and vision.

After years of creative career and continuing education, Alamà decided in 2018 that the time had come to start a performance with its own voice. The performance of Si Volse a Retro was of enormous conceptual and compositional complexity, one of the artist's greatest creative challenges. The plurality of scenarios, the huge number of imaginary characters and beasts alongside the variety of atmospheres posed a challenge: the painter wanted to capture a fantastic but at the same time credible world, capable of appealing to contemporary audiences.

Gwiazda joined the project shortly afterwards. They both shared a desire to collaborate on the artistic plane and the project was perfect for that purpose. As a result of this collaboration, an artistic conjunction was born that marks a special moment in the races of Gwiazda and Alamà. With this joint exercise, they immerse the viewer in a torrent of first - rate creative energy. Visiting hours for this exhibition are from Tuesday to Sunday from 11 am to 7 pm.