The title of this exhibition is inspired by a work by Dora García, 100 obras de arte imposibles (100 Impossible Works of Art) from 2001, which consists of a list of a hundred sentences that refer to the acceptance of failure, to the impossibility of realizing something: "To dream the dreams of others; To live the lives of others; To be with every single human being, even only for a second" are some of these 100 unachievable proposals. In the context of an exhibition dedicated exclusively to woman artists, the phrase "To write down all their names" suggests a poetic action, but also a poetic "capacity for action."
Installation view of "To write down all their names", Palais Populaire, Berlin, 2022.
Photo: Mathias Schormann
All the works selected for this show come from the collection of Helga de Alvear, one of Spain's leading gallerists and art collectors. Since the 1960s, when this collection was created, Spain's political, social, and cultural reality has undergone fundamental changes. The end of the forty year military dictatorship in 1975 and the transition to democracy, and the country's accession to the European Union were accompanied by a social upheaval in which young people, and especially women, figured prominently in the transformation of this new society. This reality has affected woman artists and is reflected in their works and in their increasing presence in exhibitions. But it remains–as everywhere in the world–an issue worth fighting for.
Curated by Lola Hinojosa Martínez, Head of Performing Arts and Intermedia Collection at Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.
Read more here.