Cesc Abad, Grip Face, Óscar Abraham Pabón and the art collective Cool Shit sign the sculptures that will be on display at Red de San Luis, Gran Vía, Plaza de Callao and Plaza de Matadero. UVNT24 will also feature a digital artwork by artist Chong Yan Chuah in Plaza de Matadero from 7 March.
The eighth edition of UVNT Art Fair, to be held from 7 to 10 March, comes loaded with novelties. The main one, a new location. The New Contemporary Art Fair is moving to a tent 10m high and 3,000m2 in Matadero Madrid. 38 national and international galleries and more than 150 artists will take part in this edition, in which the new figuration and painting will once again take centre stage.
From 26 February, the artists Cesc Abad (Gärna Art Gallery), Grip Face (La Bibi Gallery), Óscar Abraham Pabón (LAB36) and the Cool Shit collective will install their sculptures in the Red de San Luis (Gran Vía and Montera), the corner between Gran Vía and Calle Alcalá, Plaza de Callao and Plaza de Matadero thanks to Lexus. In addition, the Chinese-Malaysian artist Chong Yan Chuah (Space Cowboys) has created a digital work that will be at the entrance to the fair in Matadero Madrid.
On the other hand, and thanks to the collaboration of JCDecaux, more than 100 digital marquees located in the main visual axes of Madrid will show the virtual art of five young artists: Irene Molina, Jae Yeon Kim, Masako Hirano, Riniifish and Chong Yan Chuah.
Cesc Abad (Gärna Art Gallery)
Red de San Luis (corner of Gran Vía and Montera)
Mónica, 2024
Cesc Abad’s sculpture, installed at the intersection between Gran Vía and Montera street, shows a woman with multiple limbs carrying different objects. Despite the weight, she maintains a positive and empowered attitude. Through the work, the artist reflects on how the decisions we make and the weights we decide to carry define our lives. They are, in his own words, “the threads that weave our history”. Everything is to be decided, to be rethought and to be enjoyed.
Grip Face (La Bibi Gallery)
Calle Alcalá with Gran Vía
The Shelter Is Loud In Your Head, 2024
Inspired by the ephemeral constructions used by different cultures, this work by Grip Face is reminiscent of a hut or tepee. It is a small construction, located on the corner of Gran Vía and Calle Alcalá, inside which eight octagonal mirrors stand out. They are placed in such a way that their reflection forces the visitor to look at a specific point. As if it were a digital algorithm that redirects our focus of attention. Through this installation, Grip Face criticises the over-reliance on algorithms, which limit the exploratory capacity of humans and impoverish our experience.
Óscar Abraham Pabón (LAB36)
Callao Square
Composición en línea, 2024
Taking Mondrian’s Composition in Black and White as a starting point, the artist constructs a geometric installation from fragments of recycled bricks from construction sites, which he installs on sheets of methacrylate. With them he frames the urban landscape of Madrid, in this case Plaza de Callao, in a circle. Pabón reflects on how the materials used in construction determine the feel of a city, the way we relate to it and the art that can be developed in such conditions. He also establishes a dialogue between the past and the future of Madrid. The same bricks that make up this intervention may already have formed part of some buildings, and will go on to build others in the future.
Cool Shit
Matadero Square
The Eyes, 2024
The latest sculpture by this art collective features a colourful and playful figure of imposing size that dominates the Plaza de Matadero. It is accompanied by two augmented reality filters, customised especially for Instagram, and animated video projections with content mapping. Through it, Cool Shit draws attention to the use of technologies. Specifically, about how the incessant bombardment of information and stimuli that require our immediate attention makes us lose our ability to concentrate.
Chong Yan Chuah (Space Cowboys)
Matadero Square
There will be Dr@g0ns in my Future Dreams, 2024
The intervention by this Chinese-Malaysian artist, on view at Matadero Madrid from 7 March, redefines the relationship between tradition and innovation. Its protagonist is the Cyber::Dragon, a virtual representation of the traditional Chinese dragon that connects ancient cultures with a digital future yet to be explored. Its proposal breaks with the limitations of time, culture and, above all, physical space. The Cyber::Dragon is not just a virtual mythological creature, but the figure on which all the weight of tradition and the experiences of a culture falls.
You can now buy tickets for UVNT Art Fair 24′ at universe.com
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