The Georges Pompidou Center in the Spanish city of Malaga has become the first foreign branch of the Parisian center of the same name in the Beaubourg quarter. For 5 years, exhibitions dedicated to various areas of contemporary art were held within the walls of the institution. During this time, the center has managed to become one of the most popular art spaces in Malaga and attract over a million visitors from all over the world. The activities of the institution are financed from the city budget as part of a partnership program launched back in 2013
History of the founding of the art center
It took more than 40 years before Pompidou Museum branches appeared outside of France . The place for the construction of a new art center was not chosen by chance. The port city is a well-known center of art in the region, home to the 19th-century Fine Art Museum and the Carmen Thyssen Museum. According to the founders, there was no better place to open the center. The branch began its work in 2015 with the support of local authorities, who allocated 7 million euros for its construction. The mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, said that thanks to the center, the city will be able to strengthen its status as a cultural capital not only in the region, but also on a pan-European and global scale. Each year, the art center receives 1.5 million euros from the municipal budget and another 2.5 million euros from ticket sales for cultural events. Today, the Georges Pompidou Art Center in Malaga is the venue for numerous exhibitions, dance shows, performances, concerts, film screenings, conferences and seminars.
Glowing cube and Pablo Picasso
The colored glass cube, located above the underground part of the building, has become a symbol of the Pompidou Center. It is visible from all observation platforms – the roofs of the local cathedral, the towers of the Alcazaba and Gibralfaro castles. The cube serves a utilitarian purpose, letting natural light into the lower floors, and has a number of symbolic meanings. Firstly, it is a kind of monument to cubism, which is rightfully considered one of the most revolutionary trends modernism .
Colorful cube on the roof of the Pompidou Center in Malaga
Secondly, Malaga – it is the hometown of Pablo Picasso himself, the master of cubist painting. Thirdly, the founders of the art space in Malaga inherited the architectural style of the Pompidou Center in the Parisian quarter of Beaubourg, whose building is a glass parallelepiped. In addition, the cube itself is a subject of contemporary art: the famous French conceptual artist Daniel Buren worked on his project.
Permanent exhibition center
The main direction of the art center – art exhibitions. The connection of the branch with the Parisian museum is confirmed by the permanent exhibition of 80 paintings and photographs from the capital of France. Here you can see the works of Pablo Picasso, Frida Kahlo, Marc Chagall and Francis Bacon.
Pablo Picasso Paintings
In May 2020, the public was presented with an update to the permanent exhibition, called "From Miró to Barcello: a century of Spanish art". It will be available for review until November 2021. Before entering the exhibition halls, viewers have the opportunity to admire a collection of black and white photographs of Spanish artists of the 20th century. Most of all there are pictures of Man Ray and Jesse Fernandez. The exposition itself is divided into thematic sections.
Photos by Man Ray and Jesse Fernandez
The first room exhibits works that were created after the First World War. Viewers can get to know the work of Pablo Picasso, Juan Gris, Maria Blanchard, Pablo Gargallo.
Paintings by Juan Gris and Marie Blanchard
In the next section you can see the work of the surrealists. Here is the famous painting by Max Ernst "I do not see reality", thanks to which at one time a new direction began the conquest of Spain.
Paintings by Max Ernst and Salvador Dali
The real treasure of the collection is the red "Galla's Shoe", created by Salvador Dali for his beloved. The work is done in the best traditions of surrealism: the entire array of characters laid down by the author cannot be interpreted immediately. Next to the shoe is a painting by Dali “Partial obscuration. Six appearances of Lenin on the piano. In the same room, the famous work of Joan Miro "Characters and Birds" hangs on the wall. The black and red color scheme perfectly complements the naive-surrealistic narrative of the canvas, and also demonstrates the influence of cubism and fauvism on the artist's work.
A separate section is devoted to the art of Spain in the 1930s. Civil War, Economic Crisis, Post-Cubist Studies – all this was reflected in the works of artists of that time. Graphics by Andre Masson "Splash of Blood" gives an excellent idea of the tragic motives of the Spanish worldview in the face of constant cataclysms.
Painting by André Masson
Sections "Materialists" and "Paris School" give an idea of the creative intentions of the Spanish masters of the second half of the twentieth century.
Abstract paintings by Antonio Saura and Eduardo Chillida
Abstract paintings Saura, Tapies and Chillida, reminiscent of graffiti in places, complemented by a mahogany mermaid created by Eduardo Arroyo.
Paintings by Antoni Tapies
Here you can admire the painting "Prisoner's Escape" Arroyo brushes. The number attached to the harness of the backpack hints at social control, and the paintbrushes in the back pocket – to freedom in the modern world, bestowed by art. And although Arroyo himself is not guessed in the figure of a fugitive in glasses with mirror lenses, perhaps we have a self-portrait in front of us.
Painting by Eduardo Arroyo
In the largest hall of the main exhibition, the audience is presented with the installation by Jaume Plensa "Bedroom", assembled from translucent bricks resembling blocks of ice for an igloo.
Installation by Jaume Plensa
The entrance to the structure is too narrow for a human. However, no one is going to use art objects for utilitarian purposes. Installation "4 men sitting on their backs with knives" Juan Munoz is a kind of metaphor for life in modern society: without his victim, the attacker is not able to exist on his own.
Installation by Juan Muñoz
Here you can see the installation "Suspended Corridor" Christina Iglesias. Perforated panels allow light to pass through and radically change the viewer's perception of the surrounding space.
Installation by Christina Iglesias
The suspended corridor, made of gratings and galvanized metal strips, is a living embodiment of Iglesias' philosophical reflections on the human perception of "place". The size and contours of the openings in the gratings, as conceived by the artist, refer the viewer to various architectural styles, photographs and literature.
Temporary exhibitions of the Pompidou Center
The art space constantly hosts various exhibitions of contemporary art designed for different target audiences. Some last only a few months, while others are available to viewers for years. In addition to traditional exhibitions, it also hosts interdisciplinary events like Simple Bodies. (2015), in which the audience became participants in research on the plasticity of the body and the influence of choreographic experience on consciousness.
"Alechin in the land of ink"
The exhibition was held from December 2019 to April 2020. It was dedicated to the work of the Belgian artist Pierre Alechinsky, in whose works humor meets poetry. The exhibition included many works made in gouache, Indian ink and acrylic. The choice of colors was associated with an avant-garde protest against the nightmares of a great war, associated in the mind of the artist with oil. The exhibition also featured works dedicated to experiments with oriental calligraphy. On the canvases you can see mischievous chimeric creatures, silhouettes of fantastic figures and "electric" flowers.
Exhibition of Pierre Alechinsky
The surrealistic subjects of the canvases are successfully combined with the expressionist style of painting. At the same time, the contours and details of objects do not lose their elegance. In his work, the master sought to create a riddle, to offer the viewer a visual game. The exposition, consisting of 75 works, can also be considered a small excursion into the inner world of the artist.
Stark, secret blueprints
In 2003, an exhibition dedicated to the work of Philip Starck was held at the Pompidou Center in Paris. The branch in Magala at the end of 2017 continued the tradition and held its own events dedicated to the drawings of the "naive utopian". The audience was presented with design items and sketches created by Stark. All creations are connected by the humanistic ideals of the author and the desire for knowledge of the world. Everywhere there are motives for the search for the "mysterious shadow" in the unconscious and the basis for the existence of utilitarian objects. The curators of the exhibition liken Stark to Faust, who sold his soul to the devil for the sake of knowledge.
Brancusi
The exposition was dedicated to the work of one of the founders of abstract sculpture. Being a native of Romania, Constantine Brancusi fully immersed himself in French culture in his mature years. The exhibition introduces viewers to the master's work through drawings, videos, photographs and sculptures. Even in the early stages of his creative career, Brancusi begins to make photographic images of his creations on his own. A huge number of negatives and sketches in several versions have survived to this day. At the exhibition, Brancusi's work was presented in all its glory: the audience had the opportunity to look at the same object from all possible angles.
Matisse. New country
The exhibition was held in the center from March to June 2019. It featured works by the famous 20th-century artist Henri Matisse. The exposition was dedicated to the experimental intentions of the master, realized in 6 periods of creativity: "The Beginning", "In the Shadow of the Masters", "Single Journey", "Light Box", "Modern Language", "Interiors de Vence and the Chapel Rosary". Making a journey through the universe of the master, the viewer studied the techniques and techniques used by him. A deeper immersion in the artist's work is hard to imagine.
Jim Dine Donations to the Center Pompidou
From October 7 to October 10, 2019, museum visitors had the opportunity to enjoy the exposition of works by one of the founders of pop art, Jim Dine. The exhibition presented works that the artist created between 1961 and 2016. The work of the master of pop art is autobiographical through and through: everywhere you can see the recurring images of tools, hearts, robes, Venus and Pinocchio. Such a generous donation has become a kind of gesture of gratitude to France for inspiration.
Plans for the future
The success of the project prompted the mayor of Malaga, Francisco de la Torre, and the director of the center, Serge Lasvines, to extend the agreement in 2018 and sign a memorandum expressing their common will to cooperate until 2025. The employees of the art space emphasize their desire to take an active part in the cultural life of the city and various events dedicated to the art of the XX-XXI centuries. Such centers contribute to the establishment of a dialogue between representatives of different cultures and the popularization of the ideas of contemporary art. Every admirer of beauty should at least once in his life see with his own eyes the expositions of the Georges Pompidou Center in Malaga.
KyivGallery art critic