As part of EUROPALIA ESPAÑA, S.M.A.K. presents the group exhibition Resistance. The Power of the Image, in which twenty Spanish artists examine the role of the image in the fight for democratic values.
Resistance. The Power of the Image investigates how Spanish artists have used art as a means of protest to demand new rights and expose abuses – an activism that dates back to the Spanish War and the overthrow of the Second Republic (1931-1939). A crucial moment was the Spanish Pavilion at the 1937 World Fair in Paris, where denunciations of the horrors of the Spanish Civil War gained an international platform through diverse artistic forms. Picasso created ‘Guernica’ for the occasion, a painting that remains an enduring symbol of resistance and art’s role therein.
The exhibition invites visitors to take a renewed look at what democracy means, why it is necessary, and the challenges it faces. At the same time, it provides space for critical reflection on how we, as a society, shape our identity.
Participating artists: Carlos Aires, Xavier Arenós, Pilar Aymerich, Alán Carrasco, Colita, Lúa Coderch, Eli Cortiñas, Daniel G. Andujar, Ana García-Pineda, Eulàlia Grau, Núria Güell, Agustín Ibarrola, José Ortega, Joan Rabascall, Josep Renau, María Ruido, Avelino Sala, Fernando Sánchez Castillo, Diego del Pozo Barriuso, Darío Villalba.
