The CCCB, in search of the “duende” 

“En el aire conmovido”, says a verse from Romancero gitano by Federico García Lorca. The verse inspires an exhibition in which, based on a series of works of art, we explore the duende or that moment and that atmosphere that favours the contemplation of a work of art and that involves both the viewer and the object observed. Until 28 September, at the CCCB.

The exhibition has been curated by the philosopher and art historian Georges Didi-Huberman and brings together some three hundred works created by key names in European art and culture: from Bertold Brecht and Camarón to Colita, Dalí, Giacometti, Goethe, Goya, Hugo, Jahnsen, Lorca, Mercadier, Miró, Pasolini, Picasso, Rodin, Trouvé and Zürn.

All of them have created works that generate emotions. Why do they excite us? Don't these emotions expose us to others in some way? How do we deal with them when we live in an environment that is saturated with visual stimuli? The exhibition commission is committed to maintaining a critical distance that allows us to observe both the images and the emotions they generate.

Here you will see photographs, paintings, sculptures, films, engravings, books, sketches, poems and music, all related to Lorca's concept of duende. The exhibition has been co-produced by the CCCB and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, where it has already been shown.

If you are interested in what the commissioner of the exhibition explains, you will also like the exhibition dedicated to the thinker by Filmoteca. It is "Georges Didi-Huberman. Al taller del filòsof" and can be seen from 9 May to 31 August 2025, with a programme of activities to accompany the screenings.

If you want to take a critical look at the images and the emotions they awaken in you, come and follow Federico García Lorca's ‘En l'aire commogut’ exhibition, but first check the CCCB website for information on the event.