From classical fable to digital algorithm
La Capella is showcasing two approaches to contemporary sculpture by two emerging artists.
From January 17 to April 9, La Capella is hosting two new exhibitions: Goat becomes an Owlet, by Carmen de Ayora, at Espai Capella, and The photo was taken factory where LED screens are made in Shanghai, China, by Julia Varela, at Espai Rampa. Both samples are part of the 2022-2023 call for the Barcelona Producció program, which aims to encourage creation in the field of contemporary artistic practices and their dissemination.
Although she graduated in Fine Arts in Valencia and received a doctorate from the University of Barcelona in the departments of contemporary sculpture and history of aesthetics, Carmen de Ayora has almost always stayed away from the artistic circle, with some exhibition incursions in Madrid, Paris, Belgium and, especially, in Barcelona: Galería Alegría (2012), etHALL (2014), Halfhouse (2015) and Fabra i Coats (2018). She is currently doing a residency at La Escocesa, where her guiding principles continue to be working slowly and the concept of material poverty, suffering and concern.
As a critical fable, Goat becomes an Owlet uses animals as a supportive element for a narrative in which the woman's body merges in a journey of continuous transformation between nature and culture towards desire, as a strategy to overcome all limits.
Madrid-based Julia Valera also has a degree in Fine Arts, as well as a Master of Arts in sculpture from the Royal College of Art in London. Her latest exhibitions in Barcelona have taken place at the Can Felipa Civic Centre, the Joan Prats Gallery and the Fundació Suñol.
In The photo was taken factory where LED screens are made in Shanghai, China, Varela shows the inside of a warehouse where e-commerce products have just been manufactured and packaged. A sculptural set inspired by the interactions and affections determined by algorithms, it is the result of exhaustive research based on the Alibaba online platform.