Fundació Antoni Tàpies, Barcelona, Spain

The severe climatic vulnerability and the economics of debt extraction suffered by the island of Puerto Rico can hardly be ignored, as it is the background that gives political meaning to the works of Allora & Calzadilla.

Jennifer Allora (b. 1974, USA) and Guillermo Calzadilla (b. 1971, Cuba) have collaborated on an expansive and experimental body of work since 1995. Through a research-based approach, their works trace intersections of history, material culture, and politics through a wide variety of mediums, namely performance, sculpture, sound, video, and photography.

For this exhibition at the Fundació Antoni Tàpies, their first solo show in Spain, Allora & Calzadilla present a selection of works produced between 2005 and 2018. The musical dimension of these pieces indicates to visitors that here, quite possibly, the visual is subordinated to the auditory. One work leads to another, so that Stop, Repair, Prepare: Variations on “Ode to Joy” for a Prepared Piano, 2008, can lead either to the wall emitting Wake Up, 2007, or to the upper floor where Hope Hippo, 2005, can be heard thanks to the sound of a whistle.

Curators: Sara Nadal-Melsió and Carles Guerra.