¡Amsterdam exhibition announcement!
“Tórculo Doméstico” is a group exhibition by Quinto Piso, presenting four artists: Mariau Urrusti, Paula Bènard, Jorge Sarquis and Rodrigo Echeverría.
De Bouwput, Ferdinand Huyckstraat 74, Amsterdam.
Declaration
In a world where technology is revolutionizing the way we experience and build art, “Tórculo Domestico” invites us to reflect on the importance of traditional techniques. For Rodrigo Echeverría, and for the other artists featured in the exhibition, “there are certain practices that demand one more step, or rather one step back, positions itself as a rebellious technique and tool”.
What can printmaking offer in an era where art is a sophisticated spectacle? How can a humble sheet of paper hold its own? Printmaking exposes the fragility of refinement and the absurdity of a thin veneer. It stands as a rebuke to the cult of positivity, always a negative, an inverse of the industrialized theater that art has become. And yet, printmaking is heroic in its quiet strength and simplicity. It's the paper bruised at its pain threshold, fertilized by an anguish etched into metal, a messy process. This is the simple, unadorned truth that printmaking reveals, and it's why we need to proclaim it, like a gladiator Spartacus, in the arena of contemporary art, where sophistication is the emperor and spectacle is the senate.
Choosing to own a printing press is almost absurd. The price fluctuates around the cost of an iPad, and it's worth noting that it has fewer functions and is extremely heavy. It demands sacrificing space in your home, as it requires acid, paper, ink, and other supplies. In short, it's deciding to complicate your life without any guarantee of reward. Printmaking has been relegated to the lower echelons of contemporary art, and yet, this rough object motivates people to welcome it into their domestic space.
This is a small showcase of artist that represent the diversity of the Quinto Piso community…
El Quinto Piso emerges as a space for cultural expression and diffusion, founded by artists that wish to promote contemporary painting, sculpture, performing arts and poetry. The space runs as an open forum and community for emergent art and artistic experimentation. Therefore, Quinto Piso is a platform to exhibit emerging art; and today shows a small but divers selection that represents our eleventh-year collaboration with various artists from different disciplines.
We recognize that today's complex artworks can no longer be categorized or represented by singular types. As a group of contemporary artists, we value a core element of union work: solidarity.
Our goal is to foster practices of solidarity in collective actions within the art world. But what exactly is solidarity? Despite good intentions, this type of collective work faces challenges like maintenance labor, financial support, and material resources. However, these issues are outweighed by the energy and force of human relationships built on everyday care and moments of mutual understanding.
For us, it's like we've been creating art for the working class.
Another aspect to consider is that art collectives must learn to sustain their everyday existence by connecting to each other in a performing care labor. And after years of cooperative work, we firmly believe that labor, relationships, and art space are inseparable in a trinity way.
The space serves as the third coordinate, and the resilience of solidarity often relies on the successful interplay of these aspects to survive or maintain active. Solidarity within the community is made by each members contribution: collaborative work, shared maintenance of the space or project, hanging out with each other, openness to new or different collaborations, and putting resources to make things happen.
All these moments create a sense of belonging. Next to the sense of belonging, a nurturing community is often able to make individuals feel a sense of personal growth through communal life and cooperative work.
Through this lens, we can gain a deeper understanding of key aspects of art collectives building community. As creators, we are already composing the world we perceive, simply by being alive and participating in the ongoing process of creation.
In a metaphorical sense, we can say, as the poet Tennyson said once —blooms the garden that I love—