EUROPE: WINTER ARCADES

  In his novel Dora Bruder, Nobel Literature Prize winner Patrick Modiano gives a detailed account of the lives of French Jews in wintry German-occupied Paris, based on a news item about the disappearance of a young woman in the newspaper Paris-Soir. In a similar manner, in this exhibition the artist sets out to create a common European narrative by projecting images from photographs taken from albums found in flea markets. The pictures are displayed inside a house made of doors that have been recovered from demolished buildings. Accompanied by songs from Schubert's Winterreise, the water falling from the roof of this house-shack creates the soundtrack of the anonymous lives that Florentino Díaz seeks to retrieve. These are stories that speak of forgotten moments of happiness, of the fragility of our existence and of the inconsistency of both individual and collective memory. - Carlota Álvarez Basso   Walter Benjamin died in 1940, leaving his last great work unifinished, The Arcades Project, in which he set out his thoughts, questioning the unfolding of a history that until then had not fulfilled the expectations of human freedom, and one that in its ruins showed the impossibility of reaching its ultimate goals. The rain falls unceasingly on us, on our land, on our homes. And once again we see that we are unprepared not only for the unforeseen, but also for that which lies within the realm of probability. The videos guide the visitor through these winter arcades and, paradoxically, although the tragic fate in store for its characters is unimaginable, they prompt us to think about the uncertain destination that awaits us. - Florentino Díaz   Since 1990, the work of Florentino Díaz (Cáceres 1954) has been characterised by the use of recovered materials and images, elements that appear simple but are in fact loaded with meaning and emotional connotation. This leading artist's work has always revolved around the concept of domestic life, of the home, conceived as a symbol, a space that is becoming increasingly difficult to inhabit. His installations have been exhibited in galleries both in Spain and abroad, including CAB in Burgos, MEIAC in Badajoz, Barjola Museum in Gijón, Casal Solleriç Espai 4 in Mallorca, Cáceres Museum, Salón de los 16, Kunstamt Kreuzberg-Bethanien in Berlin, and at fairs such as Art Cologne, MACO-MEXICO, LISTE - The Young Art Fair in Basel, Art Chicago and the Busan Biennale in South Korea. His work is also housed in private collections, museums and institutions such as CGAC in A Coruña, La Caixa Collection, Coca-Cola Spain Foundation, Banco de España Collection, Cáceres Museum, and many more.    

Opening: Thursday 11th June, 8pm.

CREDITS A project by: Florentino Díaz for Matadero Madrid Curator: Carlota Álvarez Basso Artistic coordination: Flavia Introzzi
Set-up: Mario Turégano Video: Juanjo Delgado Thanks to: Elena Fernández, Violeta Díaz and Juanjo Delgado