The Thyssen Museum in Málaga always hosts impressive, high-quality exhibitions. It is one of the most popular museums amongst tourists, with long queues forming as people wait to enter and enjoy the marvellous art on display.
Upon entering the third floor of the museum, I came across something that doesn’t happen very often: the chance to view a collection belonging to a private individual, an art lover who owns great works that have been loaned to the museum for display. In this case, the exhibition is called ‘Archipelago’ and features part of the Suñol Soler collection, showcasing its most outstanding Works, of which, incidentally, there are quite a few.
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All the works belong to the realm of contemporary art, where what matters is not so much seeing the works as looking at them. That phrase, which appeared in the exhibition notes detailed on the walls, is exactly what I have always believed: contemplating a work gives it depth. It is not just what the artist paints, but depends greatly on the viewer’s perspective.
Bust of a Woman in a Yellow Blouse, 1943, Pablo Picasso, collage on plywood.
Leave Things as They Are: As the Curtain Falls, 1981, Ian Breakwell, mixed media on paper.
The works reflect a specific period in both 20th-century Spanish art and the international art scene. At first I thought there was only Spanish art, but then I realised that this collector also has works by artists from outside Spain.
Josep Suñol Soler has been a businessman, lawyer and philanthropist, and has truly amassed an impressive collection of works that invite the viewer to read a narrative in images, one that must be looked at, rather than merely seen.
Archipiélago presents a visual map of Spanish art between 1960 and 1980, though it reflects the particular interests of the collection’s owner, who had a predilection for Catalan works from that period.
The various works feature a range of techniques and artistic languages, as well as international trends, as I mentioned earlier. There is also a mix of periods spanning the 1920s to the 1990s, but there are also works that are not very commercial, little known and, consequently, more daring. The variety of the works in every respect is impressive.
Marquesa, 1983, Joan Hernández, Pijuan, watercolour on Japanese paper.
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Brote en corte, 1960, Jean Arp, white marble.
Untitled, 1984, Antoni Llena, collage.
Dynamism of Blue, 1980, Albert Rafols-Casamada, acrylic on canvas.
Painting, 1926, Joan Miró, oil on canvas.
Flying, 1962, Georges Braque, etching on paper.
From what I could gather from the explanations provided at the exhibition, the various works that make up the collection represent the islands of the archipelago, taking into account the individual and crises of identity, nature as an inexhaustible source of artistic creation and inspiration, the essence of the forms that can be seen, signs as signals of visual language that convey a message, and the raw material from which everything emerges. These are the islands referred to in the title of the art exhibition.
Two Grey Sheets, 1983, Joan Hernández, Pijuan, oil on canvas.
Interruptions I, 1988, Carles Guerra, oil on canvas.
Each piece stands on its own, as if they were several exhibitions within a larger one, but together they take on a different significance and great meaning. It is an exhibition of artworks selected from the vast Suñol collection, which leads me to think just how magnificent that collection must be.
A collection that spans the era of the dictatorship and democracy, artistic modernity, and the similarities and differences between various perspectives, techniques and artistic styles. It seems that all forms of artistic expresión, such as abstraction, expressionism, figurative art and many more, are represented in this exhibition. Of course, if you have a favourite, I’d love to hear about it in the comments. I have several, such as works by Darío Villalba, Luis Gordillo, Antoni Tàpies and a few others.
Hollow Hills No. 15, 1985, Susana Solano, iron.
There are works to suit all tastes, in every style, and it is a clear expression of a great era, bringing together various artists, some of whom are little known, and that is the beauty of this magnificent exhibition.
I really enjoyed wandering through each of the galleries, because on the third floor, which is laid out like a sort of labyrinth, it is divided into three enormous rooms, all under close security and with an atmosphere of calm, silence and appreciation of fine art.
Thank you very much for joining me today; I send you my warmest regards. See you soon. Amonet.
All photographs are my own. Separators created by me in Photoshop. Used translator Deepl.com free version. //:# (!worldmappin 36.721546 lat -4.422998 long Archipelago – Suñol Soler Collection – Contemporary works from the 20th century 📷 Málaga – Spain d3scr)
