Travel notebooks in the display cases in the School of Fine Arts Library at Universidad Complutense in Madrid
On February 3, an exhibit was inaugurated at the School of Fine Arts at Universidad Complutense in Madrid. The exhibit is about travel workbooks from artists who reflect upon the natural environment as an intrinsic aspect of their creative process. The exhibition is curated by painters and professors of the School of Fine Arts; Mr. José María Rueda, Mrs. Paloma Peláez, along with former alumni Carlos Cartaxo, Isabel Carralero Díaz, Lourdes Castro Cerón and Dora Piñón Quintana.
“The notebooks are in display cases that come from the School of San Fernando, within which valuable books and documents are saved for the history of the school, our alma mater. This is a cozy space in front of the School Library.
Within the cases —and within the notebooks— secrets, very specific to the painters can be heard, in which they feel an urgent need to contemplate, interpret, and artistically recreate what happens around them. Each uses a different style, but in essence, all speak the same language. The sketches that I present were made during a stay in China.
In this case, there are three volumes —letters, drawings and painting— with annotations of the provinces that I visited during the trip. We have also accompanied our work with objects and tools we use in the process, all the devices employed in each exploration.”
Photography III–IV: Luis Mayo