CASA SEAT bets on sustainable art through creations by 15 artists

Raise awareness about the importance of environmental conservation. This is the main objective of sustainable art, and the one also pursued by CASA SEAT with its new exhibition Re-Art. The exhibition addresses the evolution of this discipline, characterized by creating works with waste materials that are reusable or recyclable.

The exhibition, curated by Drap-Art director Tanja Grass, reviews the evolution of sustainable art from its beginnings, through pioneering artists such as Modest Cuixart and HA Schult, who drew from earlier movements and artists including Picasso, Dalí, Miró, Warhol, Tàpies, and Brossa, who already used everyday objects for their creations. Both Schult and Cuixart have works exhibited worldwide, Cuixart's partly marked by his experience during the Civil War in his early adolescence, as evidenced by his series Nens sense nomreda to commemorate child victims of the war, as art historian Raquel Medina de Vargas has recalled.

The exhibition traces the trajectory of this discipline to the present day, with a selection of contemporary artists, including Àlex Cardona, Augustine Namatsi Okubo, Ignat C. de Michaelis, the 3-DKE collective, Indira Urrutia, Jana Álvarez, Jordi Prat Pons, José Manuel Carretero, Lisa Rubin, Luis Cebaqueva, Nicolas Maas, Nourathar Studio, and the Ocean Sole entity. All of them come from different artistic traditions and employ multiple techniques and materials, ranging from forgotten flip-flops to technological waste. Hailing from Europe, America, and Africa, these artists have explored the creative possibilities of sustainable art from various disciplines, so the exhibition brings together pieces ranging from painting to design, illustration, and collage.

The exhibition, which can be visited for free until September 7, has motivated the organization of proposals and workshops that will be programmed in parallel in the same space. These activities will include food repurposing workshops with CASA SEAT chefs, Mireia Garrido and Jordi Ribot, to transform leftovers into new culinary proposals. In addition, on July 25, a percussion workshop with recycled instruments will be offered with the Tocart Persecución music school and trainer Sebastián Gárate.

The exhibition, which will also feature a children's craft space, will culminate with a concert on September 7 by Bufa&Sons, a musical trio that uses recycled instruments made from everyday objects such as bricks, crutches, and chairs. Led by Xavi Lozano, it has 20 years of experience and collaborations with artists such as Silvia Pérez Cruz, Chamabo, and Jorge Drexler.

This exhibition represents "the return of pictorial and sculptural art to CASA SEAT," as highlighted by the center's head of cultural programming, José Mata. The fact that these pieces are exhibited "in a non-conventional exhibition space allows many audiences to participate." Mata has connected the exhibition with another reference for recycling to create artistic installations: the Gràcia festivals, which are celebrated in August. "There will be links with the festivals," he anticipated, because "they make art from these materials" and focus on reuse and recycling, like the artists who will raise awareness about environmental care with this exhibition.