With this introduction, curator Aimé Iglesias Lukin explains the meaning of the word Épsilon. It is obviously a necessary definition for an art exhibition which showcases many contemporary artists with 20th-century sculptors. The exhibition takes place at the MACBA and it's the penultimate exhibition of the year, which has been dedicated exclusively to female artists. Now, let's see if we can find the épsilon in the rooms, the detours from academic traditions. With this challenge in mind, in the first room, the curator faces very recent works (and in the most diverse materials) by artists like Irina Kirchuk, Marcolina Dipierro, Silvana Lacarra, Jane Brodie, Elena Dahn and Dolores Furtado with a 1962 piece by Alicia Penalba in bronze. 

General view of the first room - "Épsilon. Abstracciones descentradas"

MACBA 2016

Can we consider Kirchuk's "El Puente" or Jane Brodie's shapeless mass on the ground the épsilon? "El Puente" is the detour, maybe, because space is also part of the structure and interacts with the visitors, that can walk through it. Or maybe the digression is the sculpture made with tar (such an untraditional material!) on the floor, while Penalba's work is displayed on a base and under the spotlight. Is this intentional? Or do they want to isolate the 20th century piece to give way to the  21st century?

El Puente II, by Irina Kirchuk (2015)

Materials: iron and plastic / Measures: 200 x 304 cm

Site specific, by Jane Brodie (2016)

Material: tar / Variable measures

Ancetre Ailee, by Alicia Penalba (1962)

Material: Bronze / Measures: 73 x 50 x 32 cm

By now you must be wondering if all the pieces on display can be considered sculptures.  Do all 3D works have the right to enter the category "Sculpture"? To these doubts, the curator intelligently shelters under the épsilon. In the second room, the artwork from the 20th century is still on a base, while the others crawl around it, connecting themselves with the visitors and the architecture of the museum.

Untitled, by Jane Brodin (2012)

Material: rocks / Measures: 57 x 47 x 37 cm

Tender, by Irina Kirchuk (2015)

Materials: Iron and acrylic / Measures: 140 x 46 x 74 cm

Signo rojo, by María Juana Heras Velasco (1981)

Material: polychromed iron / Measures: 110 x 100 x 5cm

Sin título, by Silvana Lacarra (2016)

Material: formica and cardboard / Measures: 160 x 300 x 130 cm

But if the bases marked the differences, in the last room, all the pieces are displayed on one. What distinguishes the 20th century artwork by Noemí Gerstein is the traditional material used: bronze.

Room 3 - General View

Pequeño dragón, by Noemí Gerstein (1975)

Material: Bronze 

Sin título, by Marcelino Dipierro (2016)

Material: stainless steel, enamel and fabric / Measures 150 x 90 x 2 cm

The diverse materials are the stars of the exhibition, as also the empty spaces. It is in fact a tour around the innovations of contemporary sculptures. It is a pity that there are no signs, since most of the pieces are new and little known.