Soledad Sevilla at the Reina Sofía...
7:08 p.m.03/05/25 - Every time we visit the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, it is inevitable to stop at the room where Picasso's majestic Guernica is exhibited, which, as always, is saturated with visitors from all over the world. It turns out that no one wants to miss a detail of the extraordinary painting that depicts the pain of humanity.
However, the museum offers additional attraction through its carefully selected temporary exhibitions that complement the permanent collection. On this occasion, Soledad Sevilla (Spain, 1944) presents a significant fraction of her artistic career, distributing large-format paintings in several galleries of the museum.
Our tour begins with the small work of Eusebio Sempere (Spain, 1923-1985), who was a key figure in Sevilla's career and to whom she dedicates a set of paintings in which the line is the main protagonist.
Untitled, by Eusebio Sampere (1965-1969)
Technique: gouache on paper
Soledad Sevilla's collection
Horizontes pequeños, by Soledad Sevilla (2023)
Technique: acrylic on wood
Horizonte blanco horizontal, by Soledad Sevilla (2024)
Technique: acrylic on canvas
Horizonte blanco vertical,
Technique: acrylic on canvas
In that room, the work of both creators is complemented by the prevailing silence that, together with a mystical luminosity, surrounds the visitor and transmits serenity. It turns out that in the paintings the lines, although tiny, in repetition or accumulation provoke this solemn gravity that is impossible to reproduce in photos: the gesture, the rhythm, the geometric rigor, the capacity for tonal modulation and the meticulousness are only visible when standing before the artwork.
El tiempo vuela, by Soledad Sevilla (1998)
Installation of 1500 paper butterflies, polyester and paint
El Tiempo Vuela is the only installation on display and in it the artist addresses the idea of time. The hypnotic movement of the butterflies returning to the same position over and over again reflects the idea of circular time (like the hands of a clock). Here Sevilla expands her aesthetic concerns towards space.
In another gallery, the color and size of the works, arranged almost touching the floor and very close to each other, is overwhelming. The repetition of the patterns forms a detailed architecture. There are many and similar paintings, because Sevilla works in series. In her own words: "I consider that the problem cannot be solved with a single image; I need several images that can dialogue with each other.”
Untitled, by Soledad Sevilla (1977)
Technique: acrylic on canvas
We must admit that throughout the entire exhibition we were struck by the lines, which are almost like threads that run throughout the canvas, until they form a geometric framework.
Soledad Sevilla works methodically and communicates with the visitor through a rigorous language based on this purity of line. Just like Vasili Kandinsky (Russia, 1866 – France 1944), the artist transmits to us, with this straight line, the inner state of her complex emotions, something that could even be a reflection of ours.
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