EXHIBITION NOV/DECEM 2017
From november 25th to december 31th
THE PRICE OF ART
Art, culture of lands inwards, is that which brings us closer to ourselves. It mimicks us. It has as many shades as it does faces and the perception that we have of it, of this abstract thing, transforms into a quite magical, supernatural and very precious phenomenon. So much so, that to give it a serious definition would be, to say the least, purely pedantic. And by no means our goal. This debate, however labyrinthine it may be, enriches us. Always. And it doe so even more if delivered from the criticism of experience.
As is the poetry in the way we say things, we are frequently unable to explain Art which, in much the same way, is often priceless. It can be eternal, worth a lifetime and, at the same time, be equally material as be ethereal. Art is a painting, but also a word. Art is a scene, but also a good meal. Art is the other way in which we see things, but also the everyday.
The Artist has the right to live off his/her creation; that is one of the parametres. Nevertheless, reality nearly always differs. Art is so pure that it transforms into something so easily perverted. Galleries, patrons, revalued works, frivolity, show pieces, luck or simply the pure necessity of life. How many times has a work of Art been worthless and then soon become inaccessibly priced? Who controls these scales? What is the price of Art? Konvent considers this conundrum every day.
Art must be ART in capital letters. It must speak, it must grow. Its masters, those who live and feel it, have to defend, preach and teach it. Konvent’s new exhibition addresses this and does so from within, transforming our house into Hiroshima. A nuclear bomb. A new start in the way things have been done until now. An orange pressed to the peel. Brave, beautiful and self-destructive. We want Art to rebirth us – tighten the rope and throw us to sea.
From 21st November until 31st December, Konvent invites us to his/her/its last exhibition of the year. An open debate amongst Artists and people who dedicate their life to Art, who will all bring their own vision and experience to the table. All with one target in mind, the price of Art. These are cases which are reproduced the world over; victims, thugs, tramps, millionaires and the IBEX 35. Shit made gold and gold worth less than shit. A phenomenon worth analysing and, more so, talking about. Artists who are waiters. Are you an Artist? What do you do? Or the old “Come and perform at my party and in return I’ll buy you lunch.” We have to be aware of the fact that when you flip the coin over, there is another side. And those common topics come back to haunt us: money doesn’t make you happy and Art, for the authentic Artist, is worth more than its material value.
So what path must we follow? Where is the mistake made by cultural advisers and Artists alike? Is the problem that of a society with too few values? Is there a way to learn to appreciate Art? Born amongst patrimony, nature and hostility, and as the cogs and wheels never stop turning, Konvent knows exactly what he/she/it is about: shake it up from the inside out.