“The Magritte Machine” at the CaixaForum
The Gallery Jordi Barnadas assisted last weekend to the exhibition celebrated at the CaixaForum in honor to the Belgian artist René Magritte, titled The Magritte Machine, which will be exhibited until June 6th, 2022. The exhibition brings together about 65 artworks by the artist as a retrospective of his artistic production, with the aim that the spectator gets a general idea of his artistic style as well as the view Magritte had of the world, since we won’t only find some of his artworks in the exhibition but also some pictures and films taken by himself and his wife and muse, Georgette Magritte.
Personally, the exhibition was an artistic experience, since for some of us, Magritte has been a referent when it comes to surrealist art from the 20th Century, so having the opportunity to assist to an exhibition by the Belgian artist and being able to closely observe some of his great creations, is such a luck we had to take advantage of. Altogether, we hugely recommend this exhibition to our readers, whom if they have the opportunity to visit it, it’s really worth it.
“Since my first exhibition, in 1926, I have painted 1,000 paintings, but I have conceived only 100 images. These thousand paintings exist because I have painted variants of my images; it is my way of better understanding the mystery, of owning it.” – RENÉ MAGRITTE
“The Magritte Machine” is a monographic exhibition dedicated to René Magritte’s work, (Lessines, 1898 – Brussel·les, 1967) the famous Belgian artist from the 20th Century. The exhibition includes about 65 paintings from museums and collections from various countries, along with a selection of photographs and home movies made and filmed by the artist.
In 1950, in collaboration with some friends, Magritte wrote the pamphlet “La Manufacture de Poésie”, a catalog of imaginary products, including the “Universal Painting Machine”. This machine would make it possible to compose practically an unlimited number of thinking paintings. The exhibition is based on the assumption that the Magritte Machine exists and consists of several interconnected devices that correspond to recurring concepts in the artist’s work, such as mimicry and megalomania.