‘Logicofobistes: 1936, el surrealisme com a revolució de l’esperit’
The exhibition Logicofobistes. 1936. El Surrealisme com a revolució de l’esperit aims to evoke the LOGICOFOBISTA exhibition that took place at the Llibreria Catalonia (Bookshop Catalonia) in 1936, just before the outbreak of the civil war. The interest of the project lies in the relevance of this second generation of surrealism, which could not be consolidated due to war and exile .It's also a commemoration of the centenary of the birth of the painter Viola, a friend of Apel·les Fenosa in the years of exile, and one of the signatories of the Logicofobista manifesto.
The exhibition curator carried out a research involving all the artists, also covering the works that were present in the original exhibition. The exhibition is accompanied by a publication that reconstructs the sample as a whole. The exhibition dedicated to the “LOGICOFOBISTA” group was presented at Fundació Apel·les Fenosa in Vendrell where it was possible to visit until the end of August 2016.
Content of the exhibition
1) THE CITY: BARCELONA.THE PROMOTERS: ADLAN.
The Association of Friends of the New Art (ADLAN for initials in Catalan) was chartered in Barcelona on October 23, 1932, with a management committee formed by Joan Prats, Eduard Montenys and Daniel Planes, the last ones were replaced by Joaquim Gomis and Josep Lluís Sert. The articles of association were approved on November 9 and members included famous personalities such as JV Foix, Montanyà, Sebastià Gasch, Joan Miró, Salvador Dalí, Angel Ferrant, Robert Gerhard, Montserrat and Nuria Isern, or Carles Sindreu. The first headquarters were located at Passeig de Gràcia 99, shared with the GATCPAC. Afterwards, they moved to Consell de Cent Street. Goals included the protection and development of art, whatever its manifestation .The first activity was a contest of flea market objects, but the most successful was the Christmas number of the magazine D 'ací d’allà (From here and there) in 1934, and the Picasso exhibition of 1936.
ADLAN sponsored exhibitions by Angel Ferrant (Syra gallery, January 1933) Calder (Syra Gallery, February 1933), Joan Miró (in the Sert apartment in June 1933, at Llibreria Catalonia in February 1934 and at Syra the same year), Salvador Dalí (Llibreria Catalonia, December 1933 and October 1934), Angel Planells (Llibreria Catalonia, November 1934), that of the three sculptors, Sans, Marinel.lo and Eudald Serra (Llibreria Catalonia in March 1934), the one of Hans Arp and Man Ray in the Roca jewellery store (March and May of 1935 respectively ).The last two exhibitions would be Picasso's at the Sala Esteve in January 1936 and in May the "Logicofobista".
2) THE EXHIBITION HALL: LLIBRERIA CATALÒNIA (CATALONIA BOOKSTORE).
Antoni López Llausàs was born in Barcelona in 1888.His father, Innocenci López, was in front of la Llibreria Espanyola (Espanyola Bookstore) and was also engaged in publishing various initiatives, such as l'Esquella Torratxa or La Campana de Gràcia. Antonio López was endowed with entrepreneurial skills, so he integrated commercial ads as a complement to family editions .On his own initiative he installed a new printer business and later, in 1924, opened jointly with Manuel Borràs and Josep Maria Cruzet the first headquarters of llibreria Catalonia in Plaça Catalunya, on the sidewalk that goes from Las Ramblas to Portal de l'Àngel, where he allowed the curious to browse the books he offered for sale. He created the llibreria Literaria (Literary Bookstore) and the Llibreria Catalonia, the ambitious History of Catalonia of Rovira i Virgili, Els Quaderns Blaus, the Univers Library and the Dictionary of the Catalan Language. After the reform of Plaça Catalunya, the bookstore moved to Ronda de Sant Pere number 3, where the “Logicofobista” exhibition took place.
Antoni López Llausàs was related to the world of arts. In 1927 he printed "La Nova Revista" (The New Magazine) and in 1928 the "Gaseta de les Arts" (Gazette of Arts), directed by Joaquim Folch i Torres. The most significant magazine was, undoubtedly, "D´ací d´allà" (From here and there) headquartered at Llibreria Catalonia, under the direction of Carles Soldevila and the collaborations of Sagarra, López Picó, Arderiu, Garcés, Riba , Gassol, Carner, etc.
On the first floor of the bookshop he opened a space for exhibitions that commissioned the old Josep Dalmau, who had closed his gallery located at the Passeig de Gràcia .The room opened in December 1933 with an exhibition by Salvador Dalí, sponsored by ADLAN. Dalí would once again exhibit in Catalonia from October 2 to 4, 1934, this time five paintings that would later travel to New York.
Dalmau was an old man, without the energy of his best years .His reputation, however, gave the room a charisma with was intrinsic in artists linked to surrealism. Àngel Planells exhibited in November 1934, and the three sculptors that were disciples of Angel Ferrant: Ramon Marinel·lo, Jaume Sans and Eudald Serra. Soon, the Logicofobista exhibition would follow-.
3) PAUL ELUARD. THE IRRADIADOR.
The project of the logicofobista exhibition was born in response to the visit of Paul Eluard to Barcelona, on the occasion of the exhibition that Sala Esteva (Esteva Hall) opened on January 13, 1936. Paul Eluard arrived with his wife Nusch in Barcelona after the inauguration .The couple was hosted at the Nouvel Hotel, Carrer de Santa Anna 18-20.
On January 17, Friday, three days later, Paul Eluard made his first conference at the Sala Esteva under the title: "Picasso according to Eluard, according to Breton and according to himself . "Three days later, on January 20, Eluard gave a lecture about his work at the Llibreria Catalonia, organized by the Friends of Poetry .On January 23 of 1936, Eluard gave a lecture at the Ateneu Enciclopèdic Popular about surrealism, and next year gathered together all those interested in Sala Esteva.
In a letter to Man Ray he indicates: Le Surréalisme conquéris Barcelone.. Avant de partir, je réunis tous les volontaires !!!!!!!!!! (Surrealism conquers Barcelona. Before leaving, I will gather all the volunteers!)
4) THE EXHIBITION.
The logofobista exhibition was postponed several times .The inauguration was planned for April 15, but finally it opened on May 4.
List of the works of the exhibition in May 1936:
- Artur Carbonell 1.Interior, 2. Murdered landscape 3 Orbit
- Leandre Cristòfol 4.Fish on the beach, 5 Moon night, 6. The astral and impassible dawn is about to happen, 7 Window.
- Angel Ferrant, 8 Composition, 9 Drawing
- Esteve Francés 10.Maria is a wife, 11, from the sea a bad sound arises, 12 Cyprus - I laugh or the dictator complex
- A. Gamboa-Rothwoss 14. Josafat Jockey's claustral thoughts, 15 Records of sentimental birds, 16 Burial
- AG. Lamolla. 16, The specter of the three graces in the subtle aura, 17, Madericora, onicoplastic, 18, Tuberculum incubic waiting for the dry time, 19, In the implacable plains, something happens, 20, ovid caress, 21 Air- plastic embrace without periphrasis.
- Ramon Marinel·lo , 22, Twilight head, 23 My memories as a teenage boy, 24, Girls kissing each other, 25, The two friends (crystallization) Joan Massanet , 26.Fatal trail of solid simulation.Maruja Mallo , 27 L´impremta (Print Press), 28 Frogs and feces.
- Àngel Planells , 29, Still life (silence became reality), 30 The impudent woman, 31 Napoleon's harp.
- Jaume Sans , 32 Camagüey
- Nadia Sokolova , 33 The fog
- Remedios Varo , 34. Sewing lessons, 35 Accidentality of women, violence, 36 The liberating leg of giant amibes.
- Joan Ismael , 37 The improvising harp player , 38 When Clotilde arrived, 39.He arrived when I expected it.
5) THE SIGNATORIES OF THE MANIFESTO.CASSANYES AND VIOLA.
Magí Cassanyes and Josep Viola signed the first and only manifesto of the exhibition, which is reproduced in the catalog:
« Viola wrote in the catalog of the Logicofobista exhibition that surrealism is a dialectically antithetical aspect in the synthetically global conception that is “Logicofobisme”, opposing all artistic expressions and that considers Poetry as an activity of the spirit .In the quest for the wonderful, surprising and exceptional, it’s not an evasive in itself, and even considering that covers what is specifically poetic, tends to precipitate the current crisis of consciousness, showing itself essentially as an expression of the permanent revolution of the spirit».
«Surrealism is, at the same time, a new notion of poetry and a new method of knowledge». The originals exhibited in this exhibition belong to Fundació Apel·les Fenosa Foundation of El Vendrell, the Generalitat de Catalunya and private collections.
Origin
The originals exhibited in this exhibition belong to Fundació Apel·les Fenosa Foundation of El Vendrell, the Generalitat de Catalunya and private collections.
- Apel·les Fenosa. Portrait of Paul Eluard.
- Picasso. Drawing by Paul Eluard.
- Leandre Cristòfol. Composition.
- Antoni G. Lamolla. Painting.
- Antoni G. Lamolla. Composition.
- Antoni G. Lamolla. Composition.
- Antoni G. Lamolla. Blue parabola.
- Antoni G. Lamolla. No title.
- Three drawings by Àngel Planells.
- Andreu Gamboa-Rothvoss. Couple.
- Andreu Gamboa-Rothvoss. Musicians.
- Andreu Gamboa-Rothvoss. Female figure.
Itinerant project
The exhibition reconstructs the LOGICOFOBISTA exhibition that took place in Barcelona, at the Llibreria Catalonia in May 1936. The outbreak of the War meant a drastic cut to the expectations of projection of this surrealistic group .Most of the artists were forced into exile and the works themselves mostly disappeared. One of the interests of the current sample is the identification of missing works, as well as the description of the personality of some of the logicofobistas, at this time unknown.
During this itinerary, the exhibition visited Ca l'Arenas de Mataró, where the exhibition of "Logicbobista" Jaume Sans 1914-1987 could also be visited .The seduction of the vanguards; At the Sabadell Museum of Art, the figure and the work of Andreu Gamboa-Rothvoss, an artist born in Sabadell with a long trajectory, recovered works belonging to the artist's family and individual collections-. In Mollet, the exhibition will be expanded with works by José Viola Gamón that are part of the Museum's collection.
Credits
Curator: Josep Miquel Garcia. Fundació Apel·les Fenosa.
Design of the exhibition: Estudi Nix. Graphic design, visual communication.
Roaming. Indecor.
Layout panels and diffusion elements: Communication Provincial Government of Barcelona Roaming Coordinator: Cultural Heritage Office. Provincial Government of Barcelona.
Sponsorship: Generalitat de Catalunya (Catalan Self-Government) Department of Culture / Provincial Government of Tarragona / El Vendrell City Hall.