Pilar Parcerisas is an art critic, art historian, essayist and exhibition curator based in Barcelona. She trained as a curator with Harald Szeemann. She has been President of ACCA, the Catalan Association of Art Critics, as well as Vice-President of the new Catalonia Arts Council in Barcelona.
At the moment she is busy organizing the 8th edition of international symposium on “Art Criticism in a Global World” which is going to be held at Macba on the 16th 17th this month. Lecturing at the symposium will be Carolyn Christov-Bakargiev; artists Dora García and Albert Serra, both participants at the last Documenta 13th; Bice Curiger, curator Kunsthaus Zurich; artist and writer Antoni Llena; Deepak Ananth, critic and curator of Contemporary Indian Art, and artist and architect Francesco Jodice.
In this part one of our Skype conversation Pilar Parcerisas talks about the lacking of the public support to the visual arts in Spain. The economic crisis in Spain is very visible, the majority of the artist cannot make their living out of their work; they all have to make extra works such as hanging exhibitions or teaching. Because of the crisis and lack of public funding, the institutions have shorter programs and they manage to publish only few catalogues. Artists are still very creative but surviving without a market, and/or very strong public institutions, is difficult. Artists have to leave the country, many of them are trying to work in Brasil, Berlin or Paris.
During our conversation, Pilar mentions the interview she read on L’Officiel Art with Carsten Höller where he says that we are living at the end of the representation era. The artist is formulating questions in order to test the reality, but he has not answers; the whole idea that the artist is a guide into the society is disappearing. Artists are at the same level of reality. In the interview, Carsten Höller says that he took a sabbatic year in order to rethink his own work and to write something. Now the artist does not need to follow the rhythm of production anymore. This stress for the production is finally probably finished.
Pilar Parcerisas analyzes the art scene in Spain and she says that we are at the end of the conceptual generation. Now there is a new generation of artists such as Fernando Sánchez Castillo (Madrid, 1970) who is very critical about the political situation, but also Francesc Ruiz (Barcelona, 1971) who makes installation with comics and drawings. There are artists who refer to other disciplines such a literature or theatre like Oriol Vilanova, a very young artist living in Paris. Or well-known artists such as Antonio Abad or Ignasi Aballí who is working between painting and conceptual art. There are strong artists, such as Pep Agut who is projecting his conceptual art into the installations, or Eulalia Valdosera a very good artist who is raising issues on gender and feminism.
Regarding the galleries she mentions those that try to involve the new generation of artists such as Juana de Aizupuru in Madrid who works, for example, with Dora García, or Nogueras Blanchard Gallery that also tries to involve new artists. In Madrid the galleries are more active than in Barcellona, but Barcellona is more active in terms of public centers and institutions. She mentions the art center Fabra i Coats in Barcelona, a very big factory that opened last month with a new exhibition with installations and performances.
Interview by Tiziana Casapietra