María Luisa Fernández: Je, je… luna | Azkuna Zentroa, Bilbao
Je, je... luna traces a journey through the work of artist María Luisa Fernández (Villarejo de Órbigo, León, 1955). It shows different groups of sculptures, drawings and installations which to date have not been shown as a mid career retrospective. These works, produced between 1979 and 1997, are part of the different approaches around the figure and the concept of an Ideal Artist that is present through the artist production until her last individual exhibition in 1997.
The exhibition begins with the first works of Fernández as part of the CVA (Committee for Artistic Vigilance), a collective conceived as an “artistic company” jointly set in motion between 1979 and 1985 with artist Juan Luis Moraza. The projects of this “company” were characterized by the critical reflection they unleashed around the mechanisms for presenting and receiving art works, exhibition formats or the ideological and economic functions of representation of the art institution. After the CVA’s participation in shows such as Mitos y delitos (Myths and Misdeeds) (Metrònom, Barcelona and Aula de Cultura, CAM, Bilbao, 1985), its initials linked up with what was termed “New Basque Sculpture”, a group of artists located in Bilbao that became a reference point for the artistic practices and debates that marked the 1980s in the Basque Country.
In this dialogue with a concrete time and scene – described on occasions as an “unintentional generation” – this exhibition is located. The show includes documents and objects that belong to the CVA period, as well as important series of works produced after the dissolution of the collective, amongst others Máculas (Blemishes) (1984-1985), Leyendas (Legends) (1985-1986), Melenas (Long Hair) (1988), Esculturas rojas (Red Sculptures) (1989), Burladeros (1990) and Corridas (1996-1997). Burlas expresionistas (Expressionist Mockery) (1993) and Artistas ideales (Ideal Artists) (1990-1997), two installations comprising the main lines of research developed by the artist during her career, are also included throughout the exhibition.
María Luisa Fernández’s works are characterized by the use of disparate artistic languages ranging from post-conceptual and minimalism to elements coming from the intersections between constructivism and the tradition of the Basque sculpture, training ground of the artist. The use of ‘double entendres’ and puns is also frequent in her production, as well as incorporating a critical vision to official versions of the 20th century history of art. Thus, Fernández remains attentive to the influence of the 80s, which brought back notions like those of authorship, effort or genius loci, constantly questioned in her works. In this context Fernández also asserts that in addition to “having something to see” we can also work “so as to have something looking at us and something to look with”, thereby creating a series of alternative Ideal Artist models which are contrasted with the portraits of the Figures of Authority in the exhibition hall.
