#arts

Alice Neel (1900-1984) had the ability to look, to look around her with empathy and immortalise it on canvas. Steeped in humanity, her works portray the most disadvantaged sectors of society: women, immigrants and the jobless. Her unique point of view is now on display at the Guggenheim Museum in Bilbao and Lucia Agirre, curator of the exhibition Alice Neel: People come first, is an encounter with a great artist largely unknown to the general public.

Chillida Leku is hosting the exhibition Tàpies in Zabalaga, sponsored by the Iberdrola Foundation, until 10th January. An exhibition in which the work of the Catalan artist engages in a dialogue with that of Chillida, with whom, in addition to being good friends, he was united by the desire to transcend matter as a path towards spirituality and a humanist approach with which he underlined the transforming capacity of art. Mireia Massagué, director of Chillida Leku, invites us to enjoy the bond between two unique and inimitable artists at the Zabalaga farmhouse.

Art restoration is an eminently delicate process. With modern tools, however, we can restore sculptures, paintings, books and even buildings with incredible precision and surprising results.

It is almost impossible not to fall in love with the spectacle of light, sound and movement of video mapping. Many feel that this technique exists somewhere between technology and fantasy, and is a new striking way of making art. Meanwhile, industries such as the advertising sector already use it to promote their products.

Bringing together the pieces to be featured at an exhibition is a very sensitive process. It involves valuable and unique works of art, with the packaging and transportation of each the responsibility of specialist companies and professionals.

For Rafael Lozano-Hemmer, the relationship between art and technology in the 21st century is nothing unusual. His works, which border on theatrical and performance art and make use of projections, sensors and communication networks, deal with this dichotomy and appeal directly to the observer in search of the answer to the question: How much does technology tell us about ourselves?