Since Jaume I. Today

Jaume I is at the origin of modern Valencian culture, and in addition to conquering Valencia he also took the island of Majorca. This is why three Valencian artists (Manolo Valdés, 1942; Miquel Navarro, 1945; José Antonio Orts, 1955) and a Majorcan (Bernardí Roig, 1965) have been invited to take part in an exhibition of homage to the Conqueror. They are four artists whose ways of working differ considerably, and though they are all riding on the crest of a wave their poetics are hard to weave together in a single show. We have played on a common characteristic, however, the sensory quality of the Mediterranean, to make a mesh of meanings (poor meanings! – shifting like the wind, as ethereal and volatile as the mind, and capable of changing with every step and at every gaze) which construct a great allegory from the components of this exhibition about the times of the Conqueror King. The first is based on the number 8, the root of which is similar to the word “night” in all European languages (eight/night – ocho/noche – acht/nacht – otto/notte – huit/nuit – vuit/nit): eight centuries have passed since Jaume’s birth and eight makes a skein which, set on its side, symbolizes infinity, and it also represents the winding route that the visitor will follow as he goes round the exhibition; also, José Antonio Orts has placed eight “quartets” of devices in the installation Bosc i cavil·lacions (Forest and Ruminations); Bernardí Roig has arranged eight hundred light tubes; and Miquel Navarro has set eight pairs of living warriors in a row. The allegory also extends to the contents: Manolo Valdés’s Libros (Books) symbolizes the memory accumulated in the letters written during the eight centuries of Valencia’s history; Miquel Navarro’s Ciutat roja (Red City) stands for the cities taken by the Conqueror King, particularly Valencia, but also other places, such as Majorca and Burriana; and Miquel’s Figuras para la batalla (Figures for Battle) are a direct allegory of war, represented by soldiers in formation; José Antonio Orts’s Bosc i cavil·lacions, Llibres-aus (Bird Books) and Font i sèquies (Spring and Channels) seek to represent the natural setting and irrigation systems that the Christians found in the conquered lands; and, in contradictory fashion, the whole of Bernardí Roig’s installation allegorizes the new faith, represented by the light shed by the tubes, and the grief of loss felt by the former Islamic inhabitants of Valencia, given specific form in the expression of each of the five human figures. Irrespective of the meanings that the visitor may find in the works of art exhibited, we think the result is a splendid show, perfectly put together and harmonized, featuring four pinnacles of current Spanish thinking in art. Valencia, June 2008 Facundo Tomás Curator of the exhibition