The annihilation of paradise: from La Lonja of Valencia to “An exercise in violence”

Journey with the historian Eloi Boix-Català through Ciutat Vella to the fish market, to highlight the parallels between the nature of the fish market in Valencia and the “Un ejercicio de violencia” (An exercise in violence) exhibition by Guillermo Ros.

This journey sets out a story that begins in medieval Valencia and ends in the era of post-modern capitalism. The artist no longer aspires to lecture the viewer, nor to frighten him with the threat of sin and punishment. Hell has come alive in today’s material and human exploitation and there is no refuge in which to hide. We can only walk and stare at the rubble of a sinking narrative and world. A message that underlies all the work of Ros, heir to a lineage of stonecutters who found their vital drive in the exploitation of Valencian stone through iron and the strength of their hands.

The medieval iconography that inspired Kentaro Miura. Deformed and malicious beings that have come to life to destroy the architecture and the myth of which they were prisoners. From Pere Compte to Guillermo Ros, La Lonja de Valencia (Silk Exchange) and Un Ejercicio de Violencia (An Exercise in Violence) offer a reading of the construction and fall of the system with which reality was shaped. A synthesis that has never been easier to understand, or to walk through: between gallery 6 of the IVAM and the Lonja de la Seda (Silk Exchange). Fifteen minutes away on foot, in the city of Valencia.

Eloi Boix-Català is a graduate in History from the University of Valencia and holds a Master’s degree in Education, focusing his studies on the geography and past of the Valencian territory. He is currently working on a doctoral thesis in the Society and Culture programme at the University of Barcelona. He has an in-depth knowledge of the artistic career and work of Guillermo Ros since his beginnings.