Can art, traditionally “associated with the observation and stillness” of a gallery or museum, coexist with the musical activity of a club, where “turmoil and chaos” reign? Can. And not only is it possible, but from that nocturnal and surprising interaction on the dance floor, everyone, audience and artists, will win. At the Sala Apolo they are clear about it and that is why last spring they launched Art Meets Apolo, an exhibition project in collaboration with LAB 36, a space linked to the Senda gallery, and the cultural agency Screen Projects (LOOP Barcelona) that has been growing and establishing itself, and today it already has five proposals from local artists.
The idea is to continue growing and renewing itself over time with new creators. “After years of working on the idea, the right circumstances and synergies finally exist to move it forward. The world of clubbing has always been linked to the arts, but this is the first time I have seen something similar under the approach that we have given it,” says Apolo’s artistic director, Alberto Guijarro.
The inaugural piece by Pedro Torres, Accumbens, a work based on the moving image and of a site-responsive nature, was joined in the hall by Phsycoflage, a piece by the electronic artist and creative programmer Mónica Riki?, made up of electronic modules equipped with a artificial intelligence system that influences their behavior: inflating them, deflating them and changing their internal light.
The encounter with art can take place in the most unexpected places, such as bathrooms, where the voice of Fito Conesa sounds in a loop interpreting couplets inspired by the figure of Paco España, one of the pioneers of transformism who gained great popularity during the transition. (La Fito, Singing as a possible cure). In the hallway between rooms 2 and 3 Jordi Gispert Pi has created a sculptural installation (Apolo Paradís Artificial) that reflects on the artificiality of the world in which we live, and Ada Morales and Carla Puig, members of the duo A C (I see), They propose a sensory experience with the Vers(u)s lighting installation.
Throughout the year, new works will be incorporated, currently in production, by Aryz, Iván Forcadell and Joaquín Boymer from Volàtil Studio, and Miliça Lukic and Miroslav Perkovic, the latter being produced by Misato Studio.
