Son[i]a #157
“Oferta publica / Public Tender” is the first major presentation of Rita McBride’s work in Spain. In a direct dialogue with the building’s architect, Richard Meier, the artist has returned most of the museum’s second floor to its initial and intentional state. This cleansing of the architecture puts the exhibition space on view as an object of study, putting it at par with the artworks it houses. With this bold intervention McBride has carefully re-constituted an environment in which art and architecture are synonymous.
The artist’s excavation of the struggle between the inner workings of the museum and its architecture creates a powerful transparency, re-establishing the connection between the public function and the museum’s day to day custodial operations.
SON[I]A talks to Bartomeu Marí, Luis Fernández-Galiano, Anne Pöhlmann and Rita McBride about the processes and ideas behind the exhibition.
Isabel Bachs
Isabel Bachs, Head of Architecture at MACBA, talks about the beginnings of the architectural project for the Museum, its impact in urban and citizen terms, its stylistic features, and some of the most noteworthy exhibitions.
Bartomeu Marí, Carles Guerra and Yaiza Hernández introduce the 2012 programme.
Rita McBride
The work of Rita McBride (Des Moines, Iowa, United States, 1969) is situated on the hybrid territory between sculpture, architecture and industrial design. Starting with the critical appropriation of everyday objects, the artist creates enigmatic pieces that force us to question the nature of the symbols on which our culture is based.