Luis Adelantado is pleased to present Documentos básicos, a special project created around the emblematic series of works by Darío Villalba (San Sebastián, 1939-2018), an artist who has often been defined as one of the pioneers in the use of contemporary photography, either through his own sabotage of the photographic language, or by his method of combining different apparently irreconcilable media such as photography, painting and sculpture.
This proposal presents a selection of Documentos básicos of the artist’s legacy which are one of Villalba’s most valuable personal archives, in which both his own and other sources coexist, subjugated to a continuous revision, redefinition and intervention by the artist
His work has been recognized with various awards including the Gold Medal for Merit in Fine Arts and the National Prize for Fine Arts. Some of his most relevant exhibitions have been: An International Survey of Recent Painting and Sculpture at the MoMA, Darío Villalba. Una visión antológica 1957-2007, MNCARS, Madrid, Cinq siècles d’Art Espagnol: Les années 70-80 at Musée d’Art Moderne de la Ville de Paris or Pop soul. Encapsulados & Otros at Sala Alcalá 13 Madrid. It is also worth mentioning the presence of his work in national and international collections such as the MNCARS in Madrid, IVAM in Valencia, the Metropolitan Museum, the Solomon R. Guggenheim Museum in New York, and the Pinault Collection among others.
“I say that it is difficult to explain oneself, but, actually, since this work is something of a personal diary covering 43 years of my career, it is nothing more than the materialization of a hidden part of the reality which has driven my spirit and my retina, becoming, over the years, more universal and varied There are images of daily life which I either sought out or happened upon, but in all cases they were chosen.”—Darío Villalba. Documentos Básicos. 1957-2000 Documentos Básicos. 1957-2000