Exhibition: ¡1914! Avant-Garde and the Great War (Part 1)

In Madrid the big temporary exhibition going on at the moment is ¡1914! Avant-Garde and the Great War exhibit held in two parts in the Thyssen-Bornemisza gallery and the Fundación Caja Madrid. Yesterday I decided to check out the part of the exhibit held in the Fundación Caja Madrid. The main advantage for doing this exhibit first in this centre was because it was free so my friends and I could see if it was something which interested us.




The Fundación Caja Madrid is located near Sol and it a very nicely laid out gallery. Lots of open spaces and very elegant. It consists of a grand hall which is on two levels, and some back rooms.

This part of the exhibition deals with the themes:

-Apocalypse of our time
-Artist and Soldier
-Cubism in the Trenches
-The Stigma of Damnation
-C'est la Guerre!



It is a rather intense exhibition and can make one rather uncomfortable. Which I suppose means it is indeed good art because its initial aim is to shock and make a strong statement. With dramatic and impressionable art from George Grosz, Ernst Ludwig Kirchner and Wilhelm Lembruck this is an exhibit worth going to. However it is something that will un-nerve you and I know in my case it was not an exhibition I felt comfortable lingering on. I very much enjoyed seeing the works of George Grosz who this exhibition has made me realise is probably an artist that could go up there with my favourites. His Metropolis is one of the key stars of the exhibit along with Kirchner's Artillerymen. Thought provoking, powerful and impressionable. It is an exhibit which really captured the atmosphere of horror and intensity of the first World War.



Dates: 07/10/08-11/01/09
Location: Fundación Caja Madrid; Plaza San Martín 1
Transport: Metro: line 1,2,3,(Sol), line 2,5(Opera) line 3,5(Callao),
Buses: 1,2,3,5,15,25,29,44,50,51,53,146,148 and 150
Hours: Tue-Sun (10am-8pm), closed Mon.
Price: Free