Andrés Planas participates for the first time in Art Madrid together with the Mallorcan gallery MA arte contemporáneo. Within the One Project program, curated by Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta and under the title "Salvajes", Andrés Planas will present part of his most recent work, which he has called: "Contracorriente".

"Contracorriente" brings together a selection of works that have formed part of different projects and series carried out by the artist in recent years. Andrés Planas (Palma de Mallorca, 1957), has a long career, participating since 1989, in numerous individual and group exhibitions.

The work of the Mallorcan artist is fundamentally focused on the search for the ironic side of things, playing with concepts such as death, sex, religion or education from a imposed perspective, where these elements are defined by norms of conduct of any society by the stablishment, and under religious or political ideologies that configure a false morality in individuals. And he does not do it, according to the artist _"in a political way, but rather, responding to a personal need, like an exorcism".

Andrés Planas

Paquito, 2015

Técnica mixta madera, plástico, pigmentos, pan de oro y restos biológicos humanos

30 x 17cm

Andrés Planas

BigMac, 2015

Técnica mixta madera, plástico, pigmentos, pan de oro y restos biológicos humanos

40 x 23cm

We see this fierce criticism in some of the works belonging to his series "Identity", from 2015 and "The Twelve Apostles", from 2019. In the pieces of the series "Identity" the artist develops a technique with which he inserts elements such as wood, plastics, pigments, gold leaf and human biological remains, creating then a work in where the found object is decontextualized, changed, disguised and swallowed up with other elements and plastic techniques through which he transmits a totally new and ironic concept. This way he builds a sarcastic message about the strong manipulation of the facto powers in societies.

Colour dominates his creations. Colour in capital letters; a klein blue that makes it its own and impregnates many of his works.

Andrés Planas

Los 12 Apóstoles, 2, 2019

Mixed media

35 x 15cm

In the series "The Twelve Apostles", he presents a personalized iconography of the apostles, with that ironic tone that makes us believe it with absolute vehemence and at the same time we crack a smile. Planas gives us new stories about these characters that have already been historicized for centuries, making them reappear in a new ideology.

Andrés Planas is one of those artists who, despite going against established precepts and maintaining a vital stance often classified as "politically incorrect", has achieved creative independence both from a technical and a thematic point of view, and at the same time, has managed to remain coherent throughout his artistic career.

This project is also accompanied by some pieces from the series "La sonrisa de la calavera " together with an impressive artist's book and other works from the series "Wunderkammer " and "No sex".

Andrés Planas

El obispo de Siguenza, 2015

Técnica mixta madera, plástico, pigmentos, pan de oro y restos biológicos humanos

40 x 23cm

MA is a contemporary art space in Palma de Mallorca that has a full programme of exhibitions (from six to eight every year) of all kinds of artistic manifestations endorsed by the critical eye and criteria of its director, Marisa Aldeguer, also an artist and art historian. Marisa Aldeguer welcomes in her gallery both young artists and creators with consolidated careers. The gallery owner also provides advice on starting a contemporary art collection, always adapting to the taste and budget of the client.

“In MA Arte Contemporáneo we are very interested in spreading the beauty in its multiple facets, in giving to understand that at present there are thousands valid proposals in contemporary art, for that reason MA goes for a truncated line, with ramifications. We are interested in art that moves and touches", the gallery owner points out.

Buying the first work of art always instils respect. A difficult feeling to define that mixes vertigo with adrenaline. But over uncertainty and caution, a pleasurable sense of connection, understanding, and desire prevails. That work that, once seen, stays in the mind, reappears in the memory several times a day and seems to tell you that it is willing to be part of your home, is the perfect candidate to make the decision.

In the first steps, many collectors do point out that one does not start from an established plan, but rather that one acquires pieces based on taste and the connection one feels with them until, after time, they realise that the volume of works that accumulates can be labelled as a "collection". For example, this is how Alicia Aza explains it:

“I was not aware that I was collecting until many years later when a third party named me as a collector and talked about my collection. In 2005, I became aware of what collecting means and decided to articulate a collection with an identity of criteria and formats”.

Marcos Martín Blanco, co-founder, with his wife Elena Rueda, of the MER Collection, shares this same opinion:

“Collecting has been a passion, driven by a visceral state that encourages you to do so. The collection, in terms of acquisitions, has not been particularly complicated because, let's face it: it is easy to buy because they are all beautiful things and you have some clear idea of where you want to go, but at first those preferences were not so clear. It is with the time that a criterion is being formed”.

It is not always this way, of course, but for the buyer who starts out on this path, the personal connection that entails the first piece is essential. There it is the germ of a lasting relationship that is not limited to a simple aesthetic question but is an open window to knowledge, to exploration, to a world that is often unknown to us and awakens our fascination. The seed of that connection is purely sentimental, and it is precisely this impulse that determines the first acquisitions. The first piece is never forgotten.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Ana Maqueda

Exceeding the usual recommendations made by advisers and agents, rare is the occasion when the art lover decides to buy by pure investment. These paths usually open later, when the volume of pieces is large enough. In addition, there are those who are a bit against this classic concept of the traditional collector, approached from an eccentric, elitist and little accessible vision. On the contrary, art buyers are, above all, art lovers, sentient beings and permeable to creative stimulus who, at a given moment, decide to deepen the relationship they already have with art to take a piece home.

It is not that hard to overcome that small psychological barrier that turns the visitor into a buyer if one approaches the matter from a more personal and intimate perspective than from social consideration. Small-format works, graphic work or serial photography are of great help for this, whose price range, generally more affordable, allows a closer comparison to the daily basis expenses. In this way, the purchase of art falls within the range of feasible activities and becomes something close and possible.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Marc Cisneros

At that moment, a different relationship with art begins, based on pure experience and coexistence with the acquired piece. Perhaps it can be seen as an act of daring, but on many occasions, it is more a matter of necessity and transformation. Collectors also agree that the acquisition of an artwork is an exercise on personal analysis and opening up to a new field of knowledge that was previously alien to us. Alicia Aza explains that the reason she acquired her first piece of video art, by Sergio Prego, is because she did not understand it and because she saw it as a challenge and an opportunity to self-improve. This open window to knowledge creates new connections and bonds with creators, as one of the most fascinating parts of the process. Candela Álvarez Soldevilla explains that

"I think the most interesting thing in the art world is talking to artists. They are people with a special sensitivity to listen and understand.”

And Alicia Aza also says:

"I can share the satisfaction of being able to count on many artists in my circle of close friends today, and that is a long way to go."

Thus, with works that seem acceptable within the horizon of expenses that each one considers affordable, it is easy to find a piece that catches us. Since then, our home also evolves into a space in which art has a permanent place and presence, and there is no doubt that this transforms us inside.

Art Madrid'20, photo by Henar Herguera

Jaime Sordo, owner of Los Bragales collection and founder of the 9915 Contemporary Art Collectors Association, has always defined his relationship with art as a true passion and a vital necessity. For buyers who start on this path, he has the following recommendation:

“It is an essential condition that they feel the need to live with their passion to enjoy the works. Another very important aspect is that before making decisions for purchases, they are informed, so it is necessary to read specialised newspapers and books, visit exhibitions and museums and a lot of contact with galleries, which is an important and very specific source of information of the artists they represent. Finally, the presence in national and international art fairs. All this generates information and training.”

Indeed, fairs have become a good place for discovery because they condense a wide offer and allow diverse and global contact in a concentrated way. For this reason, many new generation buyers start in the context of an event such as Art Madrid, whose closeness and quality constitute a unique opportunity to meet, soak up and feed the passion for art.

(*) quotes taken from various interviews published in public media between 2013 and 2019.