Art Madrid'23 – MALKOVICH, MALKOVICH, MALKOVICH… A PHOTOGRAPHIC TRIBUTE WITHOUT SHAME

Malkovich's personality is not satisfied with playing the role of some of the most memorable film characters or having a movie completely dedicated to him. The actor's relationship with the image transcends the sphere of pure interpretation and dares to participate in projects where his intervention involves acting work but demands, in turn, expose a large part of himself, of the individual and citizen Malkovich.

Philippe Halsman, “Salvador Dalí”, 1954, reinterpretation by Sandro Miller in 2014

For this reason, when photographer Sandro Miller contacted the actor for a proposal to participate in his project, he did not hesitate for a moment. The offer was very juicy: to emulate some of the most famous images in the history of photography, Malkovich being portrayed, who should impersonate all those characters.

Bert Stern, “Marilyn in Pink Roses” from “The Last Session”, 1962, reinterpretation by Sandro Miller in 2014

Thus, it began a relationship between photographer and actor in which Sandro Miller was able to pay a great tribute to the masters of the image that had been to him the main source of inspiration throughout his career. With the desire to pay tribute to them and at the same time play with the reinterpretation of the images, this project required a person who was not afraid of ridicule and who was willing to transform himself openly.

Arthur Sasse, “Albert Einstein”, 1951, reinterpretation by Sandro Miller in 2014

Sandro Miller's career has run almost entirely along the paths of advertising photography. Despite this, from a young age, he felt a deep admiration for the work of some master photographers, a wake that has accompanied him at all times and that encouraged him to undertake more risky and diverse personal projects when time allowed.

Annie Leibovitz, “Meryl Steep in NYC”, 1981, reinterpretation by Sandro Miller in 2014

On this occasion "Malkovich, Malkovich, Malkovich: Tribute to the masters of photography" has allowed the actor to put himself in the shoes of Marylin Monroe, Albert Einstein, Hemingway, Jack Nicholson, Che Guevara, Salvador Dalí, Alfred Hitchcock, Truman Capote, Meryl Streep, Bette Davis, Pablo Picasso, among others; and to Sandro Miller, to emulate the work of Philippe Haslman, Alberto Korda, Arthur Sasse, Annie Leibovit, Diane Arbus, Bert Stern or Irving Penn, to mention some of them.

After passing through numerous European cities, the San Telmo Museoa centre now hosts this exhibition that will be open to the public until November 17th. Do not miss it.

 

In the year 2020 in the heart of Barcelona a wandering gallery was born, the same one that in February 2021 would debut at Art Madrid with an exhibition proposal focused on contemporary portraits; with this subject matter it would manage to create a powerful dialogue between artwork and audience and make the seal Inéditad remain in the history of the event that contained it.

Jean Carlos Puerto. Protección. Oil and copper leaf on wood. 60 x 48. 2021. Image courtesy of the gallery.

Since that first time and until today, the wandering gallery has managed to build projects on otherness, has repositioned in the spotlight the discourses on the LGTBIQ+ collective, has consolidated a group of artists who share its principles of resilience and empathy and the best thing is that it continues to bet from the professionalism and commitment to give voice to the difference.

Claudio Petit-Laurent.. El Joven de la Perla. Oil on wood. 30 x 30 cm. 2023. Image courtesy of the gallery.

Inéditad Gallery, thanks to its founder Luis López, its collaborators and the infinite possibilities manifested in the works of the artists it represents, is a gallery that has demonstrated its capacity and courage to stimulate the sensibility of the public through art and seduce a generation that moves between the glass window and the analogical story. Inéditad is a nomadic gallery that has gathered around it a community of artists and has moved the context with exhibition projects that think about LGTBIQ+ art without prejudices.

Pepa Salas Vilar. Las marcas del arcoiris. Oil on canvas. 40 x 50 cm. 2022. Image courtesy of the gallery.

Pride and Prejudice was inaugurated. An exhibition that brings together the works of sixteen artists: Abel Carrillo, Alex Domènech, Carlos Enfedaque, Silvia Flechoso, Jamalajama, Daniel Jaén, Claudio Petit-Laurent, Jean Carlos Puerto, Fernando Romero, Pablo Rodríguez, Pepa Salas Vilar, Jack Smith, Pablo Sola, Bran Sólo, Elia Tomás and Utürüo. Painting, illustration, photography and digital art are the manifestations that bring into dialogue around fifty neatly threaded pieces, in a discursive line that discusses such a latent phenomenon as discrimination. To achieve this, the artists invited to the exhibition question themselves whether: Does discrimination exist within the LGTBIQ+ collective?

Pride and Prejudice Official Poster. Image courtesy of the gallery.

With approaches on and from the body, the proposal invites to celebrate diversity, proposes to question and self-question the prejudices and attitudes of society against the collective. Pride and Prejudice is a space for dialogue about the constructs imposed on us by society. It is also an oasis in which to deconstruct with tolerance and respect the subjectivities that sometimes prevent us from approaching the production of the participating artists, simply because "the beautiful" does not fit in an androgynous body. The subjugation of stereotypes are pressed with determination to find the beauty of diversity in other palpable facets of reality.

Pablo Sola. All men are dogs. Photography. 2014. Image courtesy of the gallery.

Throughout these three years Inéditad has stimulated the vindictive projection towards bad practices, has questioned estates around the LGTBIQ+ body and the most admirable thing, is that these capacities have resurfaced around the dialogue and the visual narrative of the stories that are told from the visual: Artworks that are people, art that is, per se, humanity. Overcome impositions and accept what is different in order to continue fighting against homophobia, biphobia, lesbophobia or transphobia and defend the equal rights that all the acronyms of the collective deserve in our community.

That's Pride and Prejudice: One creature, the happiest in the world. And maybe other projects and other people have said it - or felt it - before, but none so fairly.

Silvia Flechoso. Hola, soy maricón. Oil on canvas. 73 x 54 cm. 2023. Image courtesy of the gallery.

From June 8th until June 22nd you can visit Pride and Prejudice. Carrer de Palau núm. 4. Canal Gallery space. Barcelona.