Gil J Wolman. I am immortal and alive
Guided tour by Bartomeu Marí, curator of the exibition and MACBA's director
The French artist Gil J Wolman (1929-1995) was a pioneer in investigating the intersection and alteration of visual and textual languages, and also a leading member of the artistic and intellectual movement Lettrism. This show, the first monographic exhibition of Wolman's work held in Spain, brings together his most important and fertile pieces, including some that have never been exhibited before. The show is consists of four parts: The first is the film L'Anticoncept, made the same year (1951) as Isidore Isou's Traité de bave et d'éternité, with which it has a certain affinity.
The second part focuses on the period when Wolman, Debord, Jean-Louis Brau and Serge Berna broke off from Isou's group to form the Letterist International (1952-1957), a dress rehearsal of sorts for Guy Debord's later Situationist International (1957-1972). This is followed by some of his "scotch art" compositions (produced by tearing strips of printed paper and taping them to wood or fabric). The fourth and final section of the exhibition deals with works related to the «separatist movement» that Wolman set up in 1977, and of which he was the sole member.
Opening: June 3, at 7.30pm
Exhibition: until January 9, 2011
