Image: Museum of Contemporary Art, Vigo, Baltimore
Alejandra Icaza has opened 'Circus' at the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Vigo, where the exhibition is part of a broader moment for the museum marked by six simultaneous shows. The Bilbao-based artist presented the project on July 22, according to reporting from Atlántico, in a display that brings together large-scale works distinguished by vivid color, mixed techniques and a luminous visual language.
The exhibition is curated by Miguel Fernández-Cid, who described Icaza as one of the more singular artists of her generation. The installation combines painting, drawing and collage, with Icaza working in layered surfaces and using a black wax base before scratching into the image, a process she compared to engraving. The works are presented in large dimensions and emphasize chromatic intensity and brightness.
Icaza’s imagery draws on experiences in the United States and on repeated visits to Brazil and Mexico, which she said have left a clear mark on her production. In the reporting around the opening, her paintings are described as evoking interior worlds and daily impressions, with a recurring interest in gardens and a kind of inner landscape. The artist also referenced echoes of Matisse, Kandinsky and Paul Klee in her approach.
At the center of the article is the idea of art as pleasure and invention. Icaza said that she wanted simply to paint a picture, and she described her work as carrying a positive message filled with light. She added that even amid difficult experiences, the world she tries to convey remains bright, framing her practice as one rooted in enjoyment and in a constructive outlook.
The opening was attended by Vigo mayor Abel Caballero, together with the city’s delegate for culture, Gorka Gómez. The mayor expressed interest in keeping part of the exhibition in the city, and the reporting notes that Vigo’s collection could potentially acquire a work. That possibility was presented as a local response to a show that had been long in preparation.
'Circus' was organized in collaboration with Sala Rekalde in Bilbao, and the exhibition is expected to travel there as part of its itinerary. One work mentioned in the coverage, 'Verne', dates from 2009 and is linked both to the city and to the exhibition itself. The article presents the project as the latest in a run of six exhibitions currently open to the public at MARCO Vigo.
