Ciuco Gutiérrez

ABOUT THE WORK

Desserts 14

Spanish artist Ciuco Gutiérrez masterfully combines things that would seem to belong apart. Before we can lose ourselves in the vast deserts or endless oceans in his pieces, our gaze must first confront brightly coloured chandeliers. With these opulent hanging lights, Gutiérrez creates the impression of entire rooms that are out in nature.

To our surprise, the ornate chandeliers appear to be in harmony with the landscape, whether hanging above a rocky mountain ridge or juxtaposed against a valley. Are they precariously suspended over these scenes like the sword of Damocles, or are they an expression of Gutierrez’s unique sense of humour? We can’t quite be sure, but the answer may lie somewhere in between. The Spanish artist’s reputation for satirical commentary on cultural issues sheds more light on these pieces. His conceptual photography deals with socio-political themes such as man and the environment, but it is the humorous exaggeration that provides their aesthetic quality. “Desserts 14” is a dialogue between reality and fiction. Which of the two worlds prevails, however, is left open.

ABOUT THE ARTIST

It is not only through his photography that Ciuco Gutiérrez inspires the Spanish art scene; he is also head of the master’s program for Photography at the renowned EFTI school, through which he is able to share his photographic and artistic knowledge with the next generation.

Gutiérrez’s reputation in the art world has been growing since 1989, when he held his first solo exhibition at Madrid’s Galería Moriarty. Within a few years, his works were being shown in the Rijksmuseum in the Netherlands. Alongside Joan Fontcuberta, Gutiérrez is one of Spain’s best known contemporary photographers.

Hannah Hör

Solo Exhibitions

2012	Pasión-Paisaje-Pasión, Centro Nacional De Fotografia Jose Manuel Rotella, Torrelavega, Spain
2009	Ciuco Gutiérrez – Desserts, Galeriá Cero, Madrid, Spain
	Ciuco Gutiérrez, Galeria Juan Silió, Santander, Spain
	Ciuco Gutiérrez – Piezas Escogidas, San Juan Bautista Cultural Centre, Madrid, Spain
2007	Así me lo han contad, Catedral Gallery, Murcia, Spain
	Ciuco Gutiérrez – Photographs, Alexandria Contemporary Arts Forum, Alexandria, Egypt
2003	Cosas de hombres, mujeres y otras rarezas, City Art Centre, Alcorcón, Spain
2002	Ciuco Gutiérrez 1983-2001, Santander Art Museum, Spain
1997	Ciuco Gutiérrez, Spectrum Sotos, Saragossa, Spain
1995	Sueños, Galería Berini, Barcelona, Spain
1991	Fotografías 1983-89, Palacete del Embarcadero, Santander, Spain
1986	Ciuco Gutiérrez, Galería Moriarty, Madrid, Spain

Group Exhibitions

2012	El Arte de Mirar, Centro Nacional De Fotografia Jose Manuel Rotella, Torrelavega, Spain
2011	Puentes, Caminos en el agua, colectiva de artistas espaÑoles y chilenos, MAC Museum of Contemporary Art, University of Chile, Santiago, Chile
2008	Illán Argüello, Ciuco Gutiérrez, Juan Cuéllar, Concha Pérez, Gonzalo Sicre, Paco de la Torre, My Name’s Lolita Art, Valencia, Spain
2007	Aspace, Galeria Juan Silió, Santander, Spain
	Soñadores y Visionarios, DeSantos Gallery, Houston, USA
2006	Semanas en el jardin, Galeria de Arte Utopia Parkway, Madrid, Spain
2005	Objectsland, Galería Siboney, Santander, Spain
2004	PHE04, EFTI School of Photography, Madrid, Spain
1998	El Objeto del Arte, Museum of Contemporary Spanish Art, Juan March Palma de Mallorca Foundation, Mallorca, Spain
1996	Dialogues Européens, Maison des Arts Georges Pompidou, Cajarc, France
1993	The Medium is Photography, Rijksmuseum Twenthe, Enschede, Netherlands