Other Possible Stories brings together the work of six contemporary artists — born in the 1950s and connected to Galicia through their life and professional paths — whose careers are worth revisiting and contextualising to generate new narratives, as the project's title suggests, that complement the well-known ones. The exhibition, curated by researcher and art critic Susana Cendán, focuses on Ana García Pan, Emilia Guimeráns, Anne Heyvaert, Tusi Sandoval, Blanca Silva, and Laura Terré, who began to stand out in the 1980s.
This exhibition does not seek to bring visibility to their work by giving them a space at the Gaiás Centre Museum. The aim is to add value and new perspectives around their work, enriching the appreciation of their art and the narrative of art history. Other Possible Stories unveils realities that have remained hidden in the hegemonic discourse about artistic creation (related to gender roles, social and educational structures, trends and fashions, etc.) that have influenced the place that women artists have traditionally occupied in it. Artists who love, give birth, suffer, fall ill, raise children, cook, clean, participate in exhibition projects, play musical instruments, research, write and read poetry, sculpt, draw, paint, engrave, experiment, and ultimately, create. In this sense, the exhibition also considers aspects of daily life to provide a comprehensive view of their respective stories.
Other Possible Stories is a guide that complements the known within the social and artistic framework of the 1980s, a context sometimes not favourable to female artistic creation. Beyond its vindicatory aspect, the exhibition aims to celebrate, showcase, and share the talent of a group of artists capable of creating personal, complex, and diverse work, formally and conceptually, and place it in its rightful place.
EXHIBITION CONTENT
Other Possible Stories comprises a selection of paintings, sculptures, woodcuts, catalogues, and magazines by six artists born in the 1950s, all of whom linked to Galicia through their life or professional journeys: Ana García Pan, Emilia Guimeráns, Anne Heyvaert, Tusi Sandoval, Blanca Silva, and Laura Terré. The design gives each of them a dedicated area and a series of video interviews accompany each story.
Although the exhibition omits some stages of their artistic journeys, the selection shows a representative array of works to allow an appreciation of their careers.
THE CURATOR: SUSANA CENDÁN
Susana Cendán holds a degree in Art History from the University of Santiago de Compostela and a PhD in Modern and Contemporary Art History from the Complutense University of Madrid. She teaches at the Faculty of Fine Arts in Pontevedra, in the Master in Fashion Design and Creative Direction and the Design Degree at the University of Vigo.
Alongside teaching, she researches and curates exhibition projects related to the cultural construction of identity, the analysis of clothing — understood as a form of creative expression —, the debunking of pejorative narratives around women, and specifically women artists, and the advocacy for a plural understanding of art.
Among her recent research in academic journals and books are «Autocaricaturas de Castelao: La construcción de una identidad icónica» (Revista QUINTANA), MA-RA-VI-LLO-SO. 15 razones para reflexionar sobre la creatividad (Dardo, 2018), «Trenzar/Destrenzar. Relatos sobre el pelo en el arte y en la cultura» (Goya. Revista de arte), «Releyendo el surrealismo desde una perspectiva feminista» (Revista Feminismo/s) or, in collaboration with Nuria Bouzas Loureiro, Lo que el pelo dice de nosotras (Dardo, 2023).
She understands curatorial practice as an effective tool to encourage criticism, highlight issues in artistic, social, and cultural debates, and delve into aspects related to contemporary creation. Her projects include César Portela. Arquitecto (Museo de Arte Contemporánea de Vigo, 2003-2004), I Love You (Centro Galego de Arte Contemporánea - Centro Torrente Ballester, 2008), A Rebelión dos Xéneros. Retratos, paisaxes e flores (Centro Torrente Ballester, 2009), Falsas Apariencias. Miradas Fragmentadas sobre a infancia (Centro Torrente Ballester, 2011), 500 metros cuadrados de lienzo y 300 kilos de pintura (Pazo Municipal de Exposicións Kiosko Alfonso. A Coruña, 2012), Así nos ven. Así somos? A imaxe da muller na arte. Pinacoteca Fernádez del Riego, 2016), Un rolo de papel continuo [Itinerant Exhibition] (Universidade de Vigo, Sede Afundación Vigo and A Coruña. 2017-2018), Almudena Fernández Fariña. Pisando Charcos (CGAC, 2023).
