As estacións do ano (The Seasons in 20th and 21st Century Galician Art) is a unique contemporary art exhibition that invites visitors to open their senses, slow down and immerse themselves in each work. Built around the idea of spatial immersion, the Museo Centro Gaiás becomes a place where art is experienced through sound, temperature, colour and texture, with spring, summer, autumn and winter as the great stages of our lives.
The exhibition’s curator, artist and researcher Mónica Alonso, has carefully selected each painting, sculpture, photograph, installation and video, shaping a journey that highlights the emotional, sensory and symbolic value of the artistic experience.
Throughout this journey, visitors encounter landscapes, still lifes, sculptures and striking images that evoke both the individual and collective memory of each season. Rain and snow, the sea, the green of the mountains, flowers and plants, and crops such as maize, cabbage and potatoes appear not only as aesthetic motifs, but as essential elements of Galician life and identity.
From the Regionalist Movement of the early 20th century to the youngest generations now gaining recognition nationally and internationally, As estacións do ano brings together more than 80 works by 63 artists, drawn from Galicia’s leading public and private art collections. These include the Colección de Arte Afundación, Colección de Arte ABANCA, the María José Jove, Luis Seoane and Eugenio Granell foundations, as well as the CGAC - Galician Center for Contemporary Art, the Fine Arts Museum of A Coruña, the Pontevedra Museum, the Lugo Museum, and the Nordés and Trinta art galleries.
Great historical figures such as Castelao, María Antonia Dans, Eugenio Granell, Laxeiro, Urbano Lugrís and Luis Seoane engage in dialogue in the exhibition with artists of recognized careers such as Spanish Photography Prize winner Manuel Vilariño and photographer Mar Caldas; sculptor Manolo Paz; painters Antón Lamazares, Berta Cáccamo and Menchu Lamas; as well as younger generations represented by Mar Ramón Soriano and Sergio Marey, among many others. The exhibition includes previously unseen works lent by the artists themselves, as well as five installations specifically commissioned by the curator in dialogue with artists Berio Molina, Mar Vicente, Fernando Casás, Edu Valiña and Mondra, and sisters Noa and Lara Castro de Lema.
An aesthetic and spatial Immersion
The exhibition space is divided into four sections corresponding to each season. Before beginning the route, visitors enter a sky-blue room that functions as a neutral space, from which they may move either to the left or to the right. To help the body acclimatize, two immersion cabins—one warm and one cold—precede the route through summer–spring and winter–autumn.
The design is conceived to activate our emotions while at the same time focusing attention on the artworks. To this end, each season is assigned a color: winter is gray; autumn is a green that gradually loses intensity; summer is a light yellow; and spring is pink. These are intentional chromatic choices, which the brain associates with different times of the year and which enhance the immersive experience. The project thus follows principles drawn from research into neuroaesthetics and neuroarchitecture, fields that explore how human beings perceive, process, and experience art and beauty at neurological and psychological levels.
To further intensify the experience, the Gaiás Inspira program will schedule special visits named Second skin of inmersion, during which visitors will wear identical monochrome garments as they move through the exhibition, turning the journey through Galician art into a truly collective experience. These visits complement the regular guided tours and educational programs offered by the Museo Centro Gaiás for students from schools across Galicia.
