Neither immobile ruins nor smartass rules for the future. Simply,
living what day-to-day life has to teach and ask of us, whatever
circumstances present us with, hour by hour. Without forgetting that
“ruins” can be old or not so old, and there are also “smartasses” of every age.
Antoni Tàpies, ‘L’ensenyament de Joan Miró’, in Per un art modern i progressista, 1996.
Following the Sun is a season of sound and performance experimentation organised by the Museu Tàpies with the aim of making use of the museum’s roof terrace by opening it up to contemporary creativity, in an ongoing programme of events. Thus, the programme sets out to give a new artistic dimension to this part of the museum using live music, sound experiments and performing arts, inspired by the story and the controversy resulting from Mitjó [Sock], the sculpture by Antoni Tàpies that dominates the roof terrace.
This piece, originally intended for the Oval Room of the MNAC (Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya) and finally installed, on a smaller scale, in the Museu Tàpies at the artist’s own wish, highlights the beauty of the everyday and small things, while questioning established hierarchies in the art world and also the notion of convention and fit in our society that result from the establishment of models and rules. By means of this series, the museum helps to raise the profile of emerging artists, fosters an active dialogue between contemporary art and the community and allows new audiences into the museum venue so that they can connect for the first time with Tàpies’ universe.
Apart from the artists featured in the programme of each edition, the series relies on a team of young professionals in the arts sector: a curator (who
changes every year), a sound technician and an illustrator commissioned to create the graphic image for the programme. In this way, the series also
becomes a platform offering training and opportunities to new talent and, at the same time, a metaphor that evokes the idea of radiating energy and generating new perspectives.
After the success of the first edition, held in 2024 as part of the centenary of Antoni Tàpies’ birth, Following the Sun continues to adapt to seasonal rhythms, cementing its position as a regular part of the museum’s public programme. With this project, the museum becomes a living meeting place that gives a voice to new narratives and opens the institution up to music, poetry and the performing arts as contemporary forms of expression.
Editions:
2024: curated by Carolina Olivares Esturillo
2025: curated by Gabriel Virgilio Luciani
