A Vegetal Encounter at La Casa Encendida

Artists: Patricia Domínguez, Ingela Ihrman, Eduardo Navarro

Exhibition title: A Vegetal Encounter

Curated by: Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz

Venue: La Casa Encendida, Madrid, Spain

Date: May 28 – September 19, 2021

Photography: all images copyright and courtesy of the artists, La Casa Encendida, Madrid and the respective copyright holders

A Vegetal Encounter is the result of a dialogue between artists Patricia Domínguez (1984, Santiago de Chile), Ingela Ihrman (1985, Kalmar, Sweden), and Eduardo Navarro (1979, Buenos Aires) on the subject of the vegetal world.

The exhibition proposes a meditation on the vegetal world, and what may be learnt from it. Conceived as a dialogue, it reveals the practices of the three artists, whose work slowly deconstructs the artificial wall between ourselves and nature, which is devastating our ecosystems, our life and our health.

The work presented by Patricia Domínguez is made up of five futurist totem poles housing reproductions of the ethnobotanical exhibits of the Wellcome Collection (London) and Museo de América (Madrid) and pieces from the Royal Botanical Gardens (Madrid) and Real Academia de La Historia (Madrid) – brought from South America and Europe – as a tribute to the narratives of violence and healing depicted by the displayed material.

Ingela Ihrman presents a silent installation of organic algae that tells of the artist’s recovery by the sea, and of the links between her intestinal flora and the flora of the oceans.

Finally, the expansive and contemplative drawings of Eduardo Navarro are produced using biodegradable envelopes that contain seeds of latent trees. His exhibits will be reclaimed by nature at the end of the exhibition, so that the seeds in the envelopes burst into life and reconnect to holistic humus.

This exhibition reassesses plants, above and beyond their use for human consumption, and reveals their importance and their diligence. It is the result of a collaboration between La Casa Encendida and the Wellcome Collection (London).

Curated by: Bárbara Rodríguez Muñoz.

Patricia Domínguez (Santiago, Chile, 1984) is the director of Studio Vegetalista. She has recently held individual exhibitions at the Gasworks (London), the Twin Gallery (Madrid), Sala CCU (Santiago de Chile), and SOLO PROJECTS – Focus Latinoamérica – ARCO Madrid. Some other exhibitions in which she has taken part are: Momenta Biennale de l’Image (Montreal, Canada); The Trouble is Staying (MeetFactory, Prague); WHOSE VESTIGES SUBSIST (The Clemente, New York); and EL FUTURO NO ES LO QUE VA A PASAR SINO LO QUE VAMOS A HACER (ARCO, Madrid).

Ingela Ihrman (Kalmar, Sweden, 1985) lives and works in Malmö (Sweden). Her work is sparked by the strong emotions of everyday life and a desire to understand, question or express certain aspects of being alive, social and human. She has recently held individual exhibitions at the Kalmar Konstmuseum (Kalmar, Sweden), the Kristianstads Konsthall (Kristianstad, Sweden), the Cooper Gallery (University of Dundee, Scotland), Zabriskie Point (Geneva), and der TANK (Institut Kunst, FHNW Academy of Art and Design, Basel). She has also taken part in collective exhibitions such as: Weather Report: Forecasting Future (Kuntsi Museum of Modern Art, Vaasa, Finland); Yokohama Triennale 2020 Afterglow (Yokohama, Japan); Being Pulled All Over the Place (SCAN Projects, London); Weather Report: Forecasting Future (Kiasma, Helsingfors, Sweden); Sensing Nature from Within (Moderna Museet, Malmö, Sweden); and Weather Report: Forecasting Future (Nordic Pavilion, 58th Venice Biennale).

Eduardo Navarro (1979, Buenos Aires) lives and works in Buenos Aires. Some of his recent individual exhibitions include: Predição instantânea do tempo (Pivô, São Paulo, Brazil); Octopia (Museo Rufino Tamayo, Mexico); and We Who Spin Around You (High Line Art, New York). His work has also been featured in numerous collective exhibitions and art shows, such as the 29th and 32nd São Paulo Biennale (Brazil) and the Third New Museum Triennial (New York). Other exhibitions include: Portadores de sentido – Arte contemporáneo en la Colección Patricia Phelps de Cisneros (Museo Amparo, Puebla, Mexico); Chronos Cosmos: Deep Time, Open Space (Socrates Sculpture Park, New York); and Metamorphoses – Let Everything Happen to You (Castello di Rivoli Museo d’Arte Contemporanea, Turin, Italy).

A Vegetal Encounter, 2021, exhibition view, La Casa Encendida, Madrid