Since 25 September, just a few metres from SLEEP’N, a selection of works has been on temporary display, offering a retrospective of an unrivalled artistic career.
Soledad Sevilla (Valencia, 1944) is showcased across 10 galleries in the Nouvel wing of the Reina Sofía National Art Museum. In chronological order, she guides us through her ‘Rhythms, Patterns and Variables’.
Beginning with complete geometric abstraction, the layering of techniques and colours presents us, at first glance, with a more technical, almost mathematical journey. But, as distance gives us perspective, I invite you to pause a few metres before reaching the opposite wall. From a distance, what were once grids of oil paint create the illusion of fine threads interconnected with one another, like a tapestry of colours and patterns.
As I made my way towards the next rooms, I realised how moved I was, and it wasn’t because the geometry reminded me of my struggles with maths, but because these pieces transported me to Granada, to its Alhambra. As I turned, I noticed that, behind me, some old friends were in disguise: Velázquez’s Las Meninas (who live just a few steps away, in the Prado Museum).
Isabel Tejeda describes it as “sensitive and emotional geometry”; Soledad’s Las Meninas envelop us, offering us a reimagining of a classic, a new perspective.
Light, shadow, contrasts, day and night are nuances that accompany us through the following rooms of this exhibition. They emerge through textures, brushstrokes, layering and an artistic intervention that transcends the two-dimensional. Alongside Antonio Machado (one of the great Spanish poets of the Generation of ’98), she speaks to us of time and its passing, and brings us a message of awakening, of making the most of what we have.
As one grows, one begins to gain perspective. Life invites us to set aside that academic perfectionism. Soledad does just that in this final room, mixing materials and bringing gouache into play in her latest works, her contemporary. She shows us that she is always painting, experimenting, never letting go of her curiosity, forging her own freedom and creating patterns where error has its place.
I also invite you, as you make your way to the next building, perhaps on your way to the Guernica, be sure to visit the installation ‘Donde estaba la línea’, where art plays with architecture and light, creating new spaces that will be open to visitors until 10 March. When you book your room at SLEEP’N, you’ll be just a few steps away from this journey full of stories and memories.

– by Connaisseur Mr Paco