If we talk about influential works in Art History, we must mention the triptych of the famous Early Netherlandish artist Hieronymus Bosch. The Garden of Earthly Delights, has transcended time, and has shown that it can become the inspiration to articulate a social portrayal of our time. Several artists from different parts of the world reviewed this work and its symbolism, proposing a new interpretation of it, through sculpture, 3D animation, artificial intelligence, sound art, installation, collage, or even a video game.

SPECULUM (2019-2020) by SMACK – Image: Matadero Madrid

The exhibition was organized by Matadero Madrid, Center for Contemporary Creation, where it is located, and Colección SOLO, an international project to support contemporary art, based in Madrid. This project has been collecting and commissioning art inspired by The Garden of Earthly Delights since 2016. The exhibition has almost 20 different works.

Image: Matadero Madrid

Definitely The Garden of Earthly Delights shows a specific context, now, in contemporary times, how can we reinterpret this painting? What is paradise, the earthly world, and hell today? The different artists work on these concepts from new perspectives. We can find topics such as mental health, the excessive use of social networks, or even migration in a constant dialogue with a painting that is more than 500 years old.

Heaven x Hell Series (2020) by Sholim

One of the most interesting elements of this exhibition is the amount of techniques that we can find, from classical elements such as oil or sculpture, to sound installations and artificial intelligence.

El jardín de las delicias (2020) by Lusesita

The exhibition space has been designed by the architects Estudio Herreros, who decided to create a cardboard labyrinth, which, with lighting, generates a mysterious atmosphere similar to the scenes in Bosch's painting.

El jardín de las delicias (2020) by Lusesita

The artists exhibiting their works are: The SMACK collective, La Fura dels Baus- Carlus Padrissa, Mario Klingemann, Mu Pan, Miao Xiaochun, Cassie McQuater, Lusesita, Filip Custic, Cool 3D World, Sholim, Dan Hernández, Enrique del Castillo, Dustin Yellin, Dave Cooper and Davor Gromilovic.

Among the outstanding works, we can find SPECULUM, the proposal by the Dutch collective Smack, a work made up of three huge LED screens measuring 4 x 7 meters each, where the harsh reality of the 21st century is reviewed, with its vices and pleasures.

SPECULUM (2019-2020) by SMACK – Image: Matadero Madrid

Looking for the union between technology and art, the work of the German Mario Klingemann also stands out, who, with his piece The Garden of Ephemeral Details, uses Artificial Intelligence so that his creation is in constant mutation, playing, in this way, with the viewer's perception.

The Garden of Ephemeral Details (2020) by Mario Klingemann– Image: Matadero Madrid

On the other hand, the Spanish artist Enrique del Castillo, decided to question what The Garden of Delights sounds like, thus creating a sound composition on celluloid, which recovers extracts from Josquin Despriez and Adrian Willaert, contemporary composers from the time of Hieronymus Bosch.

Umbráfono II (2021) by Enrique del Castillo

The exhibition will be accompanied by a book, published by Collección SOLO, which explores all the featured artworks, their relationship with the original and with the present. You can go to see the exhibition from October 7, 2021 to February 27, 2022, in Nave 16 at Matadero Madrid.

Image: Matadero Madrid

Exhibition Title: The Garden of Earthly Delights through the artworks of Colección SOLO

Location and dates: Matadero Madrid from October 7, 2021 to February 27, 2022.

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