James Ensor,
Francisco of Goya
Henri Cartier-Bresson
Helen Levitt
Alberto Giacometti
Ángel Ferrant
Hélio Oiticica
Lina Bo Bardi
Fischli and Weiss
Vito Acconci
Priscila Fernandes
Xabier Rivas
Manuel Borja-Villel
Teresa Velázquez
Tamara Díaz
Reinventing the square. The exhibition explores the collective dimension of play and the need for a 'ground' of its own in order to engage in the construction of a new public arena. It takes a historical and artistic approach to the space reserved for play and its socializing, transgressive and political potential from the dawn of modernity to the present day. Woks by James Ensor, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helio Oiticica, Fischli and Weiss, Vito Acconci, Xabier Rivas and many others.
curated by Manuel J. Borja-Villel, Tamara Díaz & Teresa Velázquez
Adopting as its premise the notion of carnival pageantry as a practice that alters the
established order, the exhibition Playgrounds. Reinventing the square will explore the
collective dimension of play and the need for a “ground” of its own in order to engage in
the construction of a new public arena.
Playgrounds (curated by Manuel J. Borja-Villel, Tamara Díaz & Teresa Velázquez) takes
a historical and artistic approach to the space reserved for play and its socializing,
transgressive and political potential from the dawn of modernity to the present day.
The show to be seen at the Museo Reina Sofía aims to explore the recreational, playful,
festive side of life that puts the humdrum reality of the everyday on hold, subverting,
reinventing and transcending it for one fleeting moment.
With approximately 300 works in several formats (painting, sculpture, facilities, video,
photography, graphical arts, cinema and documents) of artists like James Ensor,
Francisco of Goya, Henri Cartier-Bresson, Helen Levitt, Alberto Giacometti, Ángel
Ferrant, Hélio Oiticica, Lina Bo Bardi, Fischli and Weiss, Vito Acconci, Priscila
Fernandes, or Xabier Rivas, Playgrounds. Reinventing the square shows how the playful
element, understood as creative strategy, coexists with questions related to the public
sphere Departing from this idea, the exhibition explores the recognition of the time and the
space of the game as areas of essay and learning.
The introduction to the exhibition will provide background on the carnivalesque concept of
life, underscoring certain aspects related to the notion of free time in modern life. The
show will also revisit the street as a place of play and self-realization, through
examples of adventure playgrounds as well as photographs and films that will give a
historic panoramic since the 1930s from a documentary perspective. The nucleus of the
exhibition is devoted to the model of the modern playground and its contradictions, with
relevant materials accounting for the urban revolution of the 1960s, the consideration of
the city as a relational and psychological construction and works that parallel aesthetic
and political transformations.
The last section of the show will consist of a series of experiments based on anti-
hegemonic exercises, such us the civil appropriation of the street for “playground” use and
works that challenge passive recreation through the emancipative power of play, not to
mention recent experiences that resume the collective reinvention of the square and have
become essential in envisioning new ways of doing politics.
Press office
prensa1@museoreinasofia.es
prensa2@museoreinasofia.es
(+34) 91 774 10 05 / 06
Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
Calle Santa Isabel, 52 - 28012 Madrid
Monday, Wednesday, Thrusday, Friday, Saturday 10:00 a.m - 9:00 p.m
Sunday 10:00 a.m - 2:30 p.m Open the whole Museum
Tuesday closed, including holidays
General admission
Collection and temporary exhibitions €8.00
Collection and temporary exhibitions + Collection Audioguides €12.00
Temporary exhibitions €4.00
Reduced admission
Collection and temporary exhibitions + Collection Audioguides €8.00