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21/10/2009

The sky within my house

16 patios, Cordoba

Curator Gerardo Mosquera

This exhibition The sky within my house. Contemporary Art in 16 Cordoba patios presents works by 16 contemporary artists from several countries in 16 private and monumental patios in Cordoba, Spain. Patios constitute a most emblematic heritage of the city, providing a synthesis of Cordoba's long multicultural history. Historically traceable to Mesopotamia and later to the atrium of ancient Rome, the patio was developed by Arabic and Mudejar architecture. This architectural element reached its height in Andalucia.

Cordoban patios are unique, with the explosion of color and beauty provided by its baroque proliferation of flowers. Aesthetic environments for communal life, they embrace pieces of nature and of open urban space within the home, becoming a sort of family's Gardens of Eden in the Arab tradition. Moreover, they are places to see and feel the sky: a way to appropriate a bit of the cosmos for private use.

The artworks shown are mainly site-specific interventions inspired by each patio, or they correspond to existing projects that have been adapted to the patio's setting. The objective is to reach a balance, or rather a mutually enriching conversation between patios and contemporary art. Thus, the patios are not mere spaces to show artworks, but active components in a relationship. The artistic interventions are bigger or smaller, depending on each case, but they carry out a meaningful dialogue. The works test and explore the relations between public and private milieus, between art and daily life, and among contemporary culture, history and tradition.

The Sky Within my House includes two exhibitions in one: visitors are able to enjoy both the art as the patios, several of which are opening especially for the occasion. Each one of the 16 patios constitutes a particular encounter between patio and artwork, a sort of micro-exhibition that has its own content and imagery and is addressed to a general audience. The exhibition's "theme" is the patios as aesthetic, cultural, historical and semantic milieus.

Cordoba in Mode 16: The future has roots
To mark the preparation for the city of Cordoba's candidature as European Capital of Culture, the Cordoba City of Culture Foundation, the organization responsible for designing that project, has promoted 16 different kinds of cultural activities to be organized throughout 2009 by the four public institutions in Cordoba that form the foundation: the Town Hall, the Provincial Government of Cordoba, the Andalusian Regional Government and the University of Cordoba. With this programme, grouped together under the title Cordoba in Mode 16: The future has roots, the aim is to put Cordoban culture firmly on the Spanish and international map.

List of Artists and patios

1. Mounira Al Solh (Lebanon / Amsterdam) / Calle Martín de Roa, 2
2. Cristina Lucas (Spain) / Casa de las Campanas, calle Siete Revueltas, 21
3. Magdalena Atria (Chile) / Calle San Basilio, 50
4. Fernando Baena (Spain) / Calle Pastora, 2
5. Mariana Castillo Deball (Mexico / Berlin) / Archaeological Museum of Cordoba, Patio de la Grada, Plaza Jerónimo Páez, 7
6. Carlos Garaicoa (Cuba) / Faculty of Arts, Art Department patio. Plaza Cardenal Salazar, 3 (*)
7. Cai Gou-Qiang (China/NY) / Cordoba Municipal Archives, main courtyard, Calle Sánchez de Feria, 6
8. Federico Guzmán (Spain) / Cordoba Municipal Archives, reception courtyard, Calle Sánchez de Feria, 6
9. Mona Hatoum (United Kingdom) / Viana Palace, Courtyard of the Gateway. Plaza de Viana s/n (*)
10. Glenda León (Cuba) / Calle Isabel II, 1
11. Rubens Mano (Brazil) / Courtyard of the Fine Arts and Julio Romero de Torres Museums in Cordoba, Plaza del Potro, 1
12. Priscilla Monge (Costa Rica) / Calle La Palma, 3
13. Jorge Perianes (Spain) / Courtyard of the Orive Palace, Plaza Orive, s / n
14. Nedko Solakov (Bulgaria) / Calle Parras, 5
15. Kan Xuan (China) / Calle Maese Luis, 22
16. Nina Yuen (USA / Amsterdam) / Calle San Basilio, 17

Project Carlota Alvarez Basso
Assistant Commissioner Oscar Fernandez Lopez

Venue 16 private patios and monumental patios in Cordoba (Spain)
Patios - opening hours Wednesday to Friday 4.00pm to 8.00pm / Saturday 10.00am to 2.00pm and 4.00pm to 8.00pm / Sunday 11.00am to 2.00pm.

Organized by Cordoba Provincial Government

Executive producer Rafael Boti Provincial Arts Foundation

Promoted by Cordoba City of Culture Foundation

Press & Communication
María José Martín tel 957.21.22.55 / 659.80.88.16 comunicacion.capitalidad@uco.es

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