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Mariana Cánepa Luna in the 2024 Acquisition Committee of the Col·lecció Nacional d'Art Contemporani of the Government of Catalunya

 Wed, Mar 19 2025
At today’s press conference, Sònia Hernández Almodóvar, Ministre of Culture of the Government of Catalunya, presented the 2024 acquisitions made by the Department of Culture to expand the National Collection of the Government of Catalonia.

The collection includes contemporary art, photography, cultural artefacts, comics, illustration, postwar art, and works from the second avant-garde. The announcement comes after an extensive review process, which involved evaluating 434 applications over long spring days, followed by 8 in-depth online sessions—each lasting three to four hours—where the Acquisition Committee deliberated on the proposals.


First of several Teams meetings.

The 2024 Committee comprised Íngrid Llopart, Deputy Director General of Cultural Promotion; Manel Guerrero, a specialist in contemporary art at the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion and Libraries, and coordinator of the commission; Marta Gustà, Director of the Visual Arts Area at the Catalan Institute for Cultural Enterprises, coordinator of the commission; Joan Antoni Martínez, Head of the Dissemination and Artistic Cooperation Area; Sònia Blasco, Head of the Museums and Movable Heritage Protection Service; Antònia M. Perelló, Head of Collections at MACBA; Àlex Mitrani, Contemporary Art Curator at MNAC; Jesús Navarro, Director of Morera – Museum of Modern and Contemporary Art of Lleida and representative of the Network of Art Museums of Catalonia; Christian Alonso, director of La Panera, Lleida, and representative of the Network of Art Museums of Catalonia; Frederic Montornés, independent curator, nominated by CoNCA National Council for Culture and the Arts; Álvaro Hernández, specialist at the Directorate General for Cultural Promotion and Libraries; and Mariana Cánepa Luna of Latitudes, nominated by the Plataforma Assambleària d’Artistes de Catalunya (PAAC).

The 2024 acquisitions budget saw a significant increase, rising from 599,399.51 euros in 2023 to 1 million euros. After the Committee selected the artworks, a qualification board reviewed them before they advanced through legal departments for contract drafting, financing, and transportation. This thorough process ensures the works are delivered to their designated depository institutions across the region—a procedure that unfolds over the course of a year.

View of Joan Morey, "COS SOCIAL (Lliçó d'anatomia)", 2017. MACBA Collection. Government of Catalonia long-term loan. National Collection of Contemporary Art. © Joan Morey. Photo: Gasull Fotografia

In 2024, several works acquired in recent years for the National Collection were presented in the three-part “MACBA Collection: Prelude. Poetic Intention” (2022–2025) at the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona. Such as Mireia Sallarès’ photographs that are part of her larger project “Las muertes chiquitas” (2006-16); Joan Morey’s multipart film project “COS SOCIAL. Lliço d'Anatomia” (SOCIAL BODY. Anatomy Lesson) (2017); Regina Giménez’s large paintings “Geo-gràfics” (2021); Sinéad Spelman’s drawings “Venes” (2020); Pedro Torres’ video installation “House of the Sun” (2020); Daniel G. Andújar “Battle Cry” (2019-2020”; Eulàlia Valldosera’s “Construcció i deconstrucció (I-VIII) (El melic del món #1; El ventre de la Terra #29)” (1991-2001); Lara Fluxà’s glass installation “Delu” (2019)”; Lucía C. Pino’s sculptures “10 Amazon Quarterly vol 03. (content)” (2022); or Lúa Coderch’s “Estil Internacional (Mur d'Ònix)” (2013-14), to mention a few.


Eugènia Balcells, “FROM THE CENTER” (1982). Courtesy Fundació Eugènia Balcells.

Looking ahead, one of the most significant recent acquisitions of 2024, Eugènia Balcells’ 12-channel video installation “From the Center” (1982), will be presented this summer in the Museu Nacional d'Art de Catalunya’s Sala Oval, where it has been placed on deposit. The installation premiered at the 1983 Donostiako Nazioarteko Bideo Aldia, II Festival de Vídeo de San Sebastián. It was subsequently exhibited at Barcelona’s renowned Sala Metrònom (1985), Anderson Gallery in Richmond, Virginia (1986), and New York’s El Museo del Barrio (1987). 

“From the Center” is a technically complex and conceptually profound video installation described by Balcells as an “electronic Stonehenge”. Featuring twelve monolithic screens arranged in a walkable circle, it presents fragmented yet unified views of the world, filmed over two years from a fixed Manhattan rooftop. Accompanied by a twelve-channel soundscape by Peter Van Riper (1942-1998), the installation blends technology and spirituality, echoing Romantic ideals of universal connection and inviting comparisons to the mystical vision of Romanesque paintings in the MNAC’s collection.


→ RELATED CONTENT:

 2024, 2025, acquisitions, advisor, collection, MACBA, Mariana Cánepa Luna, PAAC
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