Helena Almeida: 'Seduzir' [To Seduce, 2002] (detail)

Collection

Amanecer de la Odisea [Dawn of the Odyssey]

Image caption
IGNACIO BAUTISTA (MUTIU)

Amanecer de la Odisea [Dawn of the Odyssey]

  • 2012
  • Newspaper cutting (photomechanical print) mounted between two glass plates
  • 30,5 x 34,5 x 3 cm
  • Cat. D_341
  • Acquired in 2013
By:
Jorge Pallarés

In his early works Ignacio Bautista, known as Mutiu, sifted through newspapers and took news items from them in which the words were associated with the images. He transforms and softens images and removes human figures to neutralise their meaning. This use of text or pictures from the media is a constant in his work. Dawn of the Odyssey (2012) is a case in point: it is part of his dossier of works for the ‘Generaciones’ programme.

He is one of the most evocative artists of his generation; a generation marked by an economic crisis that hit the art market and the world in general hard. The work of some creative artists has been lost from view as they have suddenly found themselves with fewer venues and opportunities to show it. However, Mutiu has managed to attract an enthusiastic following of people who understand that sometimes the focus is on the message or the creative process and not on objects per se. And that is precisely where his ability and talent shine through: he sends clear, direct messages with no rough edges, through objects whose beauty is plain to see; and he does so with great sensitivity. His work can be seen as a link between the world before and after Marcel Duchamp.

The stratus, cumulus and cirrus clouds that form part of this work seem to bring viewers closer to the immensity of the sacred, with all the theatricality and forcefulness of the great Renaissance masters. However, the fragility of the materials used hints ironically at the futility of existence. Nowadays what is considered important at one moment is discarded at the next and vanishes without trace when the next novelty appears: trends come and go like clouds. And that extends to the clouds in the Dawn of the Odyssey or the clouds at any dusk, if indeed there are such things as clouds at all.

Jorge Pallarés

 
By:
Beatriz Espejo
Ignacio Bautista (Mutiu)
Madrid 1982

Ignacio Bautista Martínez, known as Mutiu, studied Librarianship and Documentation at the Carlos III University before taking a degree in Fine Arts at the Complutense University in Madrid. This may be a coincidence, but if so it is a significant one, as his work denotes an interest in archiving and cataloguing minor everyday events, which he strips of their context and reinterprets, often in a critical light. He likes to see how people react to events and to question everything that we take for granted by trying to see things from new perspectives. He uses images drawn from the press or found online to reflect on the role assigned to art in modern times as a representation of reality, and how that role is conditioned by the media. His presentation emphasises the poetic, playful side of events but he also sends much more political messages about the control of personal actions, the mastery of freedoms and the ability to shape gestures that single us out as individuals.

In his works, he strives to arouse suspicion, never seeming to tell the whole story but saying more than is apparent at first sight. He distorts the supposed normality of images and casts doubt on how people look at things by changing contexts and scales and breaking up the conventional system of perception. This is a subtle, complex game of readjustment in which there is always an unknown to be discovered. He says that his work is about waiting for something to happen, thinking that things are not going to turn out as they were supposed to, but still finding poetry in contemplating mistakes.

His exhibitions include ‘Project Iceberg’ at Matadero (Madrid, 2012), ‘Leibniz House’ at the Palacio de Santa Bárbara (Madrid, 2015), ’Regulation Plan’  at Cruce (Madrid, 2015) and ‘Generations 2016’ at La Casa Encendida (Madrid, 2016). He has won several awards, including an honorary mention in the ABC Award for Art at Arco (Madrid, 2009); in 2010 and 2014 he was awarded the El Brocense Award; and in 2015 he won the Generación 2016 Award.

Beatriz Espejo

 
«Paper-View» (Badajoz, 2013).
Vv.Aa. Colección Banco de España. Catálogo razonado, Madrid, Banco de España, 2019, vol. 2.