Reaching Out, by Thomas J Price, guest work at Chillida Leku

Más sobre:

The sculpture Reaching Out, by Thomas J Price (London, 1981), has been unveiled at Chillida Leku and will be on display in the museum's open air until the 30th of May. This is the second guest work to be hosted by the museum, after Eye Benches III by Louise Bourgeois, which could be visited in 2021.
"The exhibition dedicated to Eduardo Chillida held at Hauser & Wirth Somerset last summer coincided with a parallel exhibition by Thomas J Price, which gave us the opportunity to feel the dialogue between the works of both sculptors", says Mireia Massagué, the museum's director. "They use different techniques, with very different results, but we see a clear bridge between them with values such as tolerance and diversity, which is why we thought it was an interesting proposal for visitors to the museum to discover this contemporary artist and learn about his work in relation to Chillida".
Reaching Out (2020)
Reaching Out (2020) is a three-metre-high sculpture depicting a young black woman looking at a mobile phone held in her hands. Price's work invites us to reflect on the representation of black people and their position both in the public sphere and in the context of art history. This is also the second time she has created a female figure, a group also historically underrepresented in public art.

Added to this reflection on notoriety and representation is the theme of hyperconnectivity and the paradoxical isolation in which we currently live due to the use of technology. "The fact that the character appears looking at a mobile phone has a double significance", explains Estela Solana, head of exhibitions at the museum. "The difference in scale and the lack of visual contact with the spectator contributes to the perception that this character is not connecting or sharing space with the viewer, but is situated on a different plane, inviting reflection rather than interaction. On the other hand, the prominence of the smartphone in the work brings to the table another of the key themes that this sculpture addresses: the central role of electronic devices in our socialisation, everyday life, culture and urban landscape".
Subscribe to our Newsletter
We have the best quality tourism content and we deliver it to your inbox every fortnight.