The artist who seeks "the ultimate truth"

BarcelonaThe life of the artist Silvia Gubern (Barcelona, ​​1941) changed after a serious car accident in Madrid, where she was going in 1987 to present the video to the Reina Sofía Museum. First death, which he had created in 1970 as part of the Grupo del Freso, and which is considered the first work of video art in the State. After the accident, Gubern moved to the countryside, to Llinars del Vallès, and began "a solitary journey," as the artist explains on the occasion of the exhibition dedicated to him by the Can Framis museum. Silvia Gubern - Splendor. Return to origin. "The loneliness was from the perspective of the art world, but not from that of the ordinary people who knew me," clarifies the artist, who is also known for having designed the logo for the Zeleste gallery.

During this period, Gubern has delved deeper into her more mystical side. "For me, art has always been extraordinary, very special, and very mysterious, ever since I was little. Art isn't about making pretty things, but about seeking the depths of ultimate truth," warns the artist, who also works as an energy healer. "As a child, I spent my days searching for answers to the question of what it means to live," she explains, "why we are on this planet and not somewhere else, and what purpose we human beings have. In the temples of ancient Greece, there used to be a frieze with the motto: 'Know thyself and you will know the Universe.' This aspect of spiritual seeking goes beyond aesthetics."

Until this exhibition at the Vila Casas Foundation, Gubern has been a very elusive artist: her last major institutional presentation dates back to 1995 at the Santa Mònica, and, just a few years ago, the etHALL gallery dedicated a retrospective to her, curated by fellow artist David Bestué. "It's not that I've been hiding. With the Grupo del Freso, we were transgressors, we went everywhere, we lived in a communal space... But then I realized I had to do other things, and that's when I disappeared from the art world and worked on myself, exploring all the things that were stirring inside me." "I have so much work, I don't know where to put it, because, despite everything, I've never stopped drawing, especially drawing. Drawing is channeled, the hand moves on its own, just like my poetry; everything comes naturally without me having to make any effort," she explains. "Gubern was the elephant in the room, an artist who needed to be reclaimed, rediscovered, and reinterpreted," says Vila Casas' artistic director, Bernat Puigdollers.

The four elements, and the soul

The exhibition, which will remain open until February 22, includes some two hundred works, among them drawings, paintings on glass, sculptures, and embroideries. "Silvia is not just an artist who places pieces on the market, but she has understood art from a very necessary point of view," says the exhibition's curator, Assumpta Bassas, who has divided the exhibition according to the four elements—water, air, earth, and fire—and ether. "Silvia understands art from the point of view that we have all come into the world to be creators, that our vital state is the creative state," she explains. "And the important thing is that, instead of being subjects of utilitarian technologies, she champions contemplation as a fundamental state," the curator emphasizes.

In Gubern, the label of spiritual doesn't quite satisfy her. "The word spirituality “We must review it, because at this moment we are at a kind of crossroads where everything is developing, everything is expanding, we are receiving mysterious and at the same time very compelling information,” he warns. “Before, we felt that everything was in its place, that everything was fine and that everything was working, and we can no longer afford that, we can no longer afford that, and what are we doing here and what is the point of living?” says the artist.

In the first room, a fountain made of crystal catches the eye, along with a series of sculptures so delicate they evoke drawings made in the air. “The element of air is a very volatile element, very much created in it,” Gubern explains. The room he dedicates to drawings from the 60s and 70s and artist's books can be seen, and another chaotic section where he has accumulated hundreds of drawings and texts haphazardly. Further on, the large earthly painting can be seen. Sacred stoneand other smaller pieces that reflect her interest in prehistoric painting. Another highlight is a large metallic and crystal sun, evocative of fire.

The tour culminates with some of the embroideries that were part of her 1995 exhibition, including a sculpture evoking the Holy Grail, created specifically for that exhibition. "The embroideries are very important because they speak of the process of the incarnation of light and spirit in matter," says Bassas. "The needle piercing the linen also speaks of the very painful moment of incarnation, highlighting the work of many women, since textile creation is usually more in the hands of women," explains the curator. "It is the most subtle and mysterious space in the exhibition," Gubern concludes. "We humans have the need to come and incarnate," she adds. "Souls are here, waiting, and they enter the flesh through a partner and become life. It is the process we have all gone through."