Vicente Matallana, director of the NEWART Centre in Reus, dies at 58
He was a reference figure in the field of technological art and the preservation of digital art
BarcelonaSadness in the contemporary art sector. Vicente Matallana, the director of the NEWART Foundation and the NEWART Centre in Reus, died on Saturday at the age of 58, as the institution itself has announced. "Matallana was a reference figure in the field of technological art and digital art preservation," reads the NEWART Foundation's statement.
Matallana, born in Madrid in 1967, founded LaAgencia in 1998, a company specializing in electronic art with which he developed projects in Spain, Europe, the United States, and Latin America. He also participated in notable exhibitions, including Machines and Souls, organized by the Reina Sofia Museum. Furthermore, he was involved with the Vida awards from the Telefónica Foundation and was the project director for the pioneering festival ArtFutura. He also collaborated with the ARCO fair, coordinating different sections dedicated to new technologies and the development of the ARCO-BEEP Award for Electronic Art.
In the field of museums, Matallana was the author, along with Rosina Gómez-Baeza, of the master plan for the LABoral Centre for Art and Industrial Creation in Gijón, and directed its inaugural program. He was also the co-director of the Kunsthal Aarhus in Denmark, along with curator Joasia Krysa, and was a member of the board of directors of the Institute of Contemporary Art (IAC).
