LIBERXINA, Pop and new artistic behaviors, 1966-1971

LIBERXINA, Pop and new artistic behaviors, 1966-1971 is the first piece in a series of exhibitions that aim to investigate concrete phenomena and time frames to carry out an analytical reading of post-war Catalan art. The exhibition, curated by Àlex Mitrani and Imma Prieto, presents works created between 1966 and 1971 by artists of Pop Art and New Figuration. Specifically, visitors can see works by authors such as Robert Llimós, Francesc Artigau or Equipo Crónica, who used figuration with political intent to criticize the consumer society; of Antoni Porta (Evru), close to psychedelia; of Antoni Llena, with his poor art; or Antoni Miralda and Joan Rascaball, who explored the language of performance.

Where does the title of the exhibition come from?

In 1970 a feature film by Carles Duran with a screenplay by Joaquim Jordà and Duran himself arrived in movie theaters. The film showed a group of revolutionary activists who used a substance called Liberxina to change the system. This substance got the masses to think for themselves and not be manipulated by their rulers. After its screening at the Venice Film Festival, the film, presented at the festival under the title Liberxina 70, was censored in a way that made it impossible to reach commercial theaters, a fact that occurred much later and with the title Liberxina 90.

The context

In Liberxine's time there were many momentous events for society: May 68, the arrival of man on the Moon, the demonstrations against the war in Vietnam and the murder of Martin Luther King among the most prominent. And of course, all those events had an impact on the art world. Pop Art and New Figuration overcame post-war existentialist positions to try other forms of resistance.