The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía presents the anthological exhibition of Manolo Quejido (Seville, 1946) entitled “Distancia sin medida”.  It can be visited at Palacio de Velázquez in the Retiro Park in Madrid until May 16, 2023, which shows the artistic evolution of the artist over more than five decades.

The first series that the visitor contemplates upon entering to the exhibition are “Deliriums, Siluetas y Secuencias” (1969-1974), black and white reductions of the three ways in which the artist began his production: expressionism, pop and geometric experimentation. His next work is “Cartulinas” (1974-1978), which deals with everyday objects as well as abstract landscapes and linguistic allegories, each of them so special that they seem to invent their own style. This is where the name of the exhibition comes from: the distance between the things that already exist among us and those that burst into our lives as a result of art. Quejido continues with this concept in “PF” (1979-1980) and “IP” (1980) working on the essential separation that exists between our environment and the universe of the canvas, where what is painted is not necessarily subject to distances or measurement.

This is where the name of the exhibition comes from: the distance between the things that already exist among us and those that burst into our lives as a result of art.

How much can fit on the surface of a canvas? The author asks himself and tries to answer it in the series “Tabique” (1990-1991) where he juxtaposes incompatible perspectival systems so the deep and the flat can concur.

Quejido describes the work process as a painting/thinking to which a feeling is added. In the 90's that feeling was a repulsion towards the media, he assures that they stand between us and the tremendous of current events, hence in the serie “Sin nombre” (1997-1998) he turned what were previously press photographs into paintings.

Quejido describes the work process as a painting/thinking to which a feeling is added.

The journey ends in “Fin” (2014), a piece painted shortly before his work underwent an immense change. For Quejido the word 'end' places before a donor void, a condition of possibility to continue creating with all the senses.

For Quejido the word 'end' places before a donor void, a condition of possibility to continue creating with all the senses.