From 3th February to 16th April 2023, halls B and C of the cultural centre La Casa Encendida in Madrid will host the first individual exhibition of the Brazilian artist Maxwell Alexandre in our country.

This exhibition presents the series 'Novo Poder', in which the artist has wanted to delve into the idea of including the black community in contemporary art through art spaces such as galleries, museums, centres and foundations. 

To understand the totality of the message Maxwell conveys in this series, it is necessary to look at his previous work ‘Pardo é Papel’, in which he speaks of a speculative future of glory, victory, revelry, abundance, courage, vanity and self-esteem for black communities. And while in ‘Pardo é Papel’ the projection of ascent is through the ostentation of consumer goods, such as cars, jewellery and designer clothes, in ‘Novo Poder’ the artist seeks intellectual and symbolic abundance: access to art.

Curated by Matthieu Lelièvre, 'Nuevo poder: pasabilidad' proposes to transmute reality through three basic signs: the colours black, white and brown, which represent the characters, the academic world and art, respectively. Likewise, within his work, the artist gives special importance to fashion, which in this context functions as a tool of defense against the colonial idea that considers sensibility and beauty as elements that do not belong to melanised people.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the concepts of elegance, understanding and self-esteem, which are protagonists in the artist's work and which he uses to represent the conquest of those who have learned to enjoy the aesthetic, with security and tranquillity.

More Information: La Casa Encendida

Image credits: ©La Casa Encendida