BALANDIS 2524 by Benxamín Álvarez, Xesco Mercé, Marc Vilallonga (gallery "La Xina A.R.T.")

On April 12th (Wednesday) at 6 pm at the gallery's "Meno parkas" first floor exhibition hall will be held an opening of exhibition "Balandis 2524" of one of the oldest partners and friends of "Meno parkas" - gallery "La Xina Art" (Barcelona) and its artists Benxamín Álvarez, Xesco Mercé and Marc Vilallonga.

La Xina A.R.T. is about to fulfill its first twenty years of existence, which fills us, equally, with enthusiasm and stupefaction. La Xina A.R.T. Is one of the most unique initiatives in our country. In 1997, ten artists met to build an art space in the heart of Barcelona's Raval (and we say it literally, for we ourselves did the reconversion works of the old police station in the north of Chinatown in a gallery of contemporary art). The fact that the artists themselves managed directly what, how and when to show our works or that of other creators was an absolute novelty in Catalonia and Spain. There have been other cultural associative experiences, but none dared occupy the sacred territory of gallerists, critics, commissioners or curators. La Xina A.R.T. was, therefore, a risky project within the expository panorama of the post-Olympic Barcelona that was received with expectation and excitement, and, at the same time, with a good handful of nice bad omens on the part of our new neighbors (traditional gallerists) of the new exhibition area of Barcelona, which was growing around the new MACBA (Museum of Contemporary Art). Surprisingly, the last to lower the blind of that area, and not to close, but to move to our new and larger space, a little further south of the Raval, we were. All the others had closed forever.

Twenty years later, after having gathered more than thirty members, made more than 200 exhibitions and presented to more than 300 artists in our space, we can say, with undisguised satisfaction, that La Xina A.R.T. (mysterious acronyms that correspond to Total Search Association) remains a project in force and revolutionary, at times particularly adverse for culture and freedom. We are currently making a season of 8 exhibitions at year, accompanied by multiple cultural activities: La Xina Sona (Cycle of concerts of contemporary and world music), La Xina Xinorri (educational activities for children and young people), Houdini Performance Festival (Performance and magic), La Conxinina (Magazine of arts and essays, in digital format and on paper), Barcelona Emergents (Competition and exhibition for young creators) or El Bazar del Xino (Collective installation that La Xina members performed one time each year, during Christmas season). And, if this were not enough, we are also founding members of the European Network of Spaces of Creation, Kanîbal'hopox, together with Meno Parkas and other collectives and spaces across the continent. The first contact and exchange with you was in 2008, at the official presentation of Kanîbal'hopox at the Irena Mikuličiūtė Studio-Gallery. This would be followed by innumerable exhibitions, joint work, symposia and, above all, future projects.

For one of those happy coincidences, Meno Parkas also celebrates its twenty years. Quite happy to celebrate both anniversaries, we have prepared the current exhibition to celebrate it as it deserves. "Balandis 2524" brings together the works of three of the oldest members of La Xina A.R.T.: Benxamín Álvarez, Xesco Mercé and Marc Vilallonga. The title of the exhibition refers, in addition to the month of April in your precious and exotic (for us) language, to the exact number of kilometers, on foot, between Meno Parkas and our space in Barcelona. For this new exhibition exchange, we have prepared three great works for your space. Benxa presents his drawings in colored inks and watery pens, in which they appear curious, tender or spectral characters. Xesco presents a long-distance project, his particular Dictionary of Lies, more than 250 collages on plastic, worked with austerity with spray and felt-tip pens. And Marc presents his works to scissors on old catalogs of wallpapers, of the ones that were used for the houses in years 70, obtaining surprising results. As is the strange combination of our three works, a chromatic cocktail, at the same time playful and lucid, as it has always wanted to be La Xina A.R.T.

                                                                                                                                           Gallery "La Xina A.R.T."

Exhibition is part of the gallery's International artistic-cultural project "Art Line". Project is partly financed by Lithuanian Council for Culture, Ministry of Culture of the Republic of Lithuania and Kaunas City Municipality programme "Iniciatyvos Kaunui".