'Nude lying down with cat'
THE THERMAL
The difficult definition of this multipurpose space is its main drawback. The second, the distance between its walls and the center of the city, no matter how much the bus number 16 begins to receive tourists among the hustle and bustle of its day to day. Because of course La Térmica is made by and for Malaga creators from all over the province, not so much so that a foreigner arrives and leave the euros and gigabytes of mobile memory. In that environment that something very big is brewing and in that sea of stimuli, its exhibitions rise as the great attraction for the local and for the curious or, like the one that revolutionized the city with Madonna as the protagonist a few months ago.
Its value, as Marta Sader described it, is that of “do science of pop culture”. To all this we must add that university atmosphere that makes the tourist feel a little extraterrestrial and out of place, with its passive concierge, its collage of posters and its labyrinth of soulless rooms. In addition, as the gentrifying effect has not yet been unleashed in the surroundings, La Térmica becomes a rare bird yet to be exploited. Do not lose sight of your good intentions for the future but for now, don't expect it to be that 1920s MoMA in New York.
The place where pop culture science is done
CARMEN THYSSEN MUSEUM
The number of banners that their exhibitions occupy throughout the city is indirectly proportional to the final satisfaction that their visit provokes. Despite its splendid location, the magnificent restoration of the Villalón Palace and the expansive effect of elegance with which the shops of the so-called 'Thyssen Environment' are infected, the collection of the mythical Tita seems short . It is true that her greatest enemy is her distant cousin from Madrid as well as the expectations generated by her media power, but even so, Assessing it raw, the series of paintings by authors of her or the Spanish environment of the 19th century is not a panacea for anything.
First, because it is a time when Spanish art was entrenched in folk localism , far from the new trends that met in Paris. Second, because the great artists of this generation (Madrazo, Sorolla, Gisbert, Romero de Torres...) are hardly represented with several works and few of them are representative of his art. Solo Regoyos and the first Spanish impressionist and expressionist delusions accumulated in the rooms dedicated to the End of the Century capture the attention of the average traveler. Yes indeed, his exhibitions do deserve glory apart for making use of the potential of the Thyssen brand for the necessary exchanges and loans with which it is possible to bring some interesting paintings and proposals to Malaga.
Landscape of Hernani, from Regoyos
RUSSIAN MUSEUM COLLECTION
The historicist building of La Tabacalera has come back to life with this kind of branch of the great State Russian Museum in Saint Petersburg . Even if it's not the Hermitage and everything I get it carries, the backgrounds of this 'monster' are so powerful and unknown It is worth approaching out of pure curiosity. Its main sin is to give relevance to artists and themes that are somewhat strange for the average visitor, In addition to being somewhat nationalistic, not so much for the iconography but for extolling everything that was done in that country, with hardly any filter or restraint. Nevertheless, the fact of being well curated, of offering, every twelve months, a different way of approaching the great collection and to also bring exhibitions, such as the current one on Chagall and his Russian contemporaries , makes the rest forgive. Also, the guided tours, the academic atmosphere and the 'malaguization' of the rooms with works by contemporary local artists that dialogue with the Russian classics make it special. At least different without being weird.
A museum of powerful and unknown funds
AUTOMOBILE AND FASHION MUSEUM OF MÁLAGA
There has always been a fine line between museums dedicated to cars and badass exhibitionism. Well, this museum does not go beyond it or stay close. What it does achieve is to bring the world of car design closer to the general public. The fact of being a neighbor of the Russian Art Collection in the same complex as the old Royal Tobacco Factory means that they get feedback from the public and, also, that this fantastic space suits your four wheel masterpieces.
Inside, the jewels of the Portuguese collector João Manuel Magalhaes are shown in an academic but not pedantic way , surrounded by other pieces of art such as fashion designs or paintings with which each car is framed in an era or artistic current. A remarkable exercise convey the cultural relevance of these simple utilitarian as well as for bringing to the public some relics of firms such as Bentley, Jaguar, Hispano Suiza or Bugatti. In the end he achieves his goal: satisfy the geek of the engines and hook the average visitor. A real surprise without hints of gafapastismo.
Or how to convey the cultural relevance of these utilities
CAC MALAGA
If you want to know what's going on in contemporary art, faithfully follow the exhibitions and subsequent catalogs that are organized in this curious space. And it is that This old wholesale market is a kind of window to the world and its trends, which is also free. There is still no study that reveals how much the average culture of the people of Malaga has improved this place, but it does have the merit of having inspired the adjacent SOHO as a contemporary lung. The only but, to find any, is that of not to be that German-style Kuthaus that it presumes to be by leaving local creators aside , although the adrenaline of dictating the trend is usually quite ungodly with what is nearby. Aside from this, access for free, without self-censorship or cutting yourself and write down the names of those who exhibit here. They can make you rich (if you collect art) or at least earn a couple of points in the conversations that get out of hand.
The window to the world and its trends
GEORGES POMPIDOU CENTER MALAGA
Here it is, the great exponent of Malaga today, its true icon (it is worth rethinking the wooden London Eye that they have installed in the port) and the great protagonist of the covers that try to draw what is happening in this city. Again, the branch formula has been used so that the bet is not entirely risky (neither conceptually nor economically) in order to bring the world's great collection of contemporary art to the port's Pier One. Picasso's influence on the different pictorial genres dictated the first collection brought to a space that convinces, that has not betrayed itself and that makes the theme dictate the order and organization of the rooms.
Works by Brancusi, Picasso, Kahlo or Tinguely coexist with creations that have just been born and with disruptive language proposals. To this must be added a fun architecture, with the cube designed by D. Buren as the logo and the staircase by the artist José Medina Galeote as the entertaining finale. A perfect cocktail, which does not disappoint (despite high expectations) and whose only but is that of find yourself in a commercial hodgepodge that is difficult to explain and that, on occasion, takes away its prominence and importance.
The Elm Girls by Georg Baselitz
PICASSO MUSEUM
It was the first of this new era and it is also the first of this reverse list. And it is for the sheer obviousness and need for this city to host a large collection of works by its main genius. Despite having lost media strength compared to the rest of the openings, its importance is vital in changing the DNA of Malaga. Both as a tourist resource and as a testing center for its future 'neighbors', this space has turned out to be a real success from the very beginning. Hence, if you only have three hours to visit a museum in Malaga, this is the one you have chosen. Here Picasso is spoken of with respect, without too many fireworks and with a depth that combines perfectly with his universality.
In addition, the last stage in which he has embarked with the direction of José Lebrero and his search, through exhibitions, for the legacy of the genius from Malaga in all contemporary languages has allowed great names such as Pollock, Kupka, Ernst or Giacometti or, in the future, Torres-García pay their particular tribute to Pablo. An essential luxury that, although it may not seem like it, is not a cliché.
Jackson Pollock. Until September 11