A Window to Europe: Through Literature and Art

Name: A Window to Europe: Through Literature and Art
Start: 2021-09-27T0000
End: 2021-10-13T0000
Location: 3218 Georgia Ave NW

The children’s book “La Ciudad,” by Spanish author and illustrator Roser Capdevila, will serve as the inspiration for local artist Alanna Reeves to create artwork that will be displayed in this street-view gallery.

Plain Sight DC and the EU National Institutes of Culture in Washington, D.C. (EUNIC) present A Window to Europe: Through Literature and Art, a series of short exhibitions featuring eleven visual artists from the Washington, D.C. region who will create work in response to eleven books by European writers, as part of the 2021 Europe Readr project.

The exhibitions will feature local artists Hoesy Corona, Alanna Reeves, Mike Thron, Michal Gavish, Julie Wills, MK Bailey, Antonio McAfee, Emily Fussner, Stephanie Williams, Lionel Frazier White III, and Sobia Ahmad, who will be inspired by the works of European writers Lukas Jüliger, Roser Capdevila, Bernardo P. Carvalho, Julia Fiedorczuk, Axel Lindén, Drago Jančar, Marek Šindelka, Tiziano Fratus, Michael Roher, Ann De Bode, and Laurie Agusti.

Shown on an under-utilized storefront transformed into an active street-view gallery, featured exhibiting artists’ works will explore themes ranging from vulnerability, the natural world, identity, competing human economic and ecological needs, nostalgia, and the limitations of our physical bodies.

The Europe Readr is a curated set of European literature brought together under the concept of “The Future of Living” to present a variety of perspectives that contribute to the debate on the future of Europe and to put an emphasis on the importance of culture as a driving force of international integration and sustainable development.

The City by Roser Capdevila

In La Ciudad, readers follow an inquisitive bird flying over the city, only to stop at places where something interesting is happening: the city park, the mall, the bus station and the train station. The illustrations of the urban everyday life are full of wonderful details that catch the eye only after leafing through the book a couple of times: that way, we can find a character or two who come with us. The book promotes interactive reading, with readers composing their own stories about the hustle and bustle of the modern city.

Roser Capdevila (1939) is an artist, writer and illustrator. As an artist, she created graphics, oil paintings and watercolors; in 1980, she devoted herself to illustration, especially for children and young adults. Since 1990, she has been involved in the production of The Triplets animated series. Her works have been translated into all major languages. In 2010, she received the Spanish Gold Medal of Merit in the Fine Arts and the Medal of Honour of the Parliament of Catalonia.

A Window to Europe: Alanna Reeves

September 27–October 13.
Alanna Reeves interprets Roser Capdevila’s The City.

Alanna Reeves is a Washington, DC-based artist and writer. She is a 2015 graduate of the Rhode Island School of Design where she earned a BFA in Illustration and Concentration in History of Art and Visual Culture. This study has resulted in a focus on origins, identity discontinuity, the idealization of the homeland, and mental health. These themes are reflected through a means of painting, printmaking, narrative, and, when fortunate, food.

Related event

Meet and Greet the Artists with Alanna Reeves and Hoesy Corona

On Wednesday, October 6, 2021 at 5:30 pm.
Free, RSVP required.
Presentation at Plain Sight DC, 3218 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010. Followed by a small reception at at Sonny’s Pizza, 3120 Georgia Ave NW, Washington, DC 20010.

The Cultural Office of the Embassy of Spain and The Goethe-Institut Washington cordially invite you to a “Meet and Greet the Artists.” Alanna Reeves and Hoesy Corona, who interpreted artistically the illustration books La Ciudad by Spanish author Roser Capdevila and Unfollow by German author Lukas Jüliger as part of this project, present their work on October 6 and engage in discussion about their art works with the audience. Guests can continue the conversation at a small reception shortly after. Each guest will be invited to one free drink.

Hoesy Corona is an uncategorized queer Latinx artist of Mexican descent living and working in the United States. He develops otherworldly narratives centering marginalized individuals in society by exploring a process based practice that investigates what it means to be a queer Latinx immigrant in a place where there are few. He choreographs large-scale performances and installations that oftentimes silently confront and delight viewers with some of the most pressing issues of our time. Reoccurring themes of queerness, race/class/gender, nature, isolation, celebration, and the climate crisis are present throughout his work.

Lukas Jüliger is an artists, comic book artist, illustrator and author living and working in Berlin. He studied illustration in Hamburg and Paris. In 2013, he published his first novel Vacuum, convincing both critics and readers of his immense talent. His graphic novels are published through Reprodukt, Carlsen, and various international publishers.

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