‘Lita Cabellut. Life Tearing Art Apart' at Fundación Bancaja
Valencia
11 April 2025
Fundación Bancaja presents 'Life Tearing Art Apart', an exhibition showcasing Lita Cabellut's artistic journey through the lens of human emotion and creativity. This comprehensive survey runs from 28 March to 31 August, 2025, at Fundación Bancaja in Valencia.
Under the curation of Eloy Martínez de la Pera, the artist’s first-ever Valencia exhibition features 120 works spanning two decades. The collection demonstrates Cabellut's versatility through an array of paintings, sculptures, installations, and videos from both private and public collections.
Through the exhibition, visitors can discover previously unseen pieces, including Herinneringen (2003), Edvard Munch – Gratende akt (2021), and an innovative suite inspired by García Lorca's Blood Wedding. 'Life Tearing Art Apart' also highlights recent reinterpretations of her earlier works showcasing her artistic approach which balances technical precision with emotional depth, addressing crucial themes from feminine identity to social marginalisation, while paying tribute to significant historical and cultural figures.
At its core, Cabellut's work delves deep into the human psyche, challenging viewers to examine both their aesthetic response and their place in the world. The exhibition is structured around five interconnected themes: Life, Passion, Power, Identity, and Freedom.
Life
Lita Cabellut explores the profound duality between life and death in her work. Through evocative imagery and masterful technique, she invites viewers to contemplate both the fragility of existence and the vibrancy of life. Her Vanitas and Skulls series, along with portraits like Arjan and Dieu Donner, serve as powerful meditations on mortality.
Passion
Through portraits like Henty, Essau, and Chaplin, Cabellut captures the intensity of human emotion. Her works, particularly in the Blood Wedding series, examine how passion drives people to challenge societal norms, often with dramatic consequences.
Power
Cabellut's portraits of influential figures reveal both their authority and their hidden humanity. Using a multilayered technique combining oil, collage, and texture, she explores complex power dynamics in society. This is particularly evident in her interpretation of Blood Wedding and portraits of marginalised individuals like Dhafer, Maribela, and Valerio.
Identity
Through works like Ocelot and Winston, Cabellut delves into the complexity of human identity. Her portraits reveal both physical appearance and inner emotional states, while examining broader social dynamics through faces like Alexus, Willem, and Ray.
Freedom
Freedom emerges as a central theme in Cabellut's portraits, exemplified in works like Sieb Posthuma and Saru. Her art becomes a powerful medium for exploring personal liberation, whether through self-acceptance, resilience, or defiance of social constraints. Through her work, viewers are invited to contemplate their own relationship with freedom.
