This exhibition delves into the intertwined artistic endeavors of women in Spain and Portugal during a pivotal period spanning the final years of dictatorship and the dawn of democracy. The historical trajectories of these two nations intertwined during this era, sharing striking parallels. Both Spain and Portugal endured lengthy dictatorships characterized by authoritarian rule, repression, a cult of personality, and a state structure reminiscent of fascism, yet distinguished by traditionalist and Catholic undertones. Indeed, both regimes adopted the same slogan to encapsulate their ideology: "God, Country, and Family."
The 1960s and early 1970s witnessed a surge in the presence of women artists in both countries, particularly within alternative and anti-regime circles. As we examine the artistic output of Spanish and Portuguese women during this era, we encounter a diverse range of mediums and styles, encompassing abstraction and normative art, traditional realism, Pop art and critical realism, conceptualism and neo-Dadaism, to name a few. While not all artists engaged in reflections on the female condition, a significant number of works produced by women during this period intersected with themes closely aligned with the feminist agenda, including the sexual division of labor, the social construction of gender roles, motherhood, domesticity, and sexual violence.
Despite this feminist or proto-feminist undercurrent, it was largely overlooked, if not outright denied, by most contemporary critics and even the artists themselves. It has only been in recent years that Spanish and Portuguese art historians have begun to unravel the political dimension embedded within many of these works.
This proposed exhibition aims to reevaluate the artistic contributions of Spanish and Portuguese women of this era, taking into account their distinct perspectives compared to their Anglo-Saxon counterparts while highlighting the numerous parallels that bind them together. It also presents an opportunity to explore instances of exchange and interaction between artists from both countries.