La guerra continua

Exhibition at the MEAM in Barcelona setting Francisco de Goya's etchings Los desastres de la guerra against the series of the same name by Gottfried Helnwein, focused on violence and childhood.

The exhibition brings into dialogue two sets of works separated by two centuries. On one side, a group of etchings by Francisco de Goya that document the horrors of war. On the other, the series of the same name by Gottfried Helnwein, a cycle of painting and mixed-media works on violence, exploitation and the destruction of childhood. Both artists are presented in a route that invites visitors to compare their approaches and their visual languages.

The route raises questions about how we look in the digital age, saturated with images: when it is legitimate to represent horror and what happens when violence becomes spectacle. Helnwein incorporates elements of comics, manga figures and characters such as Donald Duck or Mickey Mouse into hyperrealist scenes, which contrast with the rawness of Goya. It is a visit designed for anyone who wants to pause over the representation of violence and over how the same theme changes form according to the era.