International Art Fairs

Last weekend one of Europe’s largest contemporary art fairs, ARCO, took place in Madrid. While sales were up from last year (and actually surpassed projected sales for this year), it wasn’t all fun and games.

The Israeli embassy in Spain has expressed outrage at one of sculptor Eugenio Merino’s pieces shown (and purchased at ARCO Madrid) that depicts a Muslim, a Christian, and a Jew praying on top of each other. In a press release, the embassy stated that Merino’s work includes “elements [that are] offensive to Jews, Israelis, and no doubt for others … values such as the freedom of expresion or artistic liberty sometimes serve as a simple disguise for prejudices, stereotypes, and pure provocation for the sake of provocation.”

The artist responded, insisting that he did not create his piece to hurt anyone, but rather, on the contrary, he stated, “I produced a work that speaks of the unity of religions and the alliance between civilizations … the reading of the work is very clear … it’s a tower where the three great [monotheist] religions collaborate to reach the same goal which is God.”

Article via Art Forum