Modern myths: Ouka Leele & Co

From 2 July to 18 October, Region of Madrid - Alcalá 31 Exhibition Hall is hosting an exhibition that explores the role of mythology in Madrid’s art scene of the 1980s, focusing on the work of Ouka Leele alongside key artists such as El Hortelano, Ceesepe, Carlos Franco and Sigfrido Martin Begué.

Taking as its starting point Rapelle toi, Barbara!, the iconic installation created by Ouka Leele (Madrid, 1957–2022) at the Cibeles fountain in 1987, the exhibition explores how various artists associated with the New Figuration movement and Madrid’s Movida cultural scene drew on classical mythology as a symbolic tool to interpret a new cultural reality during the country’s transition to democracy.

The exhibition brings together over a hundred works by artists such as Ouka Leele, El Hortelano, Ceesepe, Carlos Franco, Sigfrido Martín Begué, Guillermo Pérez Villalta, Dis Berlin, Pablo Sycet, Carlos Alcolea, Costus and Patricia Gadea, among others. Through paintings, photographs, drawings and works involving new media and performance art, the exhibition fosters a dialogue between classical tradition, popular culture and contemporary experimentation.

The project examines how these artists incorporated references from underground comics, fanzines, Romanticism and art history to construct new visual narratives about Madrid and its cultural transformation during the 1980s. In this exhibition, Ouka Leele’s work takes centre stage by bringing together photography, painting and theatrical performance with the world of mythology.