adminThe exhibitions are to commemorate her contribution to the promotion of art and culture in Zimbabwe.
Fuertes died in a car accident in Namibia in March this year when she was in that country on holiday.
In a statement, National Gallery in Bulawayo assistant curator Clifford Zulu said the exhibition will run from Thursday to Sunday in Harare and in Bulawayo from next week Thursday to Sunday.
He said Fuertes contributed immensely to the arts industry in Zimbabwe.
“The Embassy of Spain in Zimbabwe, in collaboration with the Gabarron Foundation, will present an exhibition of conceptualised paintings by 10 top contemporary artists from Zimbabwe, entitled The Spirit of Friendship/Entre Dos Aguas/Pakati Pemagungwa, in honour of the late ambassador of Spain Pilar Fuertes to mark her contribution to the promotion of art and culture in Zimbabwe.
“The exhibition will run in Harare from 21 to 24 of June at the cosmopolitan 14th floor of Joina City and thereafter will be sent to the National Gallery in Bulawayo where it will be exhibited from 28 June till 1 July,” said Zulu.
He said there would be a panel of art experts to select 10 artists to exhibit their work in galleries in Spain and the United States.
“A selection committee, composed of art experts from Zimbabwe, Spain and New York, will evaluate and select the 10 artists who will then take part in spreading the art and culture of Zimbabwe in the US and Spain.
“The paintings selected will be bought and donated by the Spanish embassy to the Gabarron Foundation in Spain and will become part of its permanent collection where they will remain as a single collection and will be exhibited as a whole in future exhibitions,” said Zulu.
He said those who were friends of Spain and the late ambassador were welcome to both openings.
“Therefore, the embassy is glad to invite all the friends of the late ambassador Ms Pilar Fuertes and also those who are interested in Zimbabwean contemporary art to the opening in Harare on Thursday 21 June at 6pm at the Joina City. Those who live in Bulawayo are welcome to attend the opening on 28 June at 5.30pm at the National Gallery in Bulawayo,” said Zulu.
Cristobal Gabarron Foundation is an institution created in 1992 in Valladolid, Spain, and contributes, among other aspects, to the knowledge and promotion of art and culture in Spain and New York through art exhibitions, and offers specialised learning programmes and courses to international and talented students with a real interest in art. “Arte Africano” (“African Art”) is one of the collections in its museum, composed of a diversity of art from the most important cultures of Zaire, Angola, Gabon, Nigeria and Cote d’Ivoire.
There has been a previous collaboration in 2011 between the embassy of Spain and Cristobal Gabarron Foundation with a children’s drawing competition, which was won by Zimbabwean children. To mark the 20th anniversary of the Gabarron Foundation, both institutions have launched this new initiative where more than 30 artists have submitted their works.
Online Reporter