Oriol Vilanova: Não há só uma maneira
Luisa Strina presents Não há só uma maneira [There is no single way], Oriol Vilanova's first solo exhibition in Brazil. The artist, who is currently representing Spain at the 61st Venice Biennale, reflect on collections and collectors through works involving words, letters, and photographs. The exhibition opens on Thursday, October 1, from 6 to 9 pm, and runs through November 14, with a program of performances.
Collecting plays a central role in Vilanova's artistic practice, extending beyond the materiality of objects to reveal the desires, emotional attachments, and narratives that shape the formation of a collection. This investigation takes shape in the artist's vast personal archive of postcards, which he has been collecting continuously and obsessively for more than 20 years - Los restos, an installation on view at the Spanish Pavilion of the current Venice Biennale, brings together approximately 50,000 items from this archive. While in this work Vilanova draws on a collection of images to examine questions of systematization, accumulation, and cultural memory, the exhibition at Luisa Strina brings together collections of words to examine the figure of the collector.
The performance Palabras prestadas [Borrowed Words] (2016-ongoing), in this sense, frames the relationship between collectors and their collections as a bond of love. Vilanova created a poem, a palimpsest of chaotic phrases expressing an intense, deliberately exaggerated devotion. The performance takes the form of a public reading of the poem, in which collectors invited by the artist declare their unconditional love for their own collections. The work has previously been presented in various contexts, including the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco, FRAC Grand Large, Art Genève, and ARTBO. At Luisa Strina, performances will take place throughout the exhibition, with the participation of Brazilian collectors.
This emotional dimension is also present in Dear (2017-ongoing), a work in which Vilanova prompts collectors to write letters addressed to their own collections. Comprising 31 handwritten letters spanning 60 pages that occupy the gallery space, the work reveals the intimate bonds each person forms with the objects they have chosen to collect. Throughout the exhibition, new letters will be incorporated into the installation.
In Al descubierto (2026), the artist turns his attention to his own collection. Four photographs, identical at first glance, depict the shelves that house his archive of postcards in his studio. The boxes that protect the objects also conceal them, creating a play between visibility and occultation in which contents and containers exchange roles. What is revealed on the surface suggests as much as what remains hidden.
About the artist
Oriol Vilanova (b. 1980, Manresa, Spain) lives and works in Brussels, Belgium. In 2026, he represents Spain at the 61st Venice Biennale. In 2027, he will have a solo exhibition at the Hammer Museum in Los Angeles.
His recent exhibitions include solo presentations at Walter & Nicole LeBlanc Foundation (Brussels, 2026); Garage Cosmos (Brussels, 2024); Kunstmuseum Bochum (Bochum, 2022); ICA Sofia (Sofia, 2022); Buffalo AKG Art Museum (Buffalo, 2019); Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (Monaco, 2019); Fundació Antoni Tàpies (Barcelona, 2017); CA2M (Móstoles, 2017); M Museum (Leuven, 2016); and Museo Cerralbo (Madrid, 2016).
His work is held in collections including MACBA (Barcelona); Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid); IVAM (Valencia); CGAC (Santiago de Compostela); Fundación Botín (Santander); Nouveau Musée National de Monaco (Monaco); KANAL - Centre Pompidou (Brussels); Mathaf: Arab Museum of Modern Art (Doha); Buffalo AKG Art Museum (Buffalo); Bass Museum of Art (Miami); Moraes-Barbosa Collection (São Paulo); and KAMU (Kanazawa).
Vilanova graduated in Architecture in Barcelona (2006) and has participated in artist residency programs at Delfina Foundation (London, 2017); Le Pavillon, Palais de Tokyo (Paris, 2011-2012); and FAR - Fondazione Antonio Ratti (Como, 2010).