An exhibition that explores the aesthetic, philosophical and political legacy of the Marquis de Sade in contemporary culture, from the early 20th-century avant-gardes to the present day.
The libertine writer Donatien Alphonse François de Sade (1740-1814) is a controversial figure, regarded by some as a revolutionary, liberating thinker, and by others as a pernicious and corrupting writer. His writings can be interpreted as a philosophy of freedom but also as a philosophy of evil.
The exhibition comprises documentation of the historical performances of Jean Benoît and Jean-Jacques Lebel, photography projects by Marcelo Brodsky, Robert Mapplethorpe, Pierre Molinier and Susan Meiselas, and references to works of literature, cinema and comic books, along with videos of interviews with philosophers and researchers. Installations by artists such as Laia Abril, Paul Chan, Shu Lea Cheang, Teresa Margolles, Joan Morey and Kara Walker take their place alongside new productions by Joan Fontcuberta and Domestic Data Streamers, with references to the works for stage of Angélica Liddell, Albert Serra and Candela Capitán, and the filming of an excerpt from Le retour de Sade, by Bernard Noël, directed by Guillem Sánchez Garcia and featuring Clàudia Abellán and Joel Cojal.
