Read/ing at Quetzal Art Center

At the multi-purpose Portuguese winery destination, Quinta do Quetzal, the current exhibition “Read/ing” in the Art Center with thanks to the Collection de Bruin-Heijn, opened mid this year and extends until the end of March 2021.

Read/ing is curated by Aveline de Bruin (daughter of the Dutch collectors) in conversation with Maxine Kopsa.

What happens when we read? We dissolve. When the book ‘works’, when the writing demands the reader’s courtesy, when the story is riveting (and most often for selfish reasons), we dissolve into the narrative. We see it and not the words on the page anymore. Like magic. We ingest it and then reflect on it, adding to it our own memories, other people’s stories, gossip, the news. We become what we read and in turn tell the story.

The exhibition Read/ing is a personal, intuitive, sometimes psychological, sometimes political exploration of what reading can mean. It grew out of a conversation.

With works by Yael Bartana, Rosella Biscotti, John Coplans, Koenraad Dedobbeleer, Edith Dekyndt, Jana Euler, Ryan Gander, Dora Garcia, Lothar Hempel, Dana Hoey, Roni Horn, Sarah Jones, Mike Kelley, Július Koller, Germaine Kruip, René Magritte, Paul McCarthy, Christian Megert, Jonathan Monk, Matt Mullican, Navid Nuur, Wilfredo Prieto, Margareth Salmon, Bojan Šarčević,  Hannah Starkey, Thomas Struth, Alina Szapocznikow, Wolfgang Tillmans, Ana Torfs, Lidwien van de Ven and Francisco Tropa. The special commissioned wall piece by Nora Turato is postponed until further notice due to COVID-19.

The exhibition Read/ing is made with works from the Collection de Bruin-Heijn. The following images show selected artwork reproductions, as well as installation views at the Quetzal Art Center. For a complete art viewing experience on location, the vineyard and restaurant can also be indulged. This estate lies in the hills of Vidigueira, which is close to the oldest known Roman winery in Portugal and Spain.

The Collection de Bruin-Heijn is presented further on IC, with the 2019 Online Exhibitions Drawing Africa on the Map and Cave Myths (Endless Spelunking).