Marta Palau: My Paths Are Earthly

Marta Palau was a pioneering artist in thinking about textiles in dialogue with natural materials. Over the course of her career, she cultivated languages such as sculpture, installation, drawing and writing, the latter discovered through her personal archive. Based on the study of her notebooks and correspondence, this exhibition, curated by Imma Prieto, presents a novel interpretation of her work through the duality between magic and history.

The first time Palau consciously reflected on art and magic was while preparing the exhibition “Mis caminos son terrestres” (“My Paths Are Earthly”, 1985) at the Palacio de Bellas Artes in Mexico City. This title names the present exhibition and serves as a declaration of principles, ranging from social and political positions to a spiritual cosmovision.

For Palau, art connects us with what is human – understood as nature and history – and acts as a form of resistance and vindication. This dialogue is articulated through the idea of land and body, understood via oppositions such as life and death, eros and thanatos, within an organic vision that appeals to historical becoming. In this worldview, land and body are the material of exile and infirmity, but also of fertility, life and transformation.