Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus

\María Magdalena Campos-PonsI Heard the Spirits’ Voices
Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
27.04. - 01.06.2024

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, *1959 in Matanzas, Cuba,
lives and works in Nashville, Tennessee

Photos: Jens Ziehe

Press text (DE/ENG/ES)

Born in Matanzas province, Cuba, the renowned interdisciplinary artist María Magdalena Campos-Pons works with performance, painting, photography, video, music, and sculpture. Campos-Pons explores themes of identity, race, gender, diaspora, and spirituality in her work, impulsed by her transcultural Nigerian, Chinese, and Spanish heritage.

With an artistic career spanning over four decades, María Magdalena Campos-Pons returns to Berlin with her second solo exhibition at Galerie Barbara Thumm, featuring two new paintings, video pieces, and an installation with porcelain vessels. The exhibition offers insight into the construction and expression of the artist‘s concept of identity, interconnecting multiple religious, spiritual, and geographical factors. In her repertoire, Campos-Pons draws from her personal experience to narrate the process of identity construction, from her own exile moving from Cuba to the United States, as well as her ancestors’, who arrived to the island from Africa and China. Her oeuvre interweaves personal experiences that tackle universal and collective ones at the same time, addressing historical themes such as the African and Chinese diaspora in the Caribbean. Campos-Pons uses her art as a medium for storytelling, engaging all senses through her performances and installations, always guided by her conviction of art’s healing power.

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Exhibition Views

Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus

Works

Highlights
Drawings & Collages
Performances & Videos
Sculptures and Installations
Works on Paper
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ My Mother Told Me I am Chinese: China Porcelain (2008)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

My Mother Told Me I am Chinese: China Porcelain (2008)
40 Hand-painted Chinese porcelain vases on plexiglass shelf, video on LED screen, sound by Neil Leonard
Duration: 5:48 min
Shelf size: 200 x 355 x 106 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese: The Painting Lesson (2024)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

My Mother Told Me I Am Chinese: The Painting Lesson (2024)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic and Epson inkjet transfer on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
21 sheets in 7 frames with 3 sheets each
76 x 56 cm each sheet
240 x 66 x 6 cm each frame
ca. 240 x 470 cm allover
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ Liminal Circularity, Family Whisper (Portrait #5) (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

Liminal Circularity, Family Whisper (Portrait #5) (2023)
From the series: Liminal Circularity/Family Whisper
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Rives BFK archival paper
framed: 353 x 255 x 5 cm
Glass stool on light box
24 x 45 x 25 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ Cousin María, Feast for Ogún (Portrait #4) (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

Cousin María, Feast for Ogún (Portrait #4) (2023)
From the series: Liminal Circularity/Family Whisper
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Rives BFK archival paper
framed: 343 x 84 x 7 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ Reflection (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

Reflection (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
4 sheets, 41,5 x 29 cm each
framed 48 x 35 x 3,5 cm each
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ Estudio de Espíritus / Spirit Study (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

Estudio de Espíritus / Spirit Study (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
52 x 43 cm
framed: 60 x 49 x 35 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ Sombrero de Domingo / Sunday Hat (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

Sombrero de Domingo / Sunday Hat (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
42 x 29 cm
framed: 48 x 35 x 35 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ El Curandero / Healer Spirit, 1 (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

El Curandero / Healer Spirit, 1 (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
42 x 29 cm
framed: 48 x 35 x 35 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ La Curandera / Healer Spirit, 2 (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

La Curandera / Healer Spirit, 2 (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
54 x 43 cm
framed: 63 x 49 x 35 cm
Galerie Barbara Thumm \ María Magdalena Campos-Pons – I Heard the Spirits’ Voices / Escuché la Voz de Los Espíritus \ El Curandero / Healer Spirit, 3 (2023)

María Magdalena Campos-Pons

El Curandero / Healer Spirit, 3 (2023)
Watercolor, ink, gouache, gum arabic on Arches Rives BFK archival paper
42 x 29 cm
framed: 48 x 35 x 35 cm

María Magdalena Campos-Pons, Kamaal Malak

A Mother's River of Tears (2023 - 2024)
Video
Duration: 00:19:04