The exhibition “Kingdom” brings together works by fourteen artists who transcend the boundaries of representation, establishing connections through animal iconographies by employing fantasy, mythology, and even satire as conceptual vehicles. Through various processes, the selected works address the presence of animals to convey a subjective inquiry rooted in uncertainty, everyday life, and the inevitable climate crisis, thereby weaving new relationships with what has been defined as ‘nature.’ 

The history of humans has always been intertwined with animals, evolving in parallel and transforming human interaction with nature into an increasingly complex experience. From symbolic approaches to the contemporary artificial and distant conception, animals have been converted into exhibitable objects, idealized, domesticated (both physically and now digitally), and turned into raw materials for mass consumption. 

Within this same complexity of interaction, it is necessary to continually investigate cultural representations and the agency of animals within human responsibility as the cause of ecological imbalance. The term “non-human animal,” used by scientists and philosophers such as Donna Haraway, serves to de-hierarchize the boundaries between humans and other living beings on the planet, challenging anthropocentric perspectives. In turn, the term “non-human” advocates for a more interconnected and responsible understanding of the world, emphasizing the need for an ethical approach toward all forms of life. 

More horizontal relationships between humans and non-humans have existed since antiquity and persist in living cultures, through examples such as multiple zoomorphic mythological gods, cosmogonies, as well as fables and folk tales that transmit moral lessons. On the other hand, from animated cartoons, animal characters in video games, to plush toys and digital stickers of animals with human characteristics or emotions, a new fictional bond with nature has been created. 

The works in the exhibition emerge as windows into these different discourses, sharing a collective consciousness by portraying animals as main characters, as subjects. The paintings of Cristina Lama, which oscillate between figuration and abstraction, create narratives where characters float among undefined seas, dissolving on the canvas amidst textural brushstrokes. Similarly, the animalistic eyes and noses that emerge from Daniel Nuñez’s color stains seem to draw upon the unconscious or the supposed childlike purity of thought. 

Nacho Eterno’s cats evoke representations of totems from North American Indigenous cultures, created from concrete forms and colors. These works connect with archetypes of mythological representation through personal interpretations. The empowerment of domesticated animals and the voluminous women with defiant gazes in Amalia Ángulo’s works merge in a scenography that supports these two characters, denying any notion of hegemony over either. Meanwhile, Antonio Segura’s dreamlike universe features a selection of endangered animals, with a central character being a bear revered by various cultures in northern and eastern Europe. This indirectly represents the artist’s ongoing critique of environmental crises. 

The images of popular characters in the works of Einari Hyvönen, Michael Gao, and Fernando Tinoco connect in a direct and seemingly playful manner. However, in Hyvönen’s work, these images have a nostalgic character, addressing themes such as heartbreak, death, and environmental crisis. Michael Gao explores digital culture and political censorship in the digital world by using images that create absurd connections between reality and the digital realm with satirical notes. Tinoco’s drawings, clearly connected to cartoons, evoke a collective childhood memory while acknowledging the tragicomedy behind these seemingly harmless black-and-white images. 

The scenes on David Surman’s canvases capture moments of action in nature, reinterpreting art history and the dynamics of animals in their environment, considering their origins and hinting at possible futures. Martin Kačmarek portrays his characters in close-up within an agricultural rural setting, characterized by a distinctive mist, constructing his narratives from an almost surrealist perspective. 

Josefine Schulz reflects on the everyday well-being and tranquility in a naive manner, which, rather than being limiting, generates a sense of endearing comfort. The artist highlights the domestication and humanization of companion animals, referencing man’s best friend. Philip Emde’s scenes, filled with stuffed animals, showcase the symbolic relationship between humans and animals, reflecting an attachment and sentiment towards these objects. 

Lou Ros’s energetic and gestural execution, recreated through abstractions, landscapes, and birds, again highlights the relationship between the environment and nature, drawing attention to what might otherwise go unnoticed and establishing a sensory relationship with time and space. Finally, Adrià Miko’s large-format canvases cage animals that appear almost fantastical in their wild appearance.