“ART NOW” is a performance piece by Verónica Ruth Frías that takes its cue from a visually striking image: a tower of contemporary art books up which the artist slowly climbs, dressed in red. The piece transforms this structure into a metaphor for the artistic canon and the narratives that have shaped the history of art.

Rising above the books, the artist’s body challenges the omissions and inequalities that have characterised this narrative, demanding the presence and recognition of women in culture. The performance contrasts the weight of the archive and the authority of established discourses with the power of a living body occupying public space.

In the square, the work transforms art history into an image that is accessible and open to dialogue, inviting the public to reflect on memory, power and inclusion. Through a direct and symbolic visual language, ART NOW offers a feminist perspective on the present state of art and on those who write, sustain and take centre stage in its narratives.

This performance can be enjoyed on 25, 26 and 27 September at the various venues featured in the ‘Arte en las Plazas’ programme:

• CANDÁS – Friday 25 September, from 7.00 pm to 8.30 pm
• PRAVIA – Saturday 26 September, from 12.30 pm to 2 pm
• CANGAS DE ONÍS – Sunday 27 September, from 12.30 pm to 2 pm

ABOUT THE ARTIST

Verónica Ruth Frías (Córdoba, 1978) is a visual artist and performer whose practice draws on the body, costume, make-up and the construction of identities to address, with a critical and forthright perspective, issues relating to gender, power and the representation of women in contemporary society.

Her work is characterised by the use of characters and images of great symbolic power, often imbued with a mischievous and irreverent sense of humour. Through performance, photography and video, Frías constructs scenes that challenge the roles assigned to women and highlight the inequalities present both in society and within the art world.

For several years, she has also been developing participatory projects and collective actions in which she invites the public and members of the community to take part in the creative process. Her works have been featured in solo and group exhibitions, both nationally and internationally.

She has worked with curators such as Mariana Hormaechea, Nerea Ubieto, Adonay Bermúdez, Fernando Gómez de la Cuesta, Semíramis González, Margarita Aizpuru, Javier Díaz Guardiola, Juan Ramón Barbancho and Ángel Luis Pérez Villén.