The Museo Centro Gaiás will unveil the exhibition 'Ser noutras', featuring a unique spatial installation by visual artist, stage director, playwright, and set designer Marta Pazos. The exhibition will open at the Cidade da Cultura on Friday, 30 October 2026.
'Ser noutras' is constructed through 18 dialogues between Galician artists from the collection of the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía and contemporary creators, who are producing up to 15 works and installations specifically for this project.
In this collective exhibition narrative, Marta Pazos engages with the universe of surrealist painter Maruja Mallo, who was the subject of a monographic exhibition at the Reina Sofía in Madrid last year. This collaboration has led to the creation of 'Maruja', a grand 'visual theatre' that serves as the very stage for the exhibition.
Recognised as one of the most innovative creators in the current European scenic landscape, Pazos envisions her piece as a 'grand jewellery box' adapted to the interior architecture of Peter Eisenman, balancing organic and geometric sections.
The installation prominently features Mallo's unmistakable imaginary—her depictions of the female body, organic plant forms, shells, and the female reproductive system—alongside the vibrant colours that define Marta Pazos' work, particularly a 'theatre garnet' with a velvet finish.
'Ser noutras' is conceived as a collective, dynamic, and intergenerational narrative. In preparation for the exhibition, the Cidade da Cultura invited 18 contemporary creators to engage in dialogue with prominent figures of Galician art represented in the Reina Sofía collection, either through existing pieces or original works created specifically for this project.
This collaborative narrative connects artistic names and trajectories such as Arturo Souto and Chelo Matesanz; Julia Minguillón and Mar Caldas; Francisco Leiro and Pablo Barreiro; Berta Cáccamo and Julia Huete; and José María de Viruta and Mar Vicente, among many others.
The exhibition reinforces the role of the Museo Centro Gaiás as a platform for Galician research and creation, always in relation to the national and international context. 'Ser noutras' is curated by Verónica Santos, the director of Cultural Action at Gaiás and art historian, alongside cultural manager and art historian Chus Martínez, director of the Camilo José Cela Foundation. The exhibition will be open to visitors at the Cidade da Cultura from 30 October 2026 until 28 March 2027.
