This is What Life is About. Narratives of Progress, Freedom and Self-fulfillment in Today's Capitalism—Works MUSAC Collection

Conceived by Paco Barragán as guest-curator, This is what life is About. Narratives of Progress, Freedom and Self-fulfillment in Today’s Capitalism—MUSAC OFF features works exclusively from the MUSAC Collection that reflect on contemporary society in today’s capitalism: from globalization to de-regulation of markets, democracy, freedom and security to success and self-fulfillment.

The exhibition is not against or in favor of capitalism, as those perspectives have clearly shown that they are unable to grasp the complexity and contradiction that has characterized capitalism since its advent at the end of the 16th century. It's more about enabling the citizen to reflect on the contradiction that it entails to live in today's system and how he or she is faced on a daily basis with taking no less contradictory decisions.

Every exhibition aspires to insert itself within a frame of critical thinking. In this case, there are two iconic books that have served as inspiration that delve respectively into this ‘new spirit’ of capitalism and the distribution of wealth: the already classic The New Spirit of Capitalism, 2002, by Luc Boltanski and Eve Chiapello and Capital in the XXIst Century, 2014, by Thomas Piketty. 

Artists: Julieta Aranda, Allan Sekula, Santiago Sierra, Jun Nguyen-Hatsushiba, Chus García-Fraile, Tony Oursler, Gabriele Basilico, Simeón Saiz Ruiz, Gamaliel Rodríguez, Nicola Verlato, Rineke Dijkstra, Pepo Salazar, Ana Mendieta, Shoja Azari, Yinka Shonibare, Isaac Julien, Josephine Meckseper, Ryan McGinness, Ixone Sádaba, Muntean & Rosenblum, Carolina Caycedo, Paul Graham, Philip-Lorca DiCorcia, Trine Sondergaard, Boris Mikhailov, Pepe Espaliú, MP & MP Rosado, Ruth Gómez, Marina Núñez, Pilar Albarracín, Gregory Crewdson, Jorge Quijano, Tracey Moffatt, Dani Marti and Diego del Pozo.