The Espai d’Art Contemporani de Castelló (EACC) presents L’horitzó d’esdeveniments, the new solo exhibition by French artist Abdelkader Benchamma, a leading figure in international contemporary drawing. The exhibition, produced by the center of the Institut Valencià de Cultura (IVC), under the Conselleria d’Educació, Cultura i Universitats, will open on Friday, June 19th, at 7:00 PM, and will be open to the public until September 13th.
Conceived specifically for the EACC's galleries, the exhibition offers a visual experience that transcends the traditional boundaries of drawing. Benchamma transforms the exhibition space into a territory of graphic expansion, where walls, surfaces, and pathways become part of a work that invites visitors to delve into a universe of signs, matter, and movement.
L’horitzó d’esdeveniments takes as its starting point humanity's fascination with celestial phenomena and the need to interpret what is difficult to explain. Within this framework, the exhibition incorporates the series Kometenbuch, inspired by a 16th-century illustrated book that compiled sightings of comets and other extraordinary phenomena observed in the sky.
From this historical reference, Benchamma unfolds a reflection on how societies have looked to the heavens for answers, signs, or omens. The result is a proposal that connects science, imagination, spirituality, and perception, with drawing as the central tool for exploring the boundaries between the visible and the unknown.
Abdelkader Benchamma's work is characterized by great graphic complexity and a unique visual language, fueled by influences ranging from classical drawing to scientific modeling, Japanese prints, comics, and literature. In his creations, forms seem to appear and dissolve, as if matter were in a constant state of transformation.
In this exhibition, drawing ceases to be merely an image on paper and becomes a physical presence that occupies space. Lines, strokes, and compositions integrate into the EACC's architecture, generating an immersive experience that modifies the perception of the exhibition route.
The exhibition thus proposes a direct relationship between the artwork, the space, and the spectator. Visitors not only contemplate the pieces but also traverse an environment altered by the artist's graphic gesture, in an atmosphere that evokes states of matter, invisible forces, and the tension between the physical and the metaphysical worlds.
In the exhibition's setup, the artist collaborated with students from the Illustration degree at the Escola d’Art i Superior de Disseny de Castelló (EASD): Vanesa Rodríguez, Lucía Sánchez, and Beatriz Soriano. Their participation reinforces the project's connection with Castelló's creative and educational context, establishing a dialogue between international artistic practice and emerging local talent.
Abdelkader Benchamma studied at the École des Beaux-Arts in Montpellier and the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris. Throughout his career, he has developed projects at international institutions such as The Drawing Center in New York, the Boghossian Foundation in Brussels, the Collège des Bernardins in Paris, and the Venice Biennale.
His work is part of important international public collections and, in 2024, he was a finalist for the Marcel Duchamp Prize, one of the most prestigious awards in the contemporary French art scene.
With L’horitzó d’esdeveniments, the EACC brings to Castelló a contemporary art proposal that combines visual research, graphic intensity, and a poetic look at the mysteries of the cosmos, the transformation of matter, and the relationship between human beings and their environment.
