One of the most relevant aspects of the work of Equipo 57 was that they saw art as a path to knowledge rather than a form of expression. This exhibition consequently aims to shed light on the roads by which the members of this collective arrived at the creative processes which they carried out between 1957, the year Equipo 57 was formed, and 1966, when the group formally disbanded. This explains the special relevance of two categories in this show: the drawings, the best medium in which to pursue their investigations; and the archive, as it contains the letters in which they discussed and debated with each other, along with photographs, assorted publications and documents that record and reveal how they understood and operated in an artistic and political system they sought to transform. As Professor Simón Marchán Fiz pointed out, their critical stance aimed to challenge ¿the art establishment in bourgeois society in general and Spain¿s political and social situation in particular¿.

The core members of Equipo 57 were Ángel Duarte, Agustín Ibarrola, Juan Serrano, José Duarte and Juan Cuenca. The latter three and other Córdoba natives (such as Segundo Castro and Alejandro Mesa) were involved in the early days of the collective, along with artists from further afield like Jorge Oteiza and Néstor Basterretxea. The group had two main bases: Paris and Córdoba. The French capital was where they first got together and began exhibiting, with the support of Danish artist Richard Mortensen and gallerist Denise René, and in the Andalusian city they worked, met, exhibited and experimented with integrating different disciplines (painting, sculpture, design, etc.).

The CAAC collection contains more Equipo 57 works than any other cultural institution: 230 pieces in total, including seven oil paintings, three sculptures, two pieces of furniture, 35 gouaches, 164 drawings and  twelve prints, and an archive with nearly a thousand items (the correspondence section alone has over 800 letters). Never exhibited before in its entirety, the presentation of this voluminous collection at the Córdoba venue of the Centro Andaluz de Arte Contemporáneo, in an experimental space like the C3A, highlights the transformative power of art engaged with its time while also underlining the importance of seeking ways to understand art as a method of knowledge.

· Download Exhibition Labels here.

· Download Gallery Sheet here.

· Album on Flickr.