Highlighting the value and presence of Santiago Sierra's work in the Helga de Alvear Collection, the exhibition brings together historic works from the collection, others produced especially for the occasion, the archive donated by the artist to the Museum, and Sierra's first and last work exhibited at the Helga de Alvear Gallery.
"The exhibition is part of a critical dialogue on the political and social dimension of contemporary art as a central and contradictory theme that the artist presents with force, clarity, insight, and commitment. At the same time, it celebrates and pays tribute to Helga de Alvear, gallerist, collector, and patron of Sierra. Helga was a visionary leader who had an indelible impact on the artists with whom she worked and consistently supported him throughout his career."
This relationship has been fundamental in the development and consolidation of Sierra's artistic practice, beginning with his first project at the Helga de Alvear Gallery, 100 Hidden People, in 2003, and culminating with 2,068 Teeth (2022/2025), a work in which Santiago Sierra directs his aesthetic attention to the structural discrimination inherent in contemporary migration policies.
The archive, donated by the artist to the Museum and presented for the first time as part of the exhibition, records this connection and some of the milestones in Sierra's career. With this ambitious project, the Helga de Alvear Museum maintains its commitment to contemporary artistic research and the promotion of artists capable of stimulating reflection on such pressing issues of our time as inequality, marginalization, and migration, in addition to continuing our ambitious community engagement program with local communities."
Sandra Guimarães, Director of the Helga de Alvear Museum.
Black Flag (2015), Santiago Sierra. Helga de Alvear Collection. Photograph by Jorge Armestar. Courtesy of Helga de Alvear Museum.
The exhibition reflects the world that the artist, Santiago Sierra, has experienced at each moment. Without intending to be self-referential, the artist associates each piece with a part of his life, highlighting the value of art as a means to question the world. The proposal does not aim to establish idealized solutions or visions, but rather stimulates ongoing reflection, addressing the abusive dynamics of established powers and questioning the responsibility of both artists and citizens in today's society.
"Through media such as black and white photography, video, performance, and installation, the artist shows us how the contradictions of capitalism exacerbate human alienation, transforming the world into a place of violence, injustice, and death, and which permeate the entire territory until they penetrate every individual body.
"Santiago Sierra. 2,068 Teeth, The Maelström, Archive, and Black Flag" explores, based on historical and more recent works, themes such as immigration, exploitation, colonial devastation, and anarchism, highlighting the tensions between the economic, the ethical, and the aesthetic."
Alexis Callado, curator of the exhibition.
Detail of Wallpaper: The Maelström (2025), Santiago Sierra. Photograph by Jorge Armestar. Courtesy of Santiago Sierra Studio and Helga de Alvear Museum.
About Santiago Sierra
His work has had a profound influence on literature and art criticism. Sierra's work strives to expose the perverse networks of power that lead to the alienation and exploitation of workers, injustice and violence, the inequalities of wealth produced by capitalism, the diversion of work and money, and racial discrimination in a world of one-way (south-north) migratory movements.
Helga de Alvear was a gallery owner, collector, and patron of Santiago Sierra for over 20 years, from the beginning of their relationship in 2003 until her death in February 2025.
"Santiago Sierra is one of the most important Spanish conceptual artists on the contemporary art scene. He has dedicated his career of more than three decades to exploring and critiquing contemporary sociopolitical structures through an incisive visual language that generates disparate emotions."
Alexis Callado, curator of the exhibition.
Palestinian Teeth (2024), Santiago Sierra. Photograph by Jorge Armestar. Courtesy of Santiago Sierra Studio and Helga de Alvear Museum.
On the occasion of the exhibition, the Helga de Alvear Museum and the CA2M have published a catalogue with a prologue by Sandra Guimarães and Tania Pardo. It consists of Sierra's characteristic "inverse" portraits and is complemented by texts by Alexis Callado, Rosa Martínez, Georg Imdahl, Juan Albarrán, José Luis Corazón, Pilar Villela, and Gonzalo Abaha.
Works on display
Warning, 2006-2007.
2,068 Teeth, 2022-2025.
Palestinian Teeth, 2024.
The Maelstrom. Serrekunda, Gambia, 2023.
Black Flag, 2015.
The Caretakers, 2012.
Political Prisoners in Contemporary Spain, 2019.
100 Hidden People, 2003.
Burned Word (El Cabanyal, Valencia, Spain), 2012.
The Long Line, 2020.
64 Hidden People, 2025.
Santiago Sierra Archive, ca. 1990-2024.
