14 March 2019 marks the 100th anniversary of the opening of the Cibeles Palace, which houses CentroCentro Cultural Centre. Since it first opened as the Telecommunications Palace, the building has had various incarnations and has been the focus of myriad gazes. This idea of looking, of assessing from different points of view, underpins this series of exhibitions: El Palacio visto por... (The Palace as Seen by...), in which we aim to invite, on an annual basis, different artists and architects to create an informative overview –in exhibition format– based on the building's archives and history, while also offering their own individual perceptions of the palace. These may take different forms, ranging from the sculptural and graphic work presented by David Bestué (Barcelona, 1980) this year to other future offerings, which we will discover as time goes by.

Tramas (Patterns), David Bestué's project, involves three complementary interventions. In the first, which is more informative in nature, Bestué focuses on the iconography that was chosen for the palace and the reactions it provoked at the time. In this space, connections are forged by means of texts, drawings and images that mix historical references and materials with photographs taken by Bestué during the research period. The second consists of a practical application of Bestué’s research, which is summed up in a series of decorative patterns or storylines which function as an iconographic restatement that can serve as architectural elements like flooring, ceilings and fabrics. This project was undertaken in collaboration with Setanta design studio (which is also responsible for the exhibition's graphic design) and Gabriel Pericás.

Finally, in the central space, just behind the large window that looks out over Plaza Cibeles, David Bestué presents a sculptural intervention in which architectural ornamentation and functionality, the past and the present strike up a dialogue, as it were, through a poetic interplay of materials.

David Bestué (Barcelona, 1980) has undertaken projects relating to Enric Miralles and recent architectural and engineering history in Spain. His exhibitions include ‘Piedras y poetas’ (Stones and Poets) at Estrany de la Mota Gallery (Barcelona, 2013), 'Realismo' (Realism) at La Capella (Barcelona, 2015), ‘La España Moderna en García Galería’ (Modern Spain at the García Gallery) (Madrid, 2015) and 'ROSI AMOR' at the Reina Sofia Museum (Madrid, 2017).

See the exhibition on Flickr