El culte a la bellesa

The exhibition examines the evolution of the concept of beauty throughout history and explores the multiple philosophical, cultural, artistic and scientific dimensions that surround it. Ideals of beauty have existed in all eras and cultures.

Despite its evolving nature, we tend to believe in the myth of an eternal hierarchy of beauty. Notions of physical attractiveness change, but our pursuit of beauty remains constant. Achieving and maintaining these standards sometimes leads to a kind of cult.

Philosophers have sought to define the concept of beauty, artists have tried to capture it, while scientists constantly innovate to achieve it. Although these definitions are not universal, our emotional connection to beauty is shared.

It generates feelings ranging from desire to rejection, from pain to pleasure, from ecstasy to greed. Our inner relationship with beauty is an intrinsic and essential part of our lives, in direct connection with our sense of health and well-being.

"El culte a la bellesa" is an invitation to explore and enrich our perception of beauty beyond the binary relationship of pretty or ugly, natural or artificial, physical or digital.

It is a space that opens up to the coexistence of contraries, where beauty is revealed both in the extremes and in everything that lies in between.

Focusing on the tension between norm and transgression, the exhibition raises and celebrates what beauty means to different communities, particularly those that have not had access to representation and have therefore been left out of the canon.

Instead of tracing a chronology of beauty, the exhibition brings together historical objects, documents, works of art and contemporary installations to put morality, status, health, age, gender and race into dialogue.

It investigates how, through society, politics, religion and medicine, ideals of beauty have been constructed over time and across