NEWART centre – Centro de arte digital y tecnológico en Reus

Santander, 1970

Manu Arregui

A pioneer in the application of 3D animation in his work, Manu Arregui’s practice focuses on reflecting on body politics and advocating for “non-normative” identities. Always grounded in critical inquiry, his pieces—rich in lyricism—combine virtuosity and experimentation. At the same time, without abandoning irony, the artist examines the progressive virtualisation of our lives and the future of art in this post-contemporary era.

He holds a degree in Fine Arts from the University of the Basque Country. His works have been included in major exhibitions such as Trans-sexual Express International, curated by Xabier Arakistain and Rosa Martínez; the Bad Boys project by Agustín Pérez Rubio, produced on the occasion of the 50th Venice Biennale; Single Channel Video: 1996–2002, curated by Juan Antonio Álvarez-Reyes and Berta Sichel for the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía; the Animated Sessions project by Juan Antonio Álvarez-Reyes for the same museum and the Atlantic Centre of Modern Art in Las Palmas; Chacun à son Goût, curated by Rosa Martínez to commemorate the tenth anniversary of the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao; and Spanish Art 1957–2007 at the Palazzo Sant’Elia in Palermo.

He has participated in major international Contemporary Art fairs such as ARCO (Madrid), ART BASEL MIAMI BEACH (Miami), and FRIEZE (London). In 2002 he was awarded the Visual Arts Grant from the Marcelino Botín Foundation, which enabled him to complete his training at the ISCP in New York. In 2004 he won the First Prize for Video Creation and Digital Formats from Caixa Galicia, and in 2007 the Altadis Award for Visual Arts. His work is represented, among others, in the collections of the ARTIUM Museum in Vitoria, the Guggenheim Museum Bilbao, the MUSAC in León, and the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía in Madrid.

His work “Exercises in Measuring the Affected Movement of the Hands” won the 9th edition of the ARCO-BEEP Electronic Art Award.

Work in the collection: Exercises in Measuring the Affected Movement of the Hands
http://manuarregui.com/

Exercises in Measuring the Affected Movement of the Hands, 2014

This 6’30” video uses time—unfolding in a linear manner—to shape an investigation into the codes and connotations associated with gestures.

Using as its point of departure a recording of the hands of various professional dancers in motion, along with an example of 3D modeling software to replicate these movements and extract the corresponding positioning and rotation data, the piece employs the theme of dance to reflect on issues such as the fear of effeminacy and masculinization.