The aim of 'The IVAM collection until now' is to offer a contextualized tour through the history of modern and contemporary Valencian art, national and international proposing a historiographic reading of the fundamental currents of the 20th and 21st centuries. Beyond a linear narrative, seeks to encourage multiple stories, generate intersections and open spaces for dialogue between History and stories based on the particularities of the IVAM collection, the originality of which resides in rethinking the notions of canon and hegemonic history in creating a narrative in which the "great figures" are intertwined with lesser-known names.
The proposal responds to a hybrid model: a backbone that intertwines with alternative readings. Next to the sequential path, you can choose between four itineraries that highlight transversal dimensions such as the importance of color, ecologies, feminisms or conflicts.
In line with IVAM's commitment to sustainability, the museum design has been carried out by the Smart studio & Green Design, specialized in eco-design and environmental audit of exhibitions and museums.
The chronology of the constitution of the IVAM determined a collection marked by European historiography, which leads to imbalances in terms of gender, race, inclusion and equity. Besides, despite the consistency in acquisitions over time—even crossing different directions, stages and ways to do—, the collection has gaps. However, these absences constitute an affirmation of their status as living heritage: an ecosystem of memories and lives, in which the work of the critic intersects with that of gallerists and administrative staff, collecting and advice, artistes, curation, moments, places… Every collection of contemporary art is, by definition, infinity: an open story, unfinished and multiple.
The exhibition includes works by more than 260 artists with Ad Reinhardt, Andrew Masson, Bouchra Khalili, Cindy Sherman, Claes Oldenburg, Dani Caravan, Doro Balaguer, Francis Picabia, Gillian Wearing, Gino Giuseppe Subjects, Gustav Klucis, Jacques Lipchitz, László Moholy-Large, Joan Miró, Man Ray, Laurie Simmons, Marcel Duchamp, Martha Rosler, Robert Frank, Walker Evans, or María Blanchard among others.
