Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle with the students of the organized workshop. PHOTO: Manuel Castells

"We want the Museum of the University of Navarra to be a center open to the city, a public square where a dialogue between art and its spectators is generated. This was stated today by Miguel López-Remiro, director of the center, on the occasion of the urban performance by Íñigo Manglano-Ovalle that will tour the streets of Pamplona tomorrow, the 5th. Those who come to see this traveling art exhibition will be able to take video and image files that will later become part of the work, in the audiovisual document that will be projected in the exhibition until the end of August.

López-Remiro made these statements during the presentation of the artist at the Palacio del Condestable, which inaugurated this activity-workshop organized jointly by the University of Navarra and the City Council of Pamplona. During a conference open to the public, Íñigo Manglano-Ovalle has shown part of his work and artistic career.

Among the attendees were representatives from various museums in the region, including the Oteiza Museum, the Museum of Tudela and the Museum of Navarre. Among others, there were also artists such as Carlos Ciriza or Antonio Eslava; the gallery owner Moisés Pérez de Albéniz; the representative of Manglano-Ovalle in Spain, Soledad Lorenzo; members of the Official College of Architects; members of the Pamplona choral society; and heads of establishments in the Old Quarter of Pamplona related to decoration, antiques and art.

Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle will count tomorrow with the students of the workshop and the spontaneous participation of citizens to co-create his work. The Palacio del Condestable, the Plaza del Ayuntamiento and the Cathedral will be the setting for the installation, which will finally be exhibited in the Gothic Kitchen of the Cathedral Museum.

Study of the pre-Sanfermines urban climate

The installation will be based on one of the recurring themes in the artist's work, meteorology: it will be a study of the city's climate just before the start of its most international festival, the Sanfermines. For this, Manglano-Ovalle will carry some thirty weather study balloons, two meteorological towers and a geodesic dome. Evoking the 1972 Cultural Encounters in Pamplona, the elements used will serve as an allegory of the traditional symbols of the street in Sanfermines (handkerchiefs, procession, banners, messages, dialogue, encounter, etc.).

According to Manglano-Ovalle, white is the predominant color in his work because it evokes neutrality, is open to any sign or message and helps him to tell projects that, although they have not been carried out in reality, occur in his work.

With the intervention of this Chicago artist of Spanish origin, the Museum of Contemporary Art of the University of Navarra inaugurates its activity. "When we thought about who to start the artistic program with, even without the Museum itself, we saw that Iñigo Manglano-Ovalle met all the qualities we wanted to reflect: he enters into dialogue with his viewers and integrates himself into the environment in which he acts. He doesn't need the walls of a museum to disseminate art and generate reflection around his work," said Miguel López-Remiro.