RODRIGO HERNÁDEZ

The international group exhibition ‘Superglue, or Inventing the Friend’ inaugurates a new phase for the Contemporary Art Centre (CAC) under its new director. By primarily showcasing figurative art, the exhibition invites a reassessment of the institution's relationship with its audience, using the human figure to explore diversity, identity, and the possibility of genuine connection.

Against the backdrop of global polarization, the exhibition seeks open dialogue about art's role during times of crisis. It draws inspiration from the 1968 film When I Was a Child, where schoolchildren escape the rigid, alienating environment of a modernist art tour to form a genuine romantic bond. Through historical and contemporary works, the exhibition asks: what kind of "superglue" can bind a combative, fragmented society together today?

The recent revival of figurative art acts as a counterweight to an era defined by technological dominance, uncertainty, and the excess of big data. By returning to narrative and form, artists are actively rethinking strategies for identity construction in a posthuman landscape.

Ultimately, the exhibition poses a vital question: In an age of commodified relationships and ideological excess, can contemporary art help us positively engage with the "other" and, despite everything, teach us how to become friends?