Museo Reina Sofía Opens Eli Cortiñas's 'La máquina sueña con humo' on Colonial Cinema
From 23 September 2026 to 8 March 2027, Espacio 1 at the Museo Reina Sofía will showcase 'La máquina sueña con humo' by Eli Cortiñas. This exhibition delves into the Western portrayal of African exoticism, revisiting Cortiñas's 2016 video piece 'The Most Given of Givens.' It includes a three-channel video that critiques colonial narratives found in early Tarzan films, alongside a new sculptural installation. Cortiñas examines the functions of colonialism and the role of museums as 'machines of vision.' An opening discussion featuring Cortiñas and Amanda de la Garza is scheduled for 22 September at 19:00. Additionally, a film series curated by Cortiñas will take place from 24 September to 3 October, showcasing her works 'The Machine Monologues' and 'Not Gone with the Wind.'
Key facts
- Exhibition 'La máquina sueña con humo' by Eli Cortiñas runs from 23 September 2026 to 8 March 2027 at Museo Reina Sofía's Espacio 1.
- The show centers on the video installation 'The Most Given of Givens' (2016), a 10-minute three-channel work examining colonial narratives in early Tarzan films.
- A new spatial and sculptural installation created for the exhibition expands Cortiñas's decade-long research, incorporating AI, stock images, and found material.
- Opening talk on 22 September at 19:00 in Sala Cine features Eli Cortiñas and Amanda de la Garza, artistic deputy director of the museum.
- Film cycle 'Sobre imágenes y desobediencia. Carta blanca a Eli Cortiñas' runs from 24 September to 3 October, curated by the artist.
- Eli Cortiñas was born in Las Palmas de Gran Canaria in 1979, lives in Berlin since 2013, and has been a professor at the Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig since 2022.
- Espacio 1 is dedicated to experimental moving image and cinema of exhibition, complementing the museum's Cine y Nuevos Medios programming.
- The exhibition follows Oliver Laxe's 'HU/هُوَ. Bailad como si nadie os viera', which launched the museum's new program in December 2025.
Entities
Artists
- Eli Cortiñas
- Amanda de la Garza
- Oliver Laxe
- Moustapha Alassane
- Félix González-Torres
- Aurèlia Muñoz
- Manuel Segade
- Victoria Arribas Roldán
- Sara Torres Sifón
Institutions
- Museo Reina Sofía
- Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía
- VEGAP
- Academy of Media Arts (KHM) Cologne
- Academy of Visual Arts Leipzig
- Centro Atlántico de Arte Moderno
- Museum Kunstpalast Düsseldorf
- Kunstmuseum Bonn
- Colección del Senado de Berlín
- YAKS Foundation
- Museum Ludwig
- BOZAR Brussels
- Kunsthalle Budapest
- CAC Vilnius
- SCHIRN Kunsthalle
- SAVVY Contemporary
- S.M.A.K.
- Kunstverein Braunschweig
- MARTa Herford
- Kunstraum Innsbruck
- Centre Georges Pompidou
- Moscow Museum of Modern Art
- MUSAC
- Revista de Arte - Logopress
- Plataforma de Arte Contemporáneo
- exibart.es
Locations
- Madrid
- Spain
- Las Palmas de Gran Canaria
- Berlin
- Germany
- Cologne
- Düsseldorf
- Bonn
- Brussels
- Belgium
- Budapest
- Hungary
- Vilnius
- Lithuania
- Braunschweig
- Herford
- Innsbruck
- Austria
- Paris
- France
- Moscow
- Russia
- Leipzig
- Africa
- Hollywood
- Cuba
- Miami
- United States
- Greece