Dierk Schmidt's 'Colpa e debiti' at Reina Sofía

The Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía presents 'Colpa e debiti' (Guilt and Debts), a comprehensive survey of German artist Dierk Schmidt (born 1965 in Unna). Curated by Lars Bang Larsen, the exhibition runs until March 10, 2019, at the Palacio de Velázquez in Madrid's Parque del Retiro. Schmidt uses historical painting—a genre popular in the 19th and 20th centuries, with influences from Géricault, Fahlström, Richard Hamilton, and Allan Sekula—to critique colonialism, social injustice, and institutional violence. The Palacio de Velázquez, built in 1883 and used for the 1887 General Exhibition of the Philippines (Spain's last colony), provides a site-specific context. Schmidt created holes in a wall for visitors to peek into the surrounding garden. The show features about fifty works from 1990 onward, employing materials like glass, wax paper, plexiglass, and plastic for transparency and fragility. Notable series include the Salzburg Series (2005) and Kassel Series (2007), abstract critiques of the Berlin Africa Conference (1884–85) where thirteen European states divided Africa. Another installation, 'Filtrazione di immagini—Sulla politica di immagini delle risorse,' addresses the 2010 Deepwater Horizon oil spill, with symbols of BP painted on glass sheets using tar and bitumen, suspended over visitors. The exhibition explores the limits of visibility, using painting as a medium to reflect on art's value and museums as repositories of history.