Welcome to the virtual exhibition

Ferdinand’s Garden

This exhibition consists of a selection of works by the artist Gabriel Sánchez Viveros inspired by the book The Story of Ferdinand, written in 1936 by Munro Leaf. In this story, a bull overcomes the stereotypes imposed on him to fight for what really makes him happy.

The story talks about Ferdinand, a fighting bull that has been raised for the bullfighting festival and that from a very young age has shown his interest in observing nature and smelling flowers; this sensitivity makes him different from his fellow bulls. Part of the story tells that one day he was stung by a bee and that because of the pain and the adrenaline rush he appeared to be very agile, strong and brave; that is how they chose him to go to a bullfight in Madrid. However, Ferdinand was not what they expected and thanks to his determination and pacifist demonstration, as well as the support of the people standing in the Plaza de Las Ventas, he is granted a pardon and they decide to return him to his home in the Andalusian countryside so that he lead a happy life contemplating nature and smelling the scent of flowers.

This story was published shortly before the outbreak of the Spanish civil war in a warlike environment, and it was a controversial book for several years, various politicians issued opinions about it and it was even banned in some countries. Mahatma Gandhi chose it as his favorite book for being a pacifist book since peace invites tolerance, acceptance and respect towards oneself and others.

The theme of this book is the reason why these pictorial and sculptural pieces by Gabriel Sánchez Viveros have been chosen, which are part of ROT, Flora's Soul and El Origen, series by the artist that reflect the way of approaching nature, the colors, stories and contrasts.

One of the pieces is the sculpture titled Hanging Out, which belongs to the El Origen series and which on this occasion personifies Ferdinand, the main character in the story. This sculpture consists of a metal bench with a bull's antlers and two ostrich egg shells alluding to the bull’s reproductive system, which together simulate this species. This work is surrounded by paintings made with floral pigments that are part of the Flora's Soul series and acrylic paintings of cacti from the ROT series in red color representing strength, courage and blood, and that seek to represent the contrast and balance of nature among animals as strong and imposing as fighting bulls, and the delicacy of flowers.

The artist has been linked with the story of Ferdinand for many years and it is a book that has marked him in a personal way. We can find constant references to the message in his work, since he always seeks the reaffirmation of his being in art, constantly reflects on his identity and on how it relates to his environment. His work seeks to question the fragility of gender and even species stereotypes as he does in this exhibition.

The work of Gabriel Sánchez Viveros reflects on nature, contemplation, and the posture of man in front of his environment, that is why this series invites us to interpret shapes, colors, silhouettes and textures, as well as to evoke the natural balance, to feel moved by the stories that surround us and to give ourselves a space to contemplate both the outer world and our inner world to experience nature and smell the flowers, to understand coexistence and respect in the universe, to find ourselves in Ferdinand's Garden.

Curator: Christian Muñoz de Cote