On Thursday, March 6th at 12:00 pm the exhibition “Super Hartas” will be inaugurated in the IQH La Fábrica del Humor Hall.
The exhibition shows the caricatures that can be found in the book of the same name, masterfully executed by David García Vivancos, DGV, and after a thorough investigation carried out by Antònia Torelló Torrens, which has been clearly and precisely captured in the biographies, which can be read in full in the book, and which can be read in summary form on the captions.
SuperhARTas fed up with shadows, with the background, with oblivion. Super fed up with an artistic story that has silenced unique and personal, unrepeatable female voices. Super fed up with only being able to enter in a museum being “muses of”, “models of”, “lovers of” although it is true that we are starting to be a little less so.
In SuperhARTas we find once again and face to face, 28 other women artists from different eras and varied and different disciplines, that move between embroidery and industrial design, from engraving to religious imagery, through film or photography, and who are articulated with dynamic and studied texts, which find in modern and designy caricature, the perfect ally to show their enormous talent. This tandem serves to demonstrate, once again, that equality in History of Art is much more than
necessary.
Antònia Torelló Torrens and David García Vivancos put the finishing touch, with this book, on a project that began in 2020. This very personal work helps us to understand the space that still remains to be recovered for all those overlooked female creators who still do not have their own place in our museums, classrooms or textbooks, despite the progress already achieved.
The hARTas project, at least in its most primitive form, has its origins many years ago, and it is now in 2025 that it closes, with this book, a totally essential trilogy.
About the authors:
Antònia Torelló Torrens (Consell, Mallorca, 1981) has a degree in Art History from the University of the Balearic Islands and is passionate about works made by women, especially those that the world seems to have forgotten, or those that, surely, haven’t got so many pages as their male colleagues.
Her way of writing, direct, agile and entertaining, helps us delve into the Art of women who, thanks to hARTas, Muy hARTas and finally, SuperhARTas, are now much closer to us.
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David García
Vivancos (Madrid, 1984) is an illustrator specialized in caricature, a discipline that has always been his passion. He divides his time between collaborations for Spanish newspapers and magazines (such as La Razón, ABC, tintaLibre or El Jueves), live caricature for big companies (such as Vodafone, Toyota, Benetton or UEFA) and education (workshops, talks and courses about the world of caricature).
He has several published books, all of them using caricature as the main graphic element, being SuperhARTas the most recent one.
The hARTas project is the most especial one of all his career, composed by three books written by Antònia, his partner.
List of female artists present at the exhibition:
HERRADA DE LANDSBERG (1125-1195). The first female encyclopedist.
German nun who involved all the sisters of her community in the creation of the first encyclopedia of knowledge of the entire Middle Ages. Hortus Deliciarum included biblical themes, the history of the founding of her abbey, some philosophical texts and two fragments of polyphonic music made by
female authors. The original manuscript was lost in a fire but a copy made at the beginning of the 19th century remains.
TERESA DIEÇ (1300-1350). And why not?
Possibly the first Spanish female mural painter and creator of a very particular religious cycle, given that the themes represented have a lot to do with the life of Christ, but also with women. It was discovered in 1952 by a nun who was cleaning the choir of the Convent of Santa Clara of Toro, and the most interesting thing is that the cycle is signed, generating a great controversy, given that there are researchers who believe that she was a patron and not an artist.
LEVINA TEERLINC (1510-1576). The creation of a queen.
Female miniaturist who worked at the court of Henry VIII at a turbulent time in history, and who played a fundamental role in the creation of the iconography of Queen Elizabeth I of England. Pioneer in the use of blue color for the backgrounds of her works, the oval format and the incorporation of golden letters or messages adorning her work. All subsequent English
miniaturists copied their innovations so it is difficult to recognize her work.
PLAUTILLA NELLI (1524-1588). The painter nun.
She was the first woman painter to depict The Last Supper. The work surprises because it is life-size, because of the personalization of the male characters, and it was commissioned for the refectory of her convent. The elements represented stand out given that they are not common neither for the time nor for the theme, so she was able to use everyday objects that she had around her. After years poorly kept and thanks to a private association, it has been restored and is exhibited in the city of Florence.
FEDE GALIZIA (1578-1630). Still lifes with a lot of life.
Female Italian painter who dedicated herself to portraits, history painting, religious images and is known for her still lifes. First person to sign one of them in the History of Universal Art and key figure in understanding the evolution of still lifes. Her inscriptions and represented elements give a good account of the careful education she had and her attempt to transcend the mere representation with his works.
MICHAELINAWAUTIER (1604-1689). The revolution became a woman artist.
Belgian female painter who lived with her brother and about whom we do not have any information relative to her artistic career. She was the creator of original and varied themes that give a good account of her excellence, and for many years her works were attributed to male artists due to their
great quality. She was only active for sixteen years. She represents herself semi-naked in one of her works and until 2005 little or nothing was known about her.
PLAUTILLA BRICCI (1616-1705).Inventor of the female meaning of architect.
Female artist from the city of Rome that grew up in a total artistic environment, and the first architect in the History of Universal Art. She designed a boat-shaped villa with typically Renaissance elements of which we currently only preserve part of the façade. Her brother took the credit but current studies of existing documentation show that she did all the work. She also made altarpieces and chapels, demonstrating her great versatility.
MARY BEALE (1633-1699)The first female professional portrait painter.
English female painter specialized in portraits who carried out the first artistic essay in the History of Universal Art on pictorial themes. She had to leave London due to the plague for a few years but when she returned, her fame extended quickly and she was in charge of supporting her entire family. Her husband began to work for her doing workshop tasks such as preparing canvases or pigments and keeping the agenda of her orders.
ELISABETTA SIRANI (1638-1665). A great role model.
Italian female painter who was formed in a family of artists in the city of Bologna. She made a large number of different themes and had to open her workshop wide open to show that she was the person who made all the works. She was very important for its particular iconography and her way in
depicting women. She opened a painting school for women but died when she was only twenty-seven years old, leaving a huge void in her city.
ANDREA Y CLAUDIA DE MENA (1654/1655- 1734/?). Forgotten female creators of imagery.
Sisters dedicated to imagery, being the third generation of sculptors,given that their father and grandfather were pioneers in the field of religious sculpture. They entered a convent but continued creating despite the limitations. Her letters of profession marked a before and after in iconography
and style, and were copied by all subsequent nuns. They had a third sister who is less studied than them, who may also have dedicated herself to sculpture.
ISABEL DE SANTIAGO (1660-1714). Her own workshop.
Ecuadorian female painter and greatest exponent of Quito painting. She studied with her father and worked with him in his workshop, inheriting it when he died. She was married twice and her second husband was also an artist. In her works we find great attention to small details, her own iconography
and the appearance of mixed-race persons or characters with typical local clothing. Throughout her life she was well considered, she was never able to join the guild because she was a woman.
MARY MOSER (1744-1819). Flowers and much more.
English female painter who won her first medal with only fourteen years old and began exhibiting. Famous for her flower painting demonstrating a great natural knowledge, but also recognized for other different themes. She was one of the founders, with other male artists and the painter Angelica
Kauffmann, of the Royal Academy in London, and she also worked for royalty. After getting married she forgot her last name, but she also forgot painting, working only as an amateur.
ANNE VALLAYER-COSTER (1744-1818). Still lives to another level.
French female painter who became a full-fledged academic unanimously after submitting a work to the Academy. We know nothing about her artistic education. Specialist in still lifes which she gave an elegant style, with a multitude of elements from the highest layers of society and which dazzled royalty and aristocracy. She survived the French Revolution, never stopped working and painted until the end of her days.
LAURA PIRANESI (1754-1785). The mysterious female engraver.
Italian female engraver who learned the trade and techniques from her father, and who worked with him and her brother. Her images are enjoyable in their own right and are usually signed, although at some point in history her name was erased. She worked with engraving in a loose and spontaneous
way. It is not known exactly when she died, but her brother is one of the biggest suspects, because he would have wanted to eliminate competition to inherit the family workshop.
ANNA ATKINS (1799-1871). Science, photography and algae.
English female photographer who, thanks to her father, had a close relationship with science and nature. She made drawings of shells but is famous for her images of algae obtained with the modern cyanotype technique. She published the first book with photographs in the History of Universal Art. She is very important because she is considered a pioneer in abstract photography but also in sequential photography, due to her way of working.
SARAH BERNHARDT (1844-1923). The divine female sculptor.
French female sculptor also known for being an exceptional actress. Thanks to the fame she obtained on stage, she was able to have access to a very good artistic education, but also to sell her works to international collectors. Her works are complex, stylistically very powerful and with a truly impeccable workmanship. In 2023, the city of Paris made her a well-deserved tribute with a large exhibition where all her works were seen.
EVELYN DE MORGAN (1855-1919). Spirituality and strong women.
English female painter of very high class and exquisite education. She was part of the Pre-Raphaelite Brotherhood, giving a twist to the representations of women, always strong, spiritual and powerful. In her works she fused mystical themes with arts and crafts, symbolism with allegorical
scenes, creating original paintings. She never changed her way of painting or thinking, not even when the avant-gardes arrived and she participated in different movements for women’s suffrage.
MAY MORRIS (1862-1938). The queen of arts and crafts.
British female artist known for dedicating herself to fabric design and embroidery. She was part of the Morris & Co. company, taking charge of the entire textile department, taking it to its highest point. She made sure that all her female workers had very good working conditions and founded the
Women’s Guild of the Arts. She worried about keeping her vast family legacy intact although her work and her figure quickly fell into oblivion.
KÄTHE KOLLWITZ (1867-1945). Pain elevated to Art.
German female artist famous for her engravings and sculptures. A direct witness of industrialization and war, she was concerned with capturing the miseries of life. Always using the color black, her work is direct and stark, being able to see in it the destruction of life, pain and despair. Always
pessimistic because of the events that marked her life, she believed that artist and people had to be just one to reflect reality in a very truthful way.
UEMURA SHÔEN (1875-1949). The subtlety of a painted haiku.
Japanese female painter who, thanks to a mother who broke all the rules, was able to dedicate herself to painting. Her work is the combination of pure tradition in how she uses line and color, with touches of modernity in the representation of women and their attitudes. Her images are elegant and
refined, without sensuality or eroticism. She created tirelessly until the end of her life, trying to earn a place in History.
LOIS WEBER (1879-1939). A committed female director.
American female director who came to cinema after opera or theater. She became a committed director making movies about universal social issues and others directly related to women such as abortion or prostitution. She was always in the crosshair of the censors of her time. She dominated the entire film process like no one else, from the script to the hiring, or from the use of the camera to edition of the film.
ALMA THOMAS (1891-1978). Color, color and more color.
American female painter who showed interest in the world of Art since she was a small child. She was a teacher all her life, influencing generations of boys and girls. At the age of sixty she retired and began her own artistic career. The use of color in small tiles made her a completely innovative artist
and nature, in all its extension, was her favorite subject. She died preparing her next exhibition, proving that it is never too late to chase a dream.
AUGUSTA SAVAGE (1892-1962). A forgotten rebirth.
American female sculptor famous for being part of the Harlem Renaissance and achieve that all areas linked to that neighborhood (music, literature, fashion…) were the great reference for African American culture. She got a scholarship to study in Paris but at the end of her days she abandoned
all artistic creation, and many of her works were destroyed given that they were made with less resistant materials due to she could not afford a higher quality ones.
MARIANNE BRANDT (1893-1983). The female designer who made history.
German female designer famous for being part of the first generation of Bauhaus students. She was part of the metal department, even becoming director, and her industrial designs are still valid today. The use of material forms and the absence of decoration marked her work from the first moment. When she finished, she worked in different factories also linked to design and with elements related to light.
LOLA ÁLVAREZ BRAVO (1903-1993)
The great female Mexican chronicler.
Mexican female photographer who dyed Mexico with modernity by approaching people of the street and to capture their daily lives. The fleeting moments, real people and rural life, will be the main protagonists of her images, making her a perfect chronicler of the time in which she lived, and she
traveled throughout her country looking for those perfect moments. The only Latin American female photographer of the exhibition The Family of Man carried out at the MOMA Museum in New York.
MARGA GIL ROËSSET (1908-1932). An untimely death.
Spanish female artist who painted, sculpted, drew and created, to the full extension that the word allows. Completely self-taught female author from a conservative family, but who gave her daughters a very unconventional education. With a very rich inner world, a great creativity and a fantastic capacity for Art. Her works are intimate, personal and surprising. She committed suicide at the age of twenty-four, unable to overcome a personal situation.
GEGO (1912-1994). The infinite sculpture.
German female sculptor nationalized as Venezuelan because she had to left her country due to the rise of Nazism. She arrived to sculpture after going through figurative painting. Her work has something of kinetic art but understanding movement from a completely different point of view due to
her career as an architect. Her sculptures are monumental, constantly changing, expanding to infinity and can become overwhelming.
AMRITA SHER-GIL (1913-1941). And Europe met India.
Indian female painter who achieved that her family send her to study in Paris, where she studied in the best academies for women and was free to create and to live her life. When she returned to India, she rediscovered her country, creating some modern and different works that impacted and changed the artistic panorama. The simplicity of forms, the use of colors and the local reality made
her very popular. She died suddenly preparing her first major exhibition.
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