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There are exhibitions that revisit an artistic trajectory, and others — the truly unforgettable ones — that reactivate it. The major retrospective dedicated to Aurèlia Muñoz at the Museo Reina Sofía, inaugurated yesterday on April 29, 2026, undoubtedly belongs to the latter category. Organized to mark the centenary of her birth (Barcelona 1926–2011), the exhibition already stands out as one of the key cultural events of the year in Madrid.
The exhibition brings together more than 150 works — many of them previously unseen — offering visitors the chance to discover the extraordinary evolution of Muñoz’s practice: from her embroidered works of the 1960s, which expanded the boundaries of painting, to her large-scale textile sculptures in macramé from the 1970s, where weaving fully conquers space. Materials such as jute, sisal, and cotton are transformed here into a radically contemporary artistic language.
One of the exhibition’s most striking moments arrives with her Kite-Birds and Aerostats from the 1980s: suspended structures that seem to breathe, turning the viewer into an active participant in the work itself. These are pieces that anticipated many of today’s concerns surrounding art, space, and experience.
The exhibition Aurèlia Muñoz. Entes not only presents artworks; it also reveals the artist’s creative process through drawings that function as genuine maps of thought. Within them emerge key concepts such as tension, knot, and balance — all essential to understanding her artistic practice.
Her relevance extends far beyond Spain. The presence of her work in institutions such as the Museum of Modern Artconfirms the international significance of an artist who is indispensable to the understanding of contemporary sculpture.
Those familiar with her career may remember the article we dedicated to her in issue 17 of ARTNOBEL Inspiration Review of Contemporary Art, where we already highlighted the enduring relevance of her textile research. This retrospective now broadens that perspective and transforms it into a direct and immersive experience.
📍 Key dates:
- In Madrid, at the Museo Reina Sofía, until September 7, 2026
- Coming soon to the MACBA (Barcelona), from November 5, 2026 to March 29, 2027
If you are looking for the best exhibitions in Madrid in 2026, this is an essential appointment. The work of Aurèlia Muñozdemonstrates that textile art can be monumental, that lightness can occupy space, and that matter — when thoughtfully conceived — can also breathe.
Image courtesy of the García Ramos Collection. Aurèlia Munoz working in her studio in the 1970s.