30 April to 3 May 2026, Inclusive
Art Fair - Paper Positions – Berlin
We are pleased to inform you of Tasneem Gallery´s participation in art fair, Paper Positions Berlin, 2026. Tempelhof Airport, Main Hall
Tasneem Gallery will explore the theme - Information/Non-Information – a matter of great concern to our shared world – the challenge of obtaining knowledge in a world saturated with words and images. We explore this theme through the works of two of the gallery´s long term artists, Ixone Sádaba, (b.1977, Bilbao, Spain) and Ernesto Leal (b.1971, Havana, Cuba.
Gulala Series – Untitled 3 (editions of 10), 2010
Archival Pigment Print on Newsprint
50cm x 70cm
We present the Guala series - black and white, semi-abstract close-up images of human traces made on the walls and ceilings and floors of some enclosed space. At first sight it seems to be a composition of textures and chiaroscuro through which the artist shows her skill with the camera; but the fragility of these pieces of newsprint contrasts with the harshness of the content. The absence of the human figures speaks to the universality of what occurred. The deliberate materiality of printing the photographs on newsprint, speaks of how we consume and throw away ´news´.
On the technique Sádaba explains: “The choice of printing the images in newsprint allows me to show them without frames, directly to the wall, keeping that fragility. Newsprint is not durable. It is not chromogenic or photographic; actually, it is the most perishable object (yesterday´s newspaper).”
We´re screwed from the Titles Series – unique piece, 2010
Acrylic and enamel on paper
150cm x 150cm
We explore further the theme of Information/Non-Information with Leal´s series – Titles. Ernesto Leal has been working for many years on the use of language, how it has been used and misused, issues of subversion and censorship. In this Titles series, he is inspired by the French philosopher Etienne Bonnot de Condillac whose ideas have been important in the development of linguistics. Condillac asserted that ´the earliest forms of text were paintings’ and to this idea Leal contrasts that the latest version of the painting is the text.
Leal speaks in his own words about the development of the series: “The idea of the series was to convert the text of the title of the piece into the piece itself, leaving unclear where one begins and the other ends. The title determines the specific form of the piece’s image, creating an indissoluble unity in which the text, beyond its communicative function, has been formally charged to generate the image. This concealment or confusion of the text also reflects our inability to say things clearly and directly and the limitations of language in general to assume and reflect reality”.
About the artists:
Ixone Sádaba
Born in Bilbao, Spain in 1977, Ixone Sádaba is a graduate of the faculty of fine arts in the University of Basque Country, holds a Masters in Fine Art from the University of Antonio Lebrija in Madrid and took part in a Certificate Programme at The International Centre of Photography, New York.
Her work has been widely exhibited in private galleries and public institutions such as The Reina Sofia Museum, Spain, The Guggenheim Museum, Spain, MUSAC, Spain, MoCCA Contemporary Art Museum, Toronto, Museum of Contemporary Arts.
Among her awards are “Convergencias”, Alliance Française & Fundación Pilar Citoler (2012), Sovereign European Art Prize, Hong Kong (2011), Generación Prize 2011, Caja Madrid, Spain, (2010) and Finalist at Purificación García Prize, Madrid, Spain 2003, N.Y. Festival, Gold prize, Pressbook “Pearl Harbour” 2003, and the Sovereign Art Foundation Prize in 2012.
International residences include International Studio & Curatorial Program (ISCP), New York, Delfina Foundation Residency, London/ Iraq, Mugatxoan, Fundaçao Serralves, Porto, Arteleku, San Sebastian.
Ernesto Leal
Born in Havana, Cuba in 1971, Ernesto Leal studied art in Cuba at the Vocational School of Visual Arts, at Paulita Concepcion from 1983 to 1986, and at the National Art Academy, San Alejandro from 1987 to 1990.
Public institutions and events at which his works have been exhibited, include: LACMA Los Angeles Museum of Contemporary Art, USA; 7th International Istanbul Biennale, Turkey; Fundacion Teflefonica, Madrid, Spain; Pierre Cardin Space, Paris France; Ludwig Forum for International Art, Aachen, Germany. He was part of the Cuban representation curated by Tania Bruguera at the 2022 Kassel, Documenta.