BGW. PI©A$$O. Rogelio López Cuenca

For years, Rogelio López Cuenca (Málaga, 1959) has been working with an inexhaustible archive: images, documents, objects, and references that show how Picasso’s image has circulated through various media, institutions, and campaigns. Through this archive, the artist analyzes how this mythical figure—the genius, the cultural icon, the brand—has been transformed into just another consumer product, perfectly adapted to the logic of spectacle and the cultural tourism market. ‘PI©A$$O™’ is a selection, derivation, and reworking of works that were part of the same-named project carried out in 2023/24 at different state museums to celebrate the Picasso Year, along with some previous works related to the phenomenon. Using a strategy of critical infiltration, Rogelio approaches Picasso’s figure as an exaggerated cultural sign, turned into a trademark, a tourist resource, a national icon, and a fetish of global consumption.