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CCCB Opens 'Rodoreda, un bosc' to Reframe Mercè Rodoreda's Radical Vision

A thematic “forest” layout dispels sentimental clichés by pairing her texts with 400 cross‑disciplinary works.

Overview

  • The Barcelona show occupies more than 1,300 square meters and gathers about 400 pieces across six areas that trace motifs such as innocence, desire, war, domestic spaces, metamorphosis and soul.
  • Five new commissions by Oriol Vilapuig, Mar Arza, Èlia Llach, Cabosanroque and Carlota Subirós create site‑specific responses to works including La mort i la primavera and La plaça del Diamant.
  • Curator Neus Penalba positions the exhibition as non‑biographical, using the “forest” metaphor to highlight Rodoreda’s complexity and contemporaneity beyond a reductive, flower‑focused image.
  • Penalba contends the 1982 film adaptation of La plaça del Diamant reinforced a condescending view of the author and emphasizes that Rodoreda did not write autofiction.
  • The exhibition is on view at the CCCB through 25 May 2026, with the center planning a public program to connect new audiences to Rodoreda’s work.