To what extent can art be a source of knowledge? Is it possible for art, science, and philosophy to converge in the same realm? The exhibition Manual de traducciones (Translation Manual), by visual artist Antonio Gómez Margolles, does not seek to answer these questions conclusively, but rather to open them up, explore them, and leave them vibrating in the viewer's mind. His is not a closed thesis, but rather a kind of visual essay, an inquiry that unfolds as a provocation.

With careful aesthetic precision, Gómez Margolles problematizes the way knowledge is produced, stored, and transmitted. There are particularly powerful images, such as this warehouse saturated with illustrious names, a kind of visual archive in which great thinkers end up merging into the anonymity of excess. Or the sound installation that brings together simultaneous readings of classic texts, creating a cacophony that, in its apparent chaos, reflects the difficulty of assimilating accumulated knowledge. Despite featuring explanations from the artist alongside each piece, the exhibition does not impose interpretations; on the contrary, it invites the viewer to construct their own interpretation.

Manual de traducciones can be understood as a journey through the intellectual and aesthetic trajectory of a creator deeply interested in the processes of thought. Margolles is not content with merely representing; his work aspires to activate, to mobilize ideas through the sensorial. At a time when information noise threatens to dilute meanings, this exhibition offers a reflective pause, a space where art and knowledge intertwine. They do not oppose each other, but rather touch, tense, and mutually enrich each other.

Curated by Corina Matamoros, the exhibition occupies the temporary exhibition hall on the second floor of the Cuban Art Building at the National Museum of Fine Arts and can be visited until November.

Translated by Amilkal Labañino / CubaSí Translation Staff