Tag Archives: Gestalt Therapy

ConnectArte.Gestalt at MACBA and La Virreina

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For this year’s Slow Art Day, the project ConectArte.Gestalt hosted 2 events across the city of Barcelona, Spain – one at the Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA) and the other at La Virreina. Both events had a Gestalt therapy approach and were led by Gestalt therapist and curator-producer Maribel
Perpiñá de Lama.

In this report, we’ll focus on the event at MACBA led by Perpiñá de Lama and focused on five artworks by Daniel Steegmann Mangrané from the exhibition “A leaf in the place of the eye”:

  • Systemic Grid 126 (Window) (2015)
  • La Pensée Férale (2020). These are seven photographs taken in the Tijuca National Park in Rio de Janeiro, one of the most biodiverse and endangered rainforests in the world.
  • Breathing Lines (2020/2023)
  • Landscape of Possibilities (2016/2023)
  • Orange Oranges (2001)

The exhibition explores themes of impermanence, collective emotions, perception, fragility, time and space.

Daniel Steegmann Mangrané, Systemic Grid 126 (Window), 2020

Landscape of Possibilities (2016/2023) and Breathing Lines (2020/2023)

Poster.

During the session, Perpiñá de Lama invited participants to slowly observe the artworks using nine principles from Claudio Naranjo‘s Gestalt approach:

  • Live now, worry about the present.
  • Live here, relate more to the present than what is absent.
  • Stop imagining, experience what is real.
  • Abandon unnecessary thoughts. Feel and observe instead.
  • Express rather than manipulate, explain, justify or judge.
  • Experience displeasure and pain as well as pleasure. Do not restrict your awareness.
  • Do not accept any “should” or “would have” more than your own.
  • Take full responsibility for your actions, feelings and thoughts.
  • Accept yourself as you are.

The event was successful, and several participants left positive feedback:

“This workshop was a very eye-opening experience for me. I had never reflected so much on my own shadow and how it affects my daily life. The artwork really helped me to connect with aspects of myself that I normally avoid.”


“I was amazed at how powerful art can be in exploring how we are in the present moment. Seeing the images and then sharing my reflections with the group really made me feel more connected to myself and others.”


“This workshop made me realize how much we have internalized our shadow and how they influence our
decisions and relationships. It was a reminder of the importance of confronting those parts of ourselves in order to grow and heal.”


“The combination of the images in the exhibit and the group reflections was very impactful. I felt very
supported by the group to explore and openly share my thoughts and feelings.”

At Slow Art Day HQ we appreciate the innovative work ConnectArte.Gestalt and Maribel Perpiñá de Lama are doing and look forward to what they come up with for Slow Art Day 2025.

-Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl

Slow Art Therapy at MACBA in Spain

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For their second Slow Art Day, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Barcelona (MACBA), Spain, held an event hosted by certified art therapists from the Fundacion La Casa Ambar titled “A Conscious Visit to Art.”

Participants were first invited to look slowly at the following five artworks:

  • “Enderroc” by Ignasi Aballí
  • “Rinzen, Subito despertar” by Antoni Tàpies
  • “Eco de una carta inacabada” by Elena del Rivero
  • “Movil Home” by Mona Hatoum
  • “Dialegs de Llum” by Josep Grau-Garriga

After the slow looking exercise, art therapists Aura Pizarro, Joaquim Basart and Maribel Perpiñá led the group in a facilitated discussion using gestalt psychotherapy, which focuses on one’s present life rather than on past experiences. Through the discussion, participants shared reactions to the art and discovered common themes of friendship, play, family, pain, and happiness.

Slow Art Day is founded on the principle of being present in the moment, and we at HQ love to see how MACBA and the Fundacion La Casa Ambar combined Slow Looking with Gestalt Art Therapy. The Fundacion La Casa Ambar also mentioned that they offer therapy to everyone, irrespective of economic means — and radical inclusivity is another shared principle with Slow Art Day.

We are excited to see what the MACBA and the Fundacion La Casa Ambar come up with for Slow Art Day 2024.

– Johanna, Ashley, Jessica Jane, and Phyl