July 2, 2026

El País has published an extensive feature on the exhibition Mitologías modernas: Ouka Leele & Co., inaugurated at Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid. The article highlights how the exhibition offers a fresh interpretation of the art of the 1980s through the revival of classical mythology as a shared visual language embraced by a generation of artists led by Ouka Leele, alongside figures such as El Hortelano, Ceesepe, Carlos Franco and Sigfrido Martín Begué.

Throughout the article, El País examines the exhibition’s curatorial approach, which takes the landmark intervention Rapelle toi, Bárbara! (1987) as its starting point to offer a renewed perspective on the Movida, highlighting the historical, symbolic and aesthetic significance of its artists, as well as the role of classical mythology as one of the key threads that shaped much of their artistic production.

Mitologías modernas: Ouka Leele & Co. is on view until 18 October 2026 at Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid.

You can read the full article at the following link: La resurrección de los mitos clásicos en el corazón de la Movida, by Rodrigo Naredo.

Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid is presenting the exhibition Modern Mythologies: Ouka Leele & Co, a project that revisits the role of mythology in the art of the 1980s through the work of Ouka Leele and other key artists of the period, including El Hortelano, Ceesepe, Carlos Franco and Sigfrido Martín Begué. Curated by Julio Pérez Manzanares, the exhibition offers a fresh reading of this artistic moment by exploring the revival of classical myths as a means of interpreting a time of profound cultural transformation.

Taking as its starting point the iconic intervention Rapelle toi, Bárbara! (1987), in which Ouka Leele recreated the myth of Hippomenes and Atalanta at Madrid’s Cibeles Fountain, the exhibition brings together more than one hundred works, including photographs, paintings, drawings and documentary material. The exhibition highlights how classical mythology became a shared visual language for many artists of the period, offering a renewed perspective on the artistic production of Spain’s Transition and the Movida Madrileña, beyond the narratives traditionally associated with that cultural context.

Modern Mythologies: Ouka Leele & Co will remain on view at Sala Alcalá 31 in Madrid until 18 October 2026. The venue is one of the Community of Madrid’s leading exhibition spaces dedicated to contemporary art.