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.
