Everything you should know about Costus and the mythical bar La Vía Láctea
Apr 26, 2023
The new exhibition Costus: La Vía Láctea curated by Elisa Hernando and organized by Arte Global and the Madrid City Council, in collaboration with RedCollectors, brings together for the first time and after 40 years without being exhibited to the public, the paintings and free-standing sculptures that make up the series of paintings and sculptures made by the artists Juan Carrero and Enrique Naya, better known as Costus, for the mythical cocktail bar La Vía Láctea.
Located in the Espacio Cultural Serrería Belga, a unique industrial building from the first quarter of the 20th century, the exhibition makes visible 12 of the 14 works that the duo of artists created to decorate the bar in Madrid's Malasaña neighborhood after more than 40 years, since two of them are considered losses. The works, life-size and markedly pop style, were removed from the premises for which they were created in 1984 and after a thorough and exhaustive restoration process promoted by the collector who acquired the pieces, they can be appreciated today in all the splendor with which they were made in the late seventies.
The protagonists of the works of art are both international personalities, including Ava Gadner, Brigitte Bardot, Elvis Presley, Marylin Monroe, Yul Brynner and Marlon Brandon, as well as national celebrities such as Lola Flores.
Costus was the conjunction of the peculiar artistic and personal union of the painters Juan Carrero (1955-1989) and Enrique Naya (1953-1989), who besides being one of the most iconic couples of the Madrid movida, shared projects that made them some of the most recognizable icons of this countercultural movement that emerged in Madrid in the early years of the Transition.
La Vía Láctea dedicated to film and art stars marked the beginning of the collaboration between the two artists. Enrique Naya painted the figures in his characteristic realistic style, influenced by American pop, especially Rosenquist and Wesselmann, while Juan Carrero did the same with the backgrounds.
For Commissioner Elisa Hernando, ".this exhibition is a unique opportunity to see the collection almost complete as it was conceived and created. It is exciting to discover, 40 years later, a series so wonderful and full of life, which represents the aesthetic world of Costus in a creative moment in the capital of Spain where art, music, design, film or literature coexisted in a moment of creative hatching. Undoubtedly, it is a very important milestone for Madrid to be able to recover this incredible cultural legacy of a unique period in the city. For thousands of Madrilenians, it will be exciting to encounter again these paintings that are now part of our past".
In addition to the works of La Vía Láctea Costus' painting "Caños de la Meca 2" (1979), acquired in 2022 by the Museo de Arte Contemporáneo de Madrid - MAC and which was part of the only exhibition that the couple made in Madrid in 1981, called "Chochonismo ilustrado" (Illustrated Chochonism). In it, Enrique Naya portrays Juan Carrero leaving Cadiz waters.
Despite their early demise, Costus left the legacy of an extensive body of work that is part of important collections of museums and institutions such as the ECCO Museum, Cadiz (houses the complete series "The Valley of the Fallen"); Museum of Fine Arts of Cadiz; Andalusian Contemporary Art Center (Isla de la Cartuja - Seville); Museum of May 2 (Mostoles); ICO Collection (Madrid); ARTIUM Museum (Vitoria); Diputación de Cádiz; Excmo. City Council of Cádiz; City Council of Puerto de Santa María, among others.
Location: Serrería Belga in Calle de la Alameda 15, Madrid
April/July 2023
Hours: Monday closed, Tuesday to Friday 11:00-20:00, Saturday 12:00-20:00, Sunday 12:00-18:00
Free admission until full capacity is reached
