FERNANDO SÁNCHEZ CASTILLO
Madrid, Spain, 1970
Received the Fundación Botín Art Grant in 2011
Coreografía 01, 2023
Installation. Flag and 4K video
Flag dimensions: 14 x 22.22 m / Video duration: 16' 36''
Acquired in 2024
Drawing on the concepts of “text” and “textile,” as well as Gilles Deleuze’s notion of “counter-information,” Fernando Sánchez Castillo conceives Coreografía 01 as a formal study of a large white canvas in opposition to the wind. The work becomes a captivating exploration of the interaction between air and light on an expansive iridescent white fabric.
A monumental rectangular surface measuring 14 by 22.22 metres, it stands as the largest white flag ever produced—woven by the same manufacturer that crafted the national flag flying in Madrid’s Plaza de Colón. Yet in this case, it exceeds that flag by a single span — the artist’s span — lending it an additional degree of grandeur and meaning.
Like a sterile yet hypnotic sail, the flag performs its first action as a unique performative object. In the choreographed dance between white cloth and wind, abstract compositions and anonymous gestures emerge, sparking dreams and visions. Through this experience, we connect innately and primitively to the sense of belonging to a community — although here, the reference is purely geometric, creating a hypnotic spectacle that transcends national boundaries. It is a singular variation of geometry that mesmerises and transports viewers into a world of emotion and belonging.