Art intervention for Amare Hotel Marbella
Folklorium is a contemporary reinterpretation of Spanish costumbrismo, created as an art intervention for Amare Hotel in Marbella. Inspired by the tapestries Francisco de Goya designed for the Royal Tapestry Factory, the project transposes his narrative logic —centered on leisure, festivity, and popular scenes— into today's visual culture.
Just as Goya depicted courtly life through seemingly innocent scenes —dancing, playing, strolling— this project offers a visual update of modern leisure: beach vacations, body display, the aesthetics of relaxation, and even video games as a new collective ritual.
Far from parody or literal homage, the pieces act as distorted mirrors. Characters appear decomposed, melted, expanded —as if the heat or time had liquefied the original scenes. The line between the figurative and the abstract becomes blurry, as if form itself were collapsing. This is where critical thinking begins: what remains of folklore once it becomes decoration? How do we inhabit a hotel turned into a temporary museum?
Following an almost artisanal logic —closer to that of a tapestry maker than a contemporary designer— each piece blends into the hotel’s communal spaces: elevators, corridors, stairwells. The space isn’t simply decorated; it’s activated. Decoration becomes discourse, and tourism becomes another form of cultural staging.
This project raises an uncomfortable question: if Goya’s art once adorned the palaces of royalty, what does it say about us that we do the same with our contemporary images today? Have we truly changed? Or have we just updated our costumes, our selfies, and our ways of looking?
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