"Kunst darf kritisch sein"
Peter Frey, Galerist
The centre of the show is an installation examining the whitewashing of the tech and billionaire elites through the media narratives that reinforce their positive image. It is based on the famous billionaire lists or rankings of those who have benefited most from the exploitation of others' labour, tax evasion and the appropriation of collective resources. The work consists of an industrial dishwasher containing 32 porcelain plates with 32 ceramic decals representing the richest people on the planet, according to the ranking published by the business, finance and entrepreneurship magazine Forbes. The plates will be used and washed throughout the exhibition.
A LED counter displaying the name of the world's richest person and his updated net worth will be installed in another room. It will show the estimated fortune in US dollars (USD), recalculated every 5 minutes after the markets open, and the daily wealth change — that is, how much the individual has gained or lost during the current trading day, expressed both as a monetary value and as a percentage.
The counter retrieves data from its connection to the Forbes* website:
“Stepping on rights“ consists of 32 luxury shoe soles with human rights laser-engraved into the leather represent the relation between extreme wealth and the destruction of democracies.
In the last room of the gallery, there is a big table for 12 guests where the clean dishes from the
dishwasher will be placed. with the the washed plates of the work whitewashing will be
Other works on show are "In Loving Memory", an aluminium funeral urn containing the ashes of the book The Universal Declaration of Human Rights; "The Gates of Paradise", a gold-plated door handle with a "1%" cutout on the plate; "Stepping on Rights", and "Whitewashing Post-Fascism", a porcelain plate with a gold screen print and 16 fired ceramic decals depicting the faces of representatives of the new far-right movement.
Characteristic of Merino's practice, the work combines satire with political critique, addressing the role of media, institutions, and collective memory in shaping contemporary democratic societies. Eugenio Merino's practice explores the discourses of political and economic power, with a particular focus on human rights, historical memory, and the social consequences of authoritarianism. In recent years, hiswork has examined the legacy of the Franco dictatorship and its continuing impact on contemporary Spanish society.
His work has been exhibited internationally at institutions and biennials including the 15th Cuenca Biennial (Ecuador), Riga Quadrennial (Latvia), Kunstverein Wiesbaden, Halle 14 (Leipzig), WhiteBox (New York), Les Abattoirs (Toulouse), B.P.S.22 (Charleroi), Station Museum of Contemporary Art (Houston), and MOCA Taipei.
He has also participated in major international art fairs including ARCO Madrid, VOLTA, Art
Brussels, FIAC Paris, ARTBO Bogotá, and ZONAMACO (Mexico City). His work has been featured in publications including El Arte de Invocar la Memoria (2024) by Esther López Barceló, Art & Agenda (Gestalten), Arte Español Contemporáneo 1992–2013 by Rafael Doctor, and Arte Emergente en España (2006) by Manuela Villa.
Presented during one of Europe's leading cultural seasons, WHITEWASHING marks Eugenio
Merino's debut exhibition in Salzburg and introduces his practice to Austrian audiences through a selection of works that address some of the defining political and social questions of our time.
