Cava from Almendralejo pairs with the figurative art of Extremaduran artist Samuel Benavent
The sparkling wines of the Ribera del Guadiana Wine and Cava Route will add a touch of sparkle to the Pop Eye Awards
Cava from Almendralejo pairs with the figurative art of Extremaduran artist Samuel Benavent, who opens this Thursday, April 16 at 8:00 p.m., the exhibition “Geometry of the Olive Tree” at the Convent of San Antonio in the capital of the Extremaduran region of Tierra de Barros.
Trained at the School of Art and Higher School of Design in Mérida and in Sculpture techniques in Salamanca, Benavent fuses artistic creation with the organic form of the material he works with. He has focused his talent on carving olive wood, thus becoming one of the few sculptors who use this material to express their ideas.
“I don’t sculpt what I see, I sculpt what I feel,” said this artist from Almendralejo, who uses the phenomenon of pareidolia as a creative tool to interpret or complete visual information that is missing or does not exist. In this way, he lets his imagination run free to imprint unique artistic expressions in olive wood based on random shapes.
WOOD FROM EXTREMADURA
The exhibition opening this Thursday is made up of fifteen sculptures, thirteen carvings in olive wood and two in stones found in the areas surrounding the town of Alange in the province of Badajoz.
“I choose the olive tree because it is the wood of my region,” noted Samuel Benavent, who explained that at the international fairs he has attended he has barely found sculptural works in wood and never in olive wood, a material he carves with traditional tools to bring to life unique forms such as faces, torsos, or full bodies.
The Ribera del Guadiana Wine and Cava Route supports the talent of young creators like Benavent, a commitment to art and culture that on this occasion will be evident through the presence of cava from Almendralejo at the opening of this exhibition, which can be visited until April 29 at the Convent of San Antonio in Almendralejo.
The Route’s technician, Isabel García, will be responsible for conducting a guided tasting of cavas with olives—sparkling wines from the DO Cava that can be enjoyed and whose history can be learned at the Cava Museum of Almendralejo, the only one in the country dedicated specifically to this sparkling wine.
POP EYE AWARDS
This commitment to art is also reflected in the presence of the Route’s sparkling wines at the National Music and Arts Awards, known as the Pop Eye Awards, which will be held on April 17 and 18 in La Línea de la Concepción.
These awards are organized by the Bon Vivant Cultural Association and recognize prominent figures in music, film, theater, literature, visual arts, journalism, dance, and fashion.
The award winners will toast with cava from the wineries of Almendralejo that belong to the DO Cava. It should be noted that this municipality in Extremadura is the only one in the region within the DO Cava, a story that began at the start of this decade thanks to local entrepreneurs who recognized the suitability of creating this unique product.
