ESCAPE FROM FREEDOM [2026]

GALERIA BELO-GALSTERER [Lisbon, Portugal]
Co-curated by Alda Galsterer and Alexia Alexandropolou 
Ana Velez

^{Photos © Euardo Sousa Ribeiro and Ana Garrido} 



"Why, then, is freedom such a highly valued goal for many, and a threat for others?" - Erich Fromm, 1941 

The title of Ana Velez's exhibition is borrowed from one of the best-known works of the psychoanalyst Erich Fromm [1], translated into several languages worldwide.

The artist's exhibition begins with the image of the cover of the first version of this book, published in the United States of America, in 1941, in black and white. In the original, the background of the cover is gray and the text is black.

After entering, objects hanging from the ceiling move around the space and invite us to enter; they function as windows through which new points of view of the space are offered. We enter and have a surprising view of a panel of various drawings, in shades of black, anthracite and white... and yellow. The movement that the dripping ink creates in the space of the drawing, multiplied by the whole of the 20 drawings, creates an almost hallucinatory place that captivates our eyes. When we turn to the other side, we find the counterpart of this installation in the 20 Reclaimed Green Film by Polaroid. This is the second time Erich Fromm becomes relevant: translated versions of his masterpiece Escape from Freedom in 20 languages, different ways of seeing the world, design, art, literature, freedom.

With this information, Velez's exhibition begins to make sense when looking at the variations of gray, black, and now, increasingly present, color in her work. Working on a topic like this: why is freedom frightening? Many questions begin to arise, and the artist's work unfolds in several nuclei: drawing upon drawing, mobiles, Polaroid photographs - which are also already a classic in her work...

With Fromm's great observation (in 1941) that human beings prefer to be obedient rather than independent as a background reflection, in this exhibition, Velez shows us what personal freedom means at all levels, using color as a form of liberation from a self-imposed chromatic canon. Thus, we conclude that art has more to offer, as it is an instrument of perception that constantly evolves, allowing for new forms of expression and understanding of the world.

Alda Galsterer



^{[1] Escape from Freedom is a book by psychoanalyst Erich Fromm, first published under that title in the United States of America by Farrar & Rinehart, in 1941, and a year later, under the title The Fear of Freedom in the United Kingdom by Routledge & Kegan Paul.}