A media lumbre at IVAM
On February 18, 2026, the IVAM (Valencian Institute of Modern Art) inaugurated in Valencia the exhibition A media lumbre, a collective proposal that brings together numerous contemporary artists around a very clear idea: to review the value of the manual, the material and traditional knowledge from a current perspective.
At a time when much of the art is moving towards digital or the immediate, this exhibition proposes just the opposite. Here the focus is on time, on the process and on the direct relationship with the materials.
And within this context, the presence of Laura Segura, artist of Marquesa Gallery, takes on a particularly relevant role.
An exhibition of contemporary art that looks towards the essential
Half-light is not an exposure to use. It is not built from great theoretical discourses or from the spectacular, but from something closer: experience, doing and connection with matter.
The works that are part of the IVAM course share a common interest in materials such as natural fibers, ceramics, textiles or organic elements, and in processes that involve time, repetition and accumulated knowledge.
But this is not a nostalgic look.
The interesting thing is that these traditional languages are placed in the present, dialoguing with current concerns: sustainability, identity, territory or the transmission of knowledge.
The exhibition thus proposes a broad reflection: what value trades have today, manual gestures and ways of doing that for years have been in the background.
A choral journey with multiple approaches
One of the strengths of A media lumbre is its collective character. The exhibition brings together 27 artists with very different practices, which generates a rich and open tour.
Some works focus on textiles as an artistic language. Others in ceramics or in structures built from natural materials. There are also pieces that incorporate spatial dimension or that relate directly to the environment.
The interesting thing is that, although each artist works from their own approach, there is a fundamental coherence: all the proposals share a direct relationship with the doing, with the body and with time.
The result is not a closed exhibition, but a set of voices that dialogue without having to impose themselves on each other.
Laura Segura and A braid of sacred grass: a key work in the exhibition
Within this context, Laura Segura’s work, A braid of sacred grass (2022), stands out for its ability to synthesize many of the ideas present in the exhibition.
The piece, made with braided natural sisal, starts from a simple gesture but full of meaning: braiding.
This gesture connects directly with ancestral practices linked to manual labor, but also with something more symbolic. The braid appears as a form of union, continuity and transmission.
It is not a work that seeks to impose itself visually.
It works from closeness and from the relationship with the viewer.
In addition, the use of sisal (a plant fiber linked to specific contexts) introduces a dimension linked to the territory and natural resources. The material is not neutral: it is part of the discourse.
In this sense, the work is situated in a very interesting point: between the physical and the symbolic, between the everyday and the ritual.
Consistency with your artistic practice
Laura Segura’s participation in A media lumbre is no accident. His work has been focused on the relationship between the human being, nature and manual processes.
In his works, the process is not something hidden, but visible.
It is perceived in repetition, in patient construction, in the way materials are transformed.
A braid of sacred grass fits perfectly in this line.
It is a piece that is not only understood from the visual, but from experience, time and contact with matter.
And that is precisely why it works so well within the exhibition.
Beyond aesthetics: a necessary reflection
One of the most interesting aspects of A medio lumbre is that it does not stay in the formal.
The exhibition raises fundamental questions:
What is the place of traditional knowledge today?
What have we lost in the transition to industrial and digital?
How can these practices be recovered from contemporary art?
It does not offer closed answers, but it does open a space for reflection.
And it does so from the works, not from the speech.
An exhibition that deserves a quiet visit
Half-light is one of those exhibitions that work best when they are traveled without haste.
They are not looking for immediate impact.
It doesn’t need big effects.
His strength lies elsewhere: in the materials, in the processes and in the relationship he establishes with the viewer.
In this context, the work of Laura Segura is positioned as one of the most solid points of the route, not because it stands out from the rest, but because it is coherently integrated into the general discourse of the exhibition.
[author _ rocio]