STOCKHOLM.- Pablo Picasso’s Guernica, created in response to the 1937 Nazi bombing of the Basque town of Guernica during the Spanish Civil War, remains a symbol of resistance and the horrors of war. Runo Lagomarsino’s exhibition Silence Answers All, at Marabouparken Konsthall, uses this iconic painting as a starting point to examine its legacy and how images influence memory and struggle.


Discover the story behind Guernica—Picasso’s masterpiece—by exploring Rudolf Arnheim’s insights.


The exhibition considers Guernica as a painting and as a symbol that has been reproduced and reinterpreted over decades. Lagomarsino explores how images evolve as they are shared and displayed, and how they provoke thought and action.

First shown in the Spanish Republic’s pavilion at the 1937 World Exhibition in Paris, Guernica was accompanied by Alexander Calder’s Mercury Fountain. The pavilion, curated by Spanish writer José Bergamín, served as a space for political expression. A replica of the pavilion was later built in Barcelona in 1992, housing the Pavelló de la República library. A reproduction of Guernica now hangs in its courtyard, continuing its association with resistance and historical reflection.

Lagomarsino draws parallels between the pavilion and the exhibition space at Marabouparken. One of his works revisits Bergamín’s story of being entrusted by Picasso with a red paper tear meant to be placed on Guernica during the 1937 exhibition. Forced into exile, Bergamín never fulfilled this task. The missing tear becomes a symbol of unrealized potential and historical silences, which Lagomarsino examines as he traces its resonance through time.

In a film created for the exhibition, Lagomarsino sweeps and mops the floor of the Barcelona pavilion. The repetitive act of cleaning evokes preparation and remembrance. It suggests the futility of trying to erase the past while confronting the enduring presence of historical trauma. The gestures echo rituals of reflection, such as dressing religious icons, but the painting’s legacy resists being tidied away.

Another work, A Cloud of Smoke, shows a candle hanging horizontally on a wall, its wax dripping onto a newspaper. As the wax solidifies, it alters and obscures the printed text. This transformation raises questions about how we engage with current events: does it represent avoidance, or does it urge a closer examination of what lies beneath the surface?

Lagomarsino’s exhibition challenges viewers to reflect on unresolved histories and the ways images like Guernica continue to resonate. It serves as a reminder that art’s role in confronting memory and struggle remains as urgent now as it was in 1937.


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