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Centre Cultural Contemporani Pelaires will be hosting the 3rd individual exhibition by Mallorca-born artist Guillermo Rubí (Palma, 1971). Under the title I Hate the Kids, this exhibition marks the start of Palma's artistic season, with 'La Nit de l'Art.'

I Hate the Kids is made up of a series of the artist's recent paintings. In keeping with the artist's usual style, these works feature a combination of techniques (on this occasion the use of acrylic and synthetic enamel paint on canvas or aluminium), that reflect an exquisite style and skill. ... Guillermo Rubí bases his work on the modification and/or distortion of images (photographs or screenshots taken from a selection of films), superimposing a reticule or crisscrossed lines, trapping the image in the background of the canvas, thereby encouraging the observer to explore the work from the perspective of both the image itself and the underlying meaning.

The objective of I Hate the Kids is to consider the complex relationship between painting as an art form and the message it sends out. The artist adopted the title of the track 'I hate the kids' by US post-hardcore band Hot Snakes as the leitmotif for the whole project, thereby enabling visitors to the exhibition to uncover (or not) the links between Guillermo Rubí's work and this musical sub-culture. Delving further into this area reveals that many hardcore punk bands have used 'Hate the Kids' as a statement (State of Alert, Turbonegro, Love the Music/Hate The Kids, etc), not just as the basis for the titles of their songs but also to transmit their anti-system ideological stance. However, this revolutionary message does not lie at the heart of these works, but is rather an excuse to point to certain aspects of the wealthier echelons of society in a manner that is most certainly disturbing.

In short, the works of Guillermo Rubí redirect the interests, fears and concerns of the artist -either directly or indirectly, or through the insertion of visible or subliminal phrases. Yet we must not lose sight of the fact that what is really important is to obtain an insight into the way the artist clings to painting, adopting a firm stance in an age when the speed of images implies their immediate and rapid absorption. Here, in contrast, we are forced to take a long lingering look, stopping to contemplate his work and analysing a type of 'writing' that is far more specific and that leads us into the depths of a contemporary discourse.

Guillermo Rubí (Palma, 1971) lives and works in Mallorca. Basing his works on painting and assemblage, his recent individual exhibitions include If I had a Gun at the Nieves Hernández Gallery in Madrid (2011) and All Now with Wings at the Pelaires Gallery in Palma de Mallorca (2010). His works have also featured in various collective exhibitions and art fairs.