After stops in Normandy, Le Croisic (Brittany), Cádiz, and Málaga this April , the free exhibition Moby Dick. The Dream of Captain Ahab, inspired by Herman Melville’s legendary novel, arrives at the Casa de Vacas Cultural Center, located within Madrid’s Retiro Park.
It is brought to us by Andalusian artist Esteban Ruiz, who has created an entire collection of paintings in which different elements— art, literature, and environmental awareness— converge, like rivers flowing into the sea, inviting us to reflect on the relationship between humans, the ocean, and the creatures that inhabit it.
The inspiration behind this exhibition is as fascinating as the exhibition itself: it stems from a re-reading of Moby Dick, yes, but also from Ruiz’s own voyage aboard a 14-meter sailboat between the islands of Madeira and La Graciosa in 2005.
The discovery of 19th-century whaling ship logbooks was also pivotal: these logbooks detailed aspects such as life aboard those vessels, the weather, and the hunting of cetaceans. All of this made him want to return to painting, after a period dedicated to sculpture and the creation of installations.
The result is a body of work full of shapes and volumes, textures, and the sea that reflects his “most overwhelming feelings, experiences, and fears through an in-depth study of the marine environment and the book Moby Dick,” in the artist’s own words.
Dates and hours of the Moby Dick exhibition
The free Moby Dick exhibition will be open until April 26, 2026, at the Casa de Vacas Cultural Center in the Retiro (Paseo de Colombia, 1), Monday through Sunday from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.