History of the hands reviews some highlights of the cultural history of the hands and our tactile relationship with the world. It invites us to think about the forms of communication, knowledge and production that have been articulated through contact over time, and also pays attention to the progressive evolution, in recent times, towards a digital culture, in which handicrafts coexist with forms of relationship based on finger contact and mediated by devices and touch screens that mitigate and transform the physical relationship with objects, people and other elements of our environment.

The History of the Hands exhibition is based on a selection of pieces from the collection of the Museu Nacional d’Art de Catalunya that are presented in dialogue with contemporary works of art by present-day artists.

Some of the works in the museum that are part of this project are the Altar Front of Sant Pere de Boí, Study of two hands holding bridles, by Claudi Lorenzale, Fame writing the story of Christ: La Sagrada Família, by Damià Campeny or Work at home (B) and Workers in the workshop, by Colita.

These will dialogue with works by Antoni Muntadas, Levi Orta, Fermín Jiménez Landa, Raquel Friera, Mirari Echavarri, Isabel Barios, Joan Morey, María Sánchez, Isabel Banal and Camille Henrot.