Miquel Barceló: Vida y Muerte Art Seen

by Jurriaan Benschop

During the preview of Miquel Barceló’s exhibition at the Museum Küppersmühle in Germany, a visitor asked the artist why there is so much death in his paintings. Barceló looked somewhat surprised. “Is there, really?” he said, pretending to be unaware. The woman insisted; for her the paintings came with an unpleasant, gloomy presence. “It is part of life,” the artist responded, somewhat uncomfortable, and moved on to discuss the pieces on display. Even though the short answer did not satisfy the questioner, the dialogue led to the heart (and title) of the exhibition Vida y Muerte [Life and Death], which showcases around seventy paintings plus some ceramic works the Spanish artist has made over the last forty years, with a focus, though not exclusively, on the still life genre.

Still life involves looking at a grouping of objects—a vase with flowers, some vegetables or fruits—often with the inclusion of a clock, skull, or other reminder that time is passing. In the works of Barceló, who was born and raised on the island of Mallorca, animals of the sea, such as lobster, shrimp, and octopuses, are often included. Books and knives also show up. Four prominent paintings, among them Poe (2022), are executed largely in black and white, each of them showing a long table on which a diverse collection is displayed. The eye can wander around to identify a plant, an apple, a candle, and shrimp, among many other things, each with their own space.

Not less interesting is the dark void underneath the table in each of these works, drawing the eye to a space that is not clearly delineated. This underworld seems like the big Nothing, maybe death indeed, above which the fruits and pleasures of life articulate themselves. Occasionally you might find a dog under the table, sitting, watching, or resting, just as there is usually a dog around in the studio when Barceló makes his paintings. The animals that surround him (important to the artist, as he has noted, for they keep him grounded in life) frequently end up in his paintings. Once they are painted, it is hard to say if they are dead or alive, an ambivalence that works well, surrounding them with mystery, like in Grisaille avec tigre et espadon [Grisaille with Tiger and Swordfish] (2022).