Miquel Barcelo, artist of all metamorphoses Interview with Laure Adler

Goya, Klee and Picasso form just a few of the fragments of his abundant imagination. In L'Heure Bleue, the painter Miquel Barceló, known internationally since the 1980s for his expressionist painting, introduces us to his art and presents his current projects for the year 2021, between exhibitions and illustrations.

Until 26 September, Miquel Barcelo will be featured at the Picasso Museum in Málaga, as part of the exhibition "Metamorphosis", which is based on the nomadic nature of his art. 

The exhibition draws a parallel between Miquel Barcelo and Pablo Picasso, both of whom have an experimental relationship with painting. Each work leads us to another, in a journey that reflects the artist's need for constant reinvention. 

Both cosmopolitans - children of the Mediterranean and creators of an art form that is as primitive as it is modern - the two Spanish maestros can only be understood through the constant renewal of research, the exploration of various media and materials and their common fascination for mythology and archaic symbolism. 

We find all these features in the Ressac cave on the Îles d'Hyères, designed by the artist as part of the exhibition "The Imaginary Sea" at the Carmignac Foundation, on show until 17 October 2021.

In addition to the works in the permanent collection, the walls of the Ressac cave, decorated with fish and other motifs characteristic of Miquel Barceló's iconographic repertoire, reflect his taste for rock art, but also his passion for nature and the transformation of matter. 

Nomadism, transhumance, transformation and reinvention - the terms that revolve around Miquel Barceló's work are reminiscent of "The Metamorphosis", the seminal work by the great Czech writer Franz Kafka. In 2020, Miquel Barceló illustrated this cruel and magnificent tale with more than sixty watercolours, in a new edition published by Gallimard. 

Archives : 
* INA archive of 1961 in Vallauris: Pablo Picasso on the subject of ceramics and the influence of his work
* Archive of 1959, conference at the Sorbonne: Salvador Dali on the subject of God
* Ina archive of 13 June 1972: Marthe Robert on Franz Kafka and his relationship with fashion