Music from far-away parties, today’s banquets and those from long ago – all on the same very long table. — Miquel Barceló
One of Spain’s most acclaimed contemporary artists, Barceló’s practice is influenced by his Mallorcan surroundings, as well as his deep knowledge of the history of art. In his new series, Grisailles, he draws on 17th-century Dutch painting and the Spanish bodegón to offer a new interpretation of still life painting that is anchored in his own relationship to the sea, sustenance and the cycle of life.
Watch a video of the artist discussing the exhibition and his most recent series of Grisaille paintings.
I know there is a lobster and a Dogon statuette that nearly extends the foot of the table. The dog lying under the table is Fosca, still the same one, which can be found in many of my paintings from that year.— Miquel Barceló
Tableau couleur orange sanguine, 2021
Mixed media on canvas
235 x 235 (92.52 x 92.52 in)
The jug-self-portrait with black flowers is from Gauguin. I now think the other heads are also self-portraits. Even the swordfish. Especially the swordfish. In this painting there are three flower bouquets and a candle. In fact, it’s a sandwich of things between the darkness of the ceiling and under the table. — Miquel Barceló
This painting is currently on view at the Louvre, as part of the unprecedented Les Choses exhibition, retracing the history of the still life genre.
Grisaille à l'éspadon, 2022Mixed media on canvas
235 x 285 cm (92.52 x 112.2 in)
On a linen canvas, I had made a charcoal drawing of a large group of fish, like an aquarium. There was even a large grouper head occupying the right side. Then, much later, I used white to paint these octopuses – candles – goat skulls – flower bouquets... Along with the horse’s head at the top left and the dog sitting at the bottom. Of all these paintings, this is the most ‘palimpsetic’. It is made of contradictions: light-dark, fish-mammal, living-dead... The horse head in the left corner hails from a 1930s American film. A large grouper head occupies three quarters of the painting below. — Miquel Barceló
Taula goliàrdica, 2021
Mixed media on canvas
235 x 295 cm (92.52 x 116.14 in)
Known for the richly textured, sedimented surfaces of his works, Barceló takes a different approach in this exhibition, adopting a variation on the traditional grisaille technique, where translucent layers of colour are applied over a monochromatic underpainting. The result is a group of paintings that are airier and more loosely composed than the artist’s previous treatment of still lifes, allowing the grain of the canvas to show behind the thin layers of ink and acrylic.
Music from far-away parties, today’s banquets and those from long ago – all on the same very long table. It’s better to say nothing. (It’s half a VITA but it could be a lifetime). — Miquel Barceló
