Miquel Barceló

Pilar Corrias is pleased to present Cephalopod Works – new works by the internationally acclaimed Spanish artist Miquel Barceló. Widely regarded as one of the most important artists working today, Barceló creates paintings; sculptures, and ceramics unified though a concern with matter; metamorphosis, and the passage of time.

For his first exhibition at Pilar Corrias, Barceló has created a series of works drawn from his fascination with the sea. Exploring cephalopods – the ancient group of marine invertebrates that have inhabited the world’s ocean since the late Cambrian period – the exhibition will include large-scale watercolours based on the artist’s observation of cuttlefish; octopi and squid in an aquarium. Painted on sheets of paper placed side-by-side, the doubling of the subject mirrors the encounter between the marine creatures and their reflection in the windowpane of the aquarium. Derived from the artist’s concern with the earthly world, the choice of subject matter stems from Miquel Barceló’s interest in cephalopods as creatures capable of communicating shifting images and animations directly from their imagination through their chromogenic skin: a post-symbolic form of communication capable of transcending language. These extraordinary new paintings will be shown alongside ceramic works which have played a crucial role in the artist’s practice since the mid-1990s.

Born in Felantix, Majorca in 1957, Barceló began exhibiting in the mid-1970s achieving international acclaim for his participation in Documenta 7 in 1982. Major exhibitions of the artist’s work include Irish Museum of Modern Art, Dublin (2008); Museo d’Arte Moderna, Lugano (2006); Museo Rufino Tamayo, Ciudad de México (2005); Sala Kubo-Kutxa, San Sebastian (2005); Museé du Louvre, Paris (2004); Pinacoteca de Estdo, Sao Paulo (2003); Galleria Nazionale d’Arte Moderna de Roma (2002); Fondation Maeght, Saint-Paul (2002), and Musée des Arts décoratifs, Paris (2000).

In 2006, Barceló completed a commission for the Palma Cathedral where he covered the chapel’s 14th-century walls with a spectacular ceramic tableau relating to the sixth chapter of the gospel of St John. The artist has also recently completed a monumental ceiling painting for the Human Rights Hall at the United Nations Office in Geneva. Future exhibitions of the artist’s work include a large-scale solo show at the Museo Correr, Venice in 2009. Miquel Barceló will represent Spain at the 53rd Venice Biennale in 2009.

Miquel Barcelo
Cephalopod Works