Miquel Barcelo – © DR
Bien que Miquel Barceló se soit initialement consacré à la peinture et au dessin, grâce auxquels il est devenu l’un des artistes contemporains les plus en vue et a obtenu une reconnaissance internationale très jeune, il s’est également orienté dans le courant des années 1990 vers la sculpture et la céramique comme supports de création artistique alternatifs.
Barceló a également reçu deux importantes commandes, l’une pour la réalisation des décorations de la Chapelle Saint Père de la cathédrale de Palma de Majorque en 2007 et l’autre de la part de l’État espagnol pour la coupole du Palais des Nations de l’ONU à Genève en 2008. Depuis quelques années, Miquel Barceló vit et travaille en alternance à Majorque, à Paris, et au Mali. Il a reçu, en 2003, le Prix Prince des Asturies pour les Arts.
Miquel Barcelo was born on the Spanish island of Majorca in 1957. Aged 18, he enrolled at the San Jordi School of Art in Barcelona, but only stayed there a few monts. In 1982 Barcelo held his first one man show out of Spain, in a gallery in France, which triggered the Bordeaux Contemporary Art Museum to buy several of his works. Next Barcelo took part in the Documenta VII in Kassel. Moving to Naples in 1983, Barcelo worked with ashes from the Vesuvio and with local colour pigments, the works were shown by Yvon Lambert in Paris. The following year Miquel Barcelo worked in Portugal, where he continued his experiments. His next studio was a disused church in Paris, where Barcelo produced a set of works using the Louvre, libraries and cinémas as thematic material. He held a show at Bishofberger ‘s gallery in Zürich, which became his regular gallery. The New York Museum of Modern Art showed his work, followed by the Boston Contemporary Art institute. Barcelo made his first trip in Africa in 1998, where he mainly worked on paper, using local pigments.
Barcelo began his first original prints in 1981, but it is in 1990 that Miquel Barcelo did his most important prints with ITEM in Paris.A few years before, Barcelo produced etchings and aquatints at Pasnic ‘s studio, some are masterpieces such as the etching gran cuina from 1984 or the etching called oysters. Here again the edition of these prints are very small.
In 1995, a show of his works was held in the IVAM in Valencia. Then came two shows in Paris : at the Jeu de Paume and at the Centre Pompidou. Barcelo is a master of ceramic processes, just as he perfectly masters prints techniques. He has lately made a set of low-relief ceramic wall panels for Majorca Cathedral, and is presently illustrating Dante’s Divine Comedy with a series of lithographs. Barcelo lives and works in Paris, in Majorca, in Mali.
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Oeuvres disponibles / Available Works
Amélie Formey Art Contemporain 