Miguel Barceló - TOTEM at Almine Rech Gallery in Brussels
Serendipity struck again. Just before my recent visit to Brussels I came across an advertisement for a small, privately owned gallery in Brussels promoting an exhibition by Miguel Barceló - an artist I have been meaning to have a closer look at for a while.
It was the exhibition of Victor Agius which sparked my interest in works with clay and led me to Miguel Barceló – a contemporary artist from Mallorca, Spain. Barceló is versatile in his artistic output and maybe best known for creating the stalactite-encrusted ceiling in the United Nations Palace of Nations in Geneva.
The ceiling, like a lot of his work, is inspired by the sea and caves. Barceló finds inspiration in the seascapes of the Mediterranean, including in the materials they contain, and the creatures that inhabit the sea. The colours and textures as well as the changing shapes of this natural environment are mirrored in his work.
Yet, Barceló does not limit himself to his homeland for inspiration. He travelled extensively, notably through the West African Dogon Country, where he was taken in by the pottery produced by the local women. For him the transformation of elements, from water to clay to ceramic vessel represents the passage of time. Following this philosophy his work is always an exercise in flux, created by drawing on memory, capturing the moment, and leaving the future uncertain. Time can and will take its toll, he acknowledges that his art might well be transient.
The exhibition ‘TOTEM’ at the Aline Rech Gallery in Brussels showcased beautifully the artist’s process of creation. The first room held Barceló's ‘ideas’, simple and quick mixed media sketches on paper for the sculptures he was to create. There is nothing static about these drawings, the vessels appear already in movement on paper.
In the second, much bigger space, his sculptures were displayed, their strong colours in stark contrast to the white walls. The curatorial notes described how Barceló shapes his vessels with the clay still wet, the artist’s fingers, palms and elbows leaving visible marks on the works. In fact, some of his work gives the impression of still being wet and malleable. The sculptures are organic to the point of appearing to be alive. They seem to be ready to change their position, move any moment, yes, even collapse.
For many of his sculptures Barceló uses clay urns and bricks in their original utilitarian shapes. He molds them, distorts them, adds what appear to be body parts to them and daubs them in colours that awaken the viewer’s senses and bring up emotions that aren’t always entirely of the pleasant kind.
Titles aren’t displayed with the artworks but they aren’t necessary. It is what the viewer feels and sees that gives these works a thousand names.
To rest the eyes and calm the emotions, there were also some of his paintings exhibited here: a series of black and white panels conjuring up an array of marine creatures and a monumental monochromatic white panel coming to life through texture and lines. The much needed calm after the storm.
See more of Barceló's art here and in the following gallery:
