curated by enrique juncosa, the spanish pavilion features recent large format paintings
alongside other older ones to comprise a survey of miquel barceló's work since 2000.
titled 'simply miquel barceló', the show revolves around the artist's perennial themes,
like primates, african landscapes and the foam of ocean waves.

barceló (mallorca, 1957) is recognized as one of spain's most influential living painters.


view of the exhibition
image © designboom


barcelo's ceramic work
image © designboom


'grand pot avec cranes sur 1face', 2000
115 x 98 cm
image © designboom


image © designboom


'grand pot de tetes de cheval', 2000
image © designboom


image © designboom


'les 3c', 2000
'les 3c.avec fleurs', 2000
image © designboom


'dogon I', 2008
260 x 360 cm
© miquel barcelo. VEGAP, madrid , 2009
photo: agusti torres.


'mare tranquilitas', 2008
235 x 375 cm
© miquel barcelo. VEGAP, madrid , 2009
photo: agusti torres


miquel barceló in front of 'la solitude organisative' , 2008 at the spanish pavilion
photo: agusti torres

miquel barceló came to international prominence following the sao paulo biennale
in 1981 and the documenta vii in kassel in 1982, as one of the leading revelations in
spanish art. his work is on view in major museums and art centers around the world
and was the subject of an extensive survey at the center pompidou in paris in 1996.
later, in 2004, barceló was the first living contemporary painter to exhibit at the louvre
with his series of watercolors created to illustrate the divine comedy.

his last major exhibition in spain, held at cac malaga, was an overview of twenty years
of his work in africa. the curator of the exhibition was enrique juncosa, critic, curator
and former deputy director of museo nacional centro de arte reina sofía in madrid
and of ivam in valencia, who teamed up again with barceló for the spanish pavilion
at the venice biennale.

miquel barceló lives between paris, mallorca and mali.