Miquel Barceló

MIQUEL BARCELÓ (Felanitx, Mallorca, 1957).
“Neón de Suro 1978,” 2011.
Permanent inscription on the back cover of an illustration by Barceló.
Includes a drawing by the artist.
Signed and dated.
Measurements: 41.5 x 30 cm; 48.5 x 60 cm (frame).
Illustration signed and altered by Miquel Barceló; the original image is from the April 1978 issue of *Neon de Suro*, titled *Neon i Sverige* (*Neon in Sweden*), a conceptual and avant-garde publication linked to the artistic collective *Taller Llunàtic*, which emerged in Palma de Mallorca. On the original illustration, Miquel Barceló later made an intervention with a permanent marker, incorporating his signature, a small drawing, and a dedication, dated in Madrid on January 31, 2011, on the occasion of the presentation of volume N of the magazine *Matador*. The piece thus establishes a unique dialogue between Barceló’s participation in Neon de Suro’s experimental project in 1978 and his subsequent artistic career, making this copy a particularly significant testament to the artist’s relationship with graphic and conceptual practices.
Conceived as a Mail Art project, *Neon de Suro* was distributed free of charge by mail and brought together works by numerous artists linked to the experimental and conceptual practices of the time. Its various issues addressed—often with irony and a critical eye—aspects of society, culture, and the art world itself. Among its contributors, in addition to Barceló, were artists such as Eugènia Balcells, Antoni Muntadas, Toni Catany, Xavier Mariscal, and Julien Blaine, among others.
A painter and sculptor, Barceló trained in Palma de Mallorca and made his debut at just seventeen years old, subsequently completing his studies in Barcelona. He discovered “art brut” in Paris, and in 1976 he held his first solo exhibition in a museum: “Cadaverina 15” at the Museum of Mallorca. In 1986, he was awarded the National Prize for the Visual Arts, and since then his work has been recognized with the most prestigious awards, such as the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts and the Sorolla Prize from the Hispanic Society of America in New York. Barceló’s work is currently represented at MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Guggenheim in Bilbao, the Marugami Hirai in Japan, the Reina Sofía in Madrid, the Patio Herreriano in Valladolid, the CAPC in Bordeaux, the Carré d’Art in Nîmes, the Museum of Contemporary Art in Caracas, and the Museum of Fine Arts in Boston, among others.