Miquel Barceló

MIQUEL BARCELÓ (Felanitx, Mallorca, 1957).
Untitled, 1994.
Oil and mixed media on cardstock.
Signed in the lower right corner. Dated “30.1.94” in the lower left corner.
Measurements: 49 x 65 cm; 74 x 88 cm (frame).

Dated January 1994, this work belongs to a particularly prolific period in Miquel Barceló’s exploration of paper as a living entity rather than a mere support. The composition revisits one of the central genres of his career—the still life—here reduced to five organic forms—fruits in the process of drying—arranged on an almost bare surface. Through the volume of the pigment and the addition of material, the elements take on a three-dimensional and almost sculptural presence.

Barceló works with an austere palette of ochres, yellows, earth tones, and blacks. The fruits emerge from the surface through accumulations of material and hollows, while the dark lines surrounding them serve simultaneously as outlines and cast shadows. The vast empty space takes on a central role: in contrast to the physical density of the forms, the cardboard retains its hue, texture, and traces of handling, creating a tension between formal representation and physical reality.

This piece marks the full consolidation of the artistic explorations he began following his first stays in Africa in the late 1980s. During this period, the artist subjected the paper to processes of moisture, abrasion, deformation, and the addition of organic or mineral materials—a physical approach to still life that institutions such as the Louvre have identified as crucial to his body of work. Barceló does not limit himself to painting food or objects; rather, he transforms their very substance into paint, endowing the image with a tactile and almost archaeological quality.

The significance of this period was institutionally affirmed shortly thereafter with two seminal exhibitions: the one organized by the Centre Pompidou in 1996 (Miquel Barceló. Impressions d’Afrique 1988–1995)—the chronological framework within which this piece falls—and the major retrospective at the Reina Sofía Museum in 1999 (Miquel Barceló: Works on Paper, 1979–1999), which focused on the passage of time and organic matter as the central themes of his graphic work.

Miquel Barceló is one of the most internationally renowned figures in Spanish contemporary art. A recipient of the National Prize for Plastic Arts (1986) and the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts (2003), his international reputation was established early on through his participation in the 1981 São Paulo Biennial and Documenta 7 in Kassel in 1982. He has also created significant monumental projects, including the installation in the Chapel of the Blessed Sacrament at the Cathedral of Mallorca and the dome of the UN Human Rights and Alliance of Civilizations Hall in Geneva, which opened in 2008. His work is included in the collections of the Reina Sofía Museum in Madrid, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, and MoMA in New York, among other leading international institutions.