Víctor Mira

VÍCTOR MIRA (Zaragoza, 1949 – Munich, 2003).
“Bachcantata,” 1993–94.
Oil on canvas.
Signed on the reverse.
Accompanied by a certificate of authenticity issued by Ester Romero Fajardo.
Measurements: 200 x 200 cm.

Dated 1993–94, this work belongs to the culminating phase of the “Bachcantatas,” one of Víctor Mira’s fundamental cycles, which began in 1989 and continued through 1994. The project arose from his deep fascination with Johann Sebastian Bach’s religious cantatas, whose musical perfection he sought to translate into his own visual language. The artist approached this relationship from a consciously non-religious perspective, yet was drawn to Bach’s music’s ability to attain a spiritual and transcendent dimension.

In this large-scale composition, Mira organizes the surface using a grid of twenty-five red, blue, and black fields, brought to life by the irregular, textural quality of the oil paint. On some of the modules, a cross appears in relief—an essential motif of the cycle, serving both as a Christian symbol and a visual element. Its repetition, combined with variations in color and position, introduces pauses and accents that endow the work with an almost musical cadence. The austerity of the grid thus coexists with the intensity of the material and color, generating a tension between order and emotion, geometry and spirituality—a characteristic feature of the “Bachcantatas.”

The chronology of the work also coincides with a period of particular prominence for the series: in 1993, Mira was invited to present a selection of “Bachcantatas” at the Bachwoche in Ansbach and exhibited the entire series at the Galerie Hans Mayer in Düsseldorf; in 1994, the exhibitions continued in Germany, including at the Galerie Peter Bäumler in Regensburg and “Styliten und Bachkantaten” in Stuttgart.

Víctor Mira pursued a multidisciplinary career as a painter, sculptor, printmaker, and writer. Beginning in the 1970s, he exhibited internationally and developed a deeply personal iconography centered on themes such as the Stylites, Montserrat, the Wayfarers, the Bach Cantatas, and his depictions of Christ. After his first solo exhibition at the N’Art Gallery in Zaragoza, he maintained close ties with Germany and divided his time between that country and Barcelona; in 1972, he participated in the Encuentros de Pamplona, where he met John Cage, and in 1980, he held a solo exhibition at the George Staempfli Gallery in New York. victormira.com His work is held in collections such as those of the Museum of Modern Art in New York, the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía, and the MACBA.