Miquel Barceló

MIQUEL BARCELÓ (Felanitx, Mallorca, 1957).
"Animal with three pixerades".1982.
Color lithograph on paper, copy 44/100.
Signed and numbered in pencil.
Measurements: 49 x 70 cm.

"Animal amb tres pixerades" belongs to an early and especially vital stage in Miquel Barceló's career, marked by an exuberant iconography, hybrid figures and a bold use of color. The composition presents a fantastic creature of fragmented anatomy and almost totemic character, constructed by means of organic forms that evoke both the animal world and the symbolic imaginary.

The contrast between the vibrant blue background and the figure in yellow and reddish tones generates a scene of great visual energy. The black line structures the forms with gestural spontaneity, while the splashes provide an expressive dimension close to automatism.

This work reflects Barceló's interest in organic transformation, animality and primitive drive, recurring themes in his work of the early 1980s.

Miquel Barceló was trained in Palma de Mallorca and continued his studies in Barcelona, making his debut at the tender age of seventeen. After discovering art brut in Paris, he held his first solo exhibition at the Museum of Mallorca in 1976.

In 1986 he received the National Prize for Plastic Arts and later the Prince of Asturias Award for the Arts, among other international awards. His work is represented in important museums such as the MoMA in New York, the Centre Pompidou in Paris, the Guggenheim in Bilbao and the Reina Sofia Museum in Madrid, among other institutions of reference.