Miquel Barceló

Miquel Barceló – Studies in Palma de Mallorca and Barcelona

Miquel Barceló was born in 1957 on the island of Mallorca. He first studied in Palma de Mallorca at the School for Decorative arts, after which he was drawn to the Catalonian capital of Barcelona where he deepened his knowledge at the School of Fine Arts. It was in Catalonia that he came into contact with the artistic tradition for which he would soon become an important representative: “Material Art” - established by greats such as Antoni Tàpies - enjoyed great prestige especially in Spain, and was lifted to new heights by Miquel Barceló. A study trip to Pairs provided further stimulus and inspiration – from an early age, restlessness that could hardly be stilled was part of Barceló’s unsteady nature, and it was this that drew him out into the world, far away from his native Mallorca and above all to Africa. 

Africa formed the art of Miquel Barceló

Africa would never let go of Miquel Barceló: his travels through the continent gave the artist a new understanding of the world and a new approach to his art. When a desert storm blew through his studio in African Mali covering numerous paintings in sand, it was not a cause for despair for Barceló, but an awakening experience that added a further dimension to his art and sparked his interest in the most common and cheapest raw material in the world: earth. The result was the intensive exploration of pottery and ceramic art and Barceló created works with multiple dimensions and attracted the attention of the international art world. 

Breakthrough at the São Paolo Biennale 

In the 1980s, Miquel Barceló finally became a permanent, highly regarded great on the art market. His participation in the São Paolo Biennale and documenta 7 in Kassel in particular, attracted much attention. Barceló’s art was never without controversy; a contemporary ceramic work by the artist, installed in Palma Cathedral and intended to represent the miraculous multiplication of loaves and fishes, caused particular discontent. Barceló himself added further fuel to the fire by demonstratively staying away from the inauguration, thereby referencing his convictions as an agnostic.

Important representative of Spanish contemporary art

Nowadays, works by Miquel Barceló sell in the millions. Even though the Spanish master is one of today’s established artists, he has never settled – and does not want to. He does not shy away from frank opinions and does not avoid controversy. Nevertheless, it is Barceló who receives the most lucrative and above all prestigious commissions: in 2007, for example, he designed the ceiling of the new meeting hall of the UN Human Rights Council. He has only exhibited once in Germany, at a celebrated exhibition in Hannover that encompassed the full 20 years of his impressive oeuvre. 

Miquel Barceló lives and works today on Mallorca, in Paris and Mali.