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拍品专文
CONTRACORRENT IS A MAJESTIC AND SPECTACULARLY TEXTURED PAINTING BY MIQUEL BARCELó, DATING FROM THE ARTIST'S PIVOTAL TRAVELS ACROSS AFRICA. CREATED IN 1991, IT WAS PAINTED IN THE SAME YEAR AS BARCELó'S EPIC VOYAGE BY CANOE ALONG THE 1500KM OF THE NIGER RIVER SEPARATING SéGOU FROM GAO. RETURNING TO EUROPE, HE SOON BEGAN HIS STRIKING ODES TO THE RIVER, DISTILLING ONTO CANVAS ITS SIGHTS, SOUNDS AND SENSATIONS THROUGH HIS MASTERY OF COLOUR AND MATERIAL. DESCRIBED BY HERVé GUIBERT AS 'THE FIRST GREAT PAINTER OF THE TWENTY FIRST CENTURY', BARCELó'S WORKS EXIST IN DISTINGUISHED COLLECTIONS WORLDWIDE INCLUDING ISSA BERI (1991) FROM THE PRESENT SERIES, CURRENTLY HELD IN THE COLECCIóN MASAVEU, OVIEDO. IN CONTRACORRENT, THE ARTIST DEPICTS A HOST OF FISHERMEN PRECARIOUSLY ASSEMBLED WITHIN A SLENDER WOODEN PIROGUE - AN INDIGENOUS HAND CRAFTED BOAT, DETERMINEDLY CASTING OUT THEIR LINES AS THEY PASS ALONG THE RIVER. INDIFFERENT TO THE TURBULENT WATER SURROUNDING THEM, THEY CONTINUE IN THEIR OVERLOADED VESSEL. THESE FIGURES AND THEIR MAKESHIFT CRAFT ARE ANIMATED OUT OF ROUGH SHEAVES OF DRY PLANTS, BATHED IN LUXURIANT PIGMENT AND IMPASTO PAINT. REALISED IN A PALETTE OF WARM OCHRE AND SCORCHED BROWN SET AGAINST DEEP MARINE BLUE, THE PAINTING SHOWCASES THE SPLENDOUR OF THE NATURAL LANDSCAPE. THE WATER ITSELF TAKES ON TEXTURE, RISING UP FROM THE SURFACE OF THE CANVAS LIKE THE SURGES OF WAVES READY TO OVERTURN THE INTREPID BOATMEN. THROUGH SOME INCANTATION BARCELó TRANSLATES FLUID PAINT INTO HIS WATERY SCENE, MIRRORING THE RILLS AND EDDIES OF THE NIGER RIVER. SWEEPING BRUSH MARKS AND FREELY POURED PAINT PROLIFERATE, THE WORK BEARING WITNESS TO THE ARTIST'S DEEPLY PHYSICAL ACT OF CREATION. INDEED FOR BARCELó, THE VAST SURFACE OF THE CANVAS IS ALWAYS RIPE FOR TOUCH AND IMPROVISED GESTURE, THE ARTIST WALKING OVER PORTIONS OF THE PAINTING AS IF ONCE AGAIN NAVIGATING THE OPEN WATER.
THE SOLITARY VESSEL DEPICTED IN CONTRACORRENT CAN ALSO BE UNDERSTOOD AS A METAPHOR FOR THE ARTIST'S OWN LIFE AND HIS UNIQUE BRAND OF NOMADISM. FOR BARCELó, THE PLACE WHERE HE WORKS HAS ALWAYS HAD IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NATURE OF HIS PAINTING. IN HEADING TO AFRICA, FIRST IN 1988 WHEN HE SPENT SIX MONTHS MAKING HIS WAY THROUGH MALI, SENEGAL AND BURKINA FASO, BARCELó WAS SEEKING A NEW EMOTIONAL AND CREATIVE OUTLET. HAVING LIVED BETWEEN PARIS, BARCELONA AND NEW YORK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE ARTIST FOUND HIMSELF CAUGHT IN AN ARTISTIC MALAISE, THE COMBINATION OF URBAN LIVING AND WESTERN CONVENTION RESULTING IN PALE, WHITE CANVASES WITHDRAWN FROM OVERT EXPRESSION. AS THE ARTIST HIMSELF CONFESSED, IN GOING ABROAD HE WAS SEEKING A NEW APPROACH: '(AFRICA REPRESENTS) A KIND OF OVERALL CLEANSING. THE FIRST REACTION I ALWAYS HAVE WHEN I ARRIVE IN MALI IS TO REALISE THE USELESSNESS OF THINGS. ONE PAINTS OUT OF PURE NECESSITY THERE. IN PARIS OR HERE (IN MALLORCA), BY ALWAYS PAINTING IN THE SAME STUDIO, YOU COME TO FORGET THE ESSENCE OF THE AFFAIR. IN MALI I GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH THE ESSENCE OF THE ACT OF PAINTING' (M. BARCELó INTERVIEW WITH M.F. SáNCHEZ, IN 'LA ESFERA', NO. 10, MARCH 1992, MIQUEL BARCELó: 1987-1997, EXH. CAT., MUSEU D'ART CONTEMPORANI DE BARCELONA, BARCELONA, 1998, P. 19).
THIS RENEWED SPONTANEITY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT IS EVIDENT IN THE RICH SURFACE OF CONTRACORRENT, JUST AS IT IS IN THE CELEBRATED SERIES OF AWESOME, CREEPING GLACIERS AND THE TORRID SPANISH BULLFIGHT ARENAS PAINTED IN THE SAME PERIOD. IN 1990, BARCELó CARRIED OUT PAINTINGS DEALING WITH THE EXTREME ENVIRONMENT OF THE WEST AFRICAN MONSOON. IN LE DéLUGE (THE FLOOD) CURRENTLY HELD IN THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, BILBAO BARCELó CREATED A DARK AND INTENSE COMPOSITION DEPICTING EVER-INTENSIFYING TORRENTS OF RAIN DURING A TROPICAL DOWNPOUR. IT WAS IN THESE PICTURES THAT THE ARTIST REALLY EMBRACED THE ALL-OVER PAINTING AESTHETIC THAT HAS BECOME HIS HALLMARK. IN LE DéLUGE, THE CANVAS IS COVERED WITH FREELY POURED PAINT AND LACERATIONS EVOKING SHEETS OF FALLING RAIN. THIS TECHNIQUE, RECALLING ELEMENTS OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND INFORMALISM, HELPED TO INFORM BARCELó'S MASTERFUL APPLICATION OF MATERIAL AND PIGMENT IN CONTRACORRENT.
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, THE NATURE OF LIGHT AND MATTER HAS ALWAYS BEEN OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE. IN HIS PREDILECTION FOR MATERIAL, THE ARTIST RECALLS THE LEGACY OF CATALAN PAINTERS SUCH AS ANTONI TàPIES AND JOAN MIRó WHOSE RICHLY TEXTURED CANVASES AND FERROUS PALETTES PERFECTLY EXPRESS THE BAKED EARTH OF THEIR COUNTRY. WITH HIS SPECTACULAR ATTENTION TO LIGHT, THE EVER-CHANGING TONES OF WATER, HE REFLECTS THE CHIAROSCURO CONTRASTS OF OLD MASTER PAINTERS SUCH AS CARAVAGGIO AND TINTORETTO THAT HE ENCOUNTERED UPON HIS TRAVELS TO NAPLES IN THE EARLY 1980S. IN CONTRACORRENT WITH HIS IMAGE OF A RUDIMENTARY BOAT PERSEVERING AGAINST A DELUGE OF TURBULENT WATER, BARCELó ALSO DRAWS AN IMPLICIT CONNECTION WITH THE TRADITIONS OF ROMANTIC PAINTING. PRESENTING HIMSELF AS 'AHAB IN HIS SMALL BOAT DRIFTING ON THE SEAS' (C. FLOHIC, 'MIQUEL BARCELó', IN NINETY, NO. 6, 1991, P. 10), BARCELó INVOKES THE SUBLIME EXPERIENCE OF UNHARNESSED NATURE AS THEODORE GéRICAULT DID IN HIS SEMINAL THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA, WRECKED OFF THE COAST OF MAURITANIA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
IN CONTRACORRENT, BARCELó UNITES HIS HOST OF ART HISTORICAL REFERENCES WITH THE RAW VIBRANCY AND PHYSICALITY OF AFRICA. AS PEP SUBIRóS ONCE CONCLUDED, 'THE IMAGES AND THEMES ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE DUST, THE LAND, THE HUNGER, PAIN AND LAUGHTER, THE GUTS OF TIME, THE FRAGILITY, THE CONFLICT BETWEEN WHAT ENDURES AND WHAT CHANGES. BARCELó CONFIRMS WHAT HE HAD INTUITED FROM THE BEGINNING. EVERYTHING IS AT ONCE OLD AND NEW AGAIN. AFRICA IS EVERYWHERE. AFRICA IS THE GRANDEUR AND DRAMA OF NATURAL FORCES, THE INTENSITY OF EXPERIENCE, THE DIRECT CONFRONTATION WITH THE BASIC DIMENSIONS OF LIFE AND DEATH' (P. SUBIRóS, MIQUEL BARCELó: MAPAMUNDI, EXH. CAT., FONDATION MAEGHT, SAINT-PAUL, 2002, P. 25).
THE SOLITARY VESSEL DEPICTED IN CONTRACORRENT CAN ALSO BE UNDERSTOOD AS A METAPHOR FOR THE ARTIST'S OWN LIFE AND HIS UNIQUE BRAND OF NOMADISM. FOR BARCELó, THE PLACE WHERE HE WORKS HAS ALWAYS HAD IMPORTANT IMPLICATIONS FOR THE NATURE OF HIS PAINTING. IN HEADING TO AFRICA, FIRST IN 1988 WHEN HE SPENT SIX MONTHS MAKING HIS WAY THROUGH MALI, SENEGAL AND BURKINA FASO, BARCELó WAS SEEKING A NEW EMOTIONAL AND CREATIVE OUTLET. HAVING LIVED BETWEEN PARIS, BARCELONA AND NEW YORK FOR A NUMBER OF YEARS, THE ARTIST FOUND HIMSELF CAUGHT IN AN ARTISTIC MALAISE, THE COMBINATION OF URBAN LIVING AND WESTERN CONVENTION RESULTING IN PALE, WHITE CANVASES WITHDRAWN FROM OVERT EXPRESSION. AS THE ARTIST HIMSELF CONFESSED, IN GOING ABROAD HE WAS SEEKING A NEW APPROACH: '(AFRICA REPRESENTS) A KIND OF OVERALL CLEANSING. THE FIRST REACTION I ALWAYS HAVE WHEN I ARRIVE IN MALI IS TO REALISE THE USELESSNESS OF THINGS. ONE PAINTS OUT OF PURE NECESSITY THERE. IN PARIS OR HERE (IN MALLORCA), BY ALWAYS PAINTING IN THE SAME STUDIO, YOU COME TO FORGET THE ESSENCE OF THE AFFAIR. IN MALI I GET BACK IN TOUCH WITH THE ESSENCE OF THE ACT OF PAINTING' (M. BARCELó INTERVIEW WITH M.F. SáNCHEZ, IN 'LA ESFERA', NO. 10, MARCH 1992, MIQUEL BARCELó: 1987-1997, EXH. CAT., MUSEU D'ART CONTEMPORANI DE BARCELONA, BARCELONA, 1998, P. 19).
THIS RENEWED SPONTANEITY AND ENGAGEMENT WITH THE ENVIRONMENT IS EVIDENT IN THE RICH SURFACE OF CONTRACORRENT, JUST AS IT IS IN THE CELEBRATED SERIES OF AWESOME, CREEPING GLACIERS AND THE TORRID SPANISH BULLFIGHT ARENAS PAINTED IN THE SAME PERIOD. IN 1990, BARCELó CARRIED OUT PAINTINGS DEALING WITH THE EXTREME ENVIRONMENT OF THE WEST AFRICAN MONSOON. IN LE DéLUGE (THE FLOOD) CURRENTLY HELD IN THE GUGGENHEIM MUSEUM, BILBAO BARCELó CREATED A DARK AND INTENSE COMPOSITION DEPICTING EVER-INTENSIFYING TORRENTS OF RAIN DURING A TROPICAL DOWNPOUR. IT WAS IN THESE PICTURES THAT THE ARTIST REALLY EMBRACED THE ALL-OVER PAINTING AESTHETIC THAT HAS BECOME HIS HALLMARK. IN LE DéLUGE, THE CANVAS IS COVERED WITH FREELY POURED PAINT AND LACERATIONS EVOKING SHEETS OF FALLING RAIN. THIS TECHNIQUE, RECALLING ELEMENTS OF ABSTRACT EXPRESSIONISM AND INFORMALISM, HELPED TO INFORM BARCELó'S MASTERFUL APPLICATION OF MATERIAL AND PIGMENT IN CONTRACORRENT.
THROUGHOUT HIS CAREER, THE NATURE OF LIGHT AND MATTER HAS ALWAYS BEEN OF CRITICAL IMPORTANCE. IN HIS PREDILECTION FOR MATERIAL, THE ARTIST RECALLS THE LEGACY OF CATALAN PAINTERS SUCH AS ANTONI TàPIES AND JOAN MIRó WHOSE RICHLY TEXTURED CANVASES AND FERROUS PALETTES PERFECTLY EXPRESS THE BAKED EARTH OF THEIR COUNTRY. WITH HIS SPECTACULAR ATTENTION TO LIGHT, THE EVER-CHANGING TONES OF WATER, HE REFLECTS THE CHIAROSCURO CONTRASTS OF OLD MASTER PAINTERS SUCH AS CARAVAGGIO AND TINTORETTO THAT HE ENCOUNTERED UPON HIS TRAVELS TO NAPLES IN THE EARLY 1980S. IN CONTRACORRENT WITH HIS IMAGE OF A RUDIMENTARY BOAT PERSEVERING AGAINST A DELUGE OF TURBULENT WATER, BARCELó ALSO DRAWS AN IMPLICIT CONNECTION WITH THE TRADITIONS OF ROMANTIC PAINTING. PRESENTING HIMSELF AS 'AHAB IN HIS SMALL BOAT DRIFTING ON THE SEAS' (C. FLOHIC, 'MIQUEL BARCELó', IN NINETY, NO. 6, 1991, P. 10), BARCELó INVOKES THE SUBLIME EXPERIENCE OF UNHARNESSED NATURE AS THEODORE GéRICAULT DID IN HIS SEMINAL THE RAFT OF THE MEDUSA, WRECKED OFF THE COAST OF MAURITANIA IN THE NINETEENTH CENTURY.
IN CONTRACORRENT, BARCELó UNITES HIS HOST OF ART HISTORICAL REFERENCES WITH THE RAW VIBRANCY AND PHYSICALITY OF AFRICA. AS PEP SUBIRóS ONCE CONCLUDED, 'THE IMAGES AND THEMES ARE NOT AS IMPORTANT AS THE DUST, THE LAND, THE HUNGER, PAIN AND LAUGHTER, THE GUTS OF TIME, THE FRAGILITY, THE CONFLICT BETWEEN WHAT ENDURES AND WHAT CHANGES. BARCELó CONFIRMS WHAT HE HAD INTUITED FROM THE BEGINNING. EVERYTHING IS AT ONCE OLD AND NEW AGAIN. AFRICA IS EVERYWHERE. AFRICA IS THE GRANDEUR AND DRAMA OF NATURAL FORCES, THE INTENSITY OF EXPERIENCE, THE DIRECT CONFRONTATION WITH THE BASIC DIMENSIONS OF LIFE AND DEATH' (P. SUBIRóS, MIQUEL BARCELó: MAPAMUNDI, EXH. CAT., FONDATION MAEGHT, SAINT-PAUL, 2002, P. 25).