Painting, drawing, ceramics, works on paper and embroidery... a total of forty years of creation unveiled through some sixty works. Miquel Barceló's abundant output on show at Monaco's Nouveau Musée National is like the decompression stops that divers are supposed to go through to reach the surface of the water: from bottom to top. Like an odyssey, the exhibition invites visitors to follow the thread of the Mallorcan artist's practice, from the origins of marine life to the presence of humans and their impact on the aquatic world.
From fauna and flora to fishing, sailing and cooking, this keen scuba diver explores all the dimensions that revolve around the sea. His canvases, with their thousand shades of grey and blue, are matched by sculptures of fish, molluscs and crustaceans. The singular textures inherent in the sea are also represented, from the ocean floor to the surface of the water, including foam, waves, sand and rocks, all helping to highlight the sensitive approach to these elements.
In addition to these works, there are pages of notebooks that the artist carries with him wherever he goes. An essential tool in his creative process, this medium offers viewers the chance to delve deeper into the world that has shaped his life. In it, Miquel Barceló records notes, impressions, sketches and watercolours, multiplying the representations of this inexhaustible source of inspiration.
For this connoisseur of the marine world, the sea acts as a metaphor for his work, a shifting element that is never the same and varies with the passage of time. Overlooking the Mediterranean Sea, the exhibition space resonates all the more powerfully with the works as it offers a direct view of the sea outside. A truly immersive experience.
Miquel Barceló, océanographe, until 13 October 2024 at the Villa Paloma of the Nouveau Musée National de Monaco