Miquel Barceló

From June 1st to October 6th, the International Museum of Ceramics in Faenza devoted an outstanding solo exhibition to the Spanish artist Miquel Barceló, one of the greatest representatives of the international contemporary art scene. The exhibition in Faenza, curated by Irene Biolchini and Cécile Pocheau Lesteven, is the first anthological event devoted to his ceramic production, from his debut to nowadays. 

It presents a special project created by the artist specifically for the MIC Faenza and is a dialogue with works from the collection that belongs to the history of ceramics. He will place his ceramics inside the exhibition hall, first clay works from the end of the 1990s to today. Moreover, as a tribute to the history of MIC, he will select, because of their affinity, some key works from the museum collections in a kind of autobiographical narration, mixing private elements into the story. 

A skillful artist who can match different artistic languages, Barceló is mainly known to the public for his pictural and gestural research, but also for his proximity to the Italian Transavanguardia group and the German Neo-expressionism. In the early 1990s, during his long stay in Mali, he started his ceramics works, using the ancient Dogon technique to make the first earthenware productions.  In 1996, Barceló continued working on ceramics in Mallorca, where he was born. A profound bond has always linked his research to Italy, from his travels at the end of the 1970’s to his stay in Campania, where he was invited by Lucio Amelio on the occasion of the ‘Terraemotus’ exhibition.  In 2000, Barceló returned to Italy, and specifically to Vietri to create the monumental cover of the Cathedral of Palma de Mallorca in collaboration with Vincenzo Santoriello. This chapel, totally covered with ceramics, is one of the greatest ceramic art constructions in the world. 

The artist, who has exhibited his works in the most prestigious museums of the world, first presented his ceramics in Italy in 2009, in the Spanish Pavilion of the Venice Biennale, giving life to a dialogue between painting and ceramic sculpture.