'Sansiri' invites you to experience a rare world-class art event with a live contemporary art performance by 'Miquel Barceló', a renowned artist from Spain. After touring exclusive exhibitions at important landmarks around the world, this will be his first performance in Thailand. He has chosen to collaborate with Sansiri to present a live artwork featuring a vibrant painting in front of an audience on the Chao Phraya River, a landmark of Thailand, during the event 'Sansiri presents Miquel Barceló: DESPINTURA FÒNICA' on November 1-2. The concept is 'Live Painting Experiment with Music', showcasing a live painting technique on a specially produced canvas measuring over 20 meters long, the largest he has ever displayed. The special ink reveals colors through contact with the fabric's texture, brush strokes, and the painting that transforms and fades into emptiness, all set in an outdoor studio drifting along the Chao Phraya River with beautiful scenery on both banks. This first exhibition in Thailand is the latest landmark after his exhibitions at Nijo Castle in Kyoto, Japan, and in Spain, in Barcelona and Salamanca.

Miquel Barceló with his work

Image credit: Miquel Barceló © François Halard, 2017 IVRY

          Miquel Barceló is a Catalan artist born in 1957 in Felanitx, Mallorca, an island in the Mediterranean that is part of Spain. He inherited his artistic blood from his mother, a traditional landscape painter. A significant turning point that ignited his passion for avant-garde painting was his first trip abroad to Paris, where he encountered the raw subconscious works of Jean Dubuffet - Art Brut and Art Informel. This led him to pursue a serious artistic path by studying at the Decorative Arts School in Palma de Mallorca and The School of Fine Arts in Barcelona in 1975.

          After graduating and returning to his hometown, he joined an avant-garde movement called Taller Lunatic. His works played with conceptual art, exploring the essence and decay of materials such as wooden boxes or glass containers filled with food and plants, observing their deterioration. In 1981, he participated in the São Paulo Art Biennial, and shortly after, he was recognized as one of Spain's leading artists, representing Spain at the Documenta 7 exhibition in Kassel, Germany, in 1982, one of the most significant exhibitions of modern and contemporary art held every five years. During this period, he was part of the Neo-Expressionist movement and exhibited in various countries.

          His working concept gradually shifted again due to his experiences. He chose to eliminate narratives from his paintings and began to live in various places, such as the Sahara Desert for six months and several years in Paris, Barcelona, and New York. The experiences from the stunning cultures and environments inspired a new chapter in his work, influenced by the African sunlight, charred earth, and rocky landscapes, resulting in textured works on canvas that are as intense as the sands he once lived among. Since his first trip to Mali, he has lived in a small house without electricity or running water, which deepened his appreciation for the world's cultural and geographical diversity, becoming a significant inspiration for his portrait series of people and everyday scenes in Africa.

“Africa made everything clear to me. My first reaction when I arrived in Mali was that nothing was usable.”

“Compared to Paris or Mallorca, even painting in the same studio, I completely forgot about everything else.”

“But in Mali, I was able to reconnect with the essence of gestures while painting.”

          He roams and lives in different countries, embodying the spirit of a restless artist, just like his art, which communicates through various mediums, including paintings on paper, ceramics, and copper. He continues to experiment with painting on different materials without pause, alongside themes that approach the natural beauty of the world and the effects of light that create different perspectives in the same location.

          His paintings have expanded beyond the scale of just canvas or paper to buildings, locations, and oversized festivals. For example, his artwork at the United Nations in Geneva, Switzerland, consists of a giant sculpture installed in the dome ceiling of a conference room covering 1,500 square meters, resembling colorful stalactites dripping from the ceiling, requiring 100 tons of paint to create. Sprayed with a bluish-gray color, it offers a new perspective, and in some angles, this sky serves as a backdrop for an installation that radiates rainbow light. All works reflect perspectives on issues within the UN meeting space, emphasizing the need to consider various viewpoints. This piece of his is valued at over 23 million USD (approximately 800 million THB).

Another giant sculpture by Miquel Barceló at the United Nations in Geneva

Image credit: CEILING OF THE HUMAN RIGHTS AND ALLIANCE OF CIVILIZATIONS ROOM - UNITED NATIONS GENEVA, 2008 © Agustí Torres, 2008

          Currently, Barceló continues to exhibit both group and solo works in museums and festivals worldwide regularly, especially in significant global landmarks. His works are included in some of the most prestigious galleries, such as Galerie Bruno Bischofberger and Leo Castelli, and his paintings were exhibited at the Louvre Museum in Paris in 2004, making him the youngest artist to showcase there. Miquel Barceló is considered one of the greatest living artists, honored to exhibit at the Center Pompidou in Paris in 1996.

          This rare world-class art event is set to take place for the first time at a landmark in Thailand, featuring a live painting performance on a specially produced canvas over 20 meters long in front of an audience. Using a special ink that reveals colors through contact with the fabric's texture, the lines gradually emerge from the artist's unique brushstroke techniques. The painting will continuously evolve according to the artist's imagination and the weather conditions during the performance, whether it be sunlight or wind, altering the visual experience. This allows the audience to feel as if they are journeying alongside the artist's imagination. Once the performance concludes, the entire painting will fade away, reflecting the truth of everything that begins from simplicity and returns to emptiness, allowing every viewer to leave with cherished memories, which is part of the concept of this unique and distinctive performance.

“Sansiri presents Miquel Barceló: DESPINTURA FÒNICA” will be held for 2 days, with the first day on November 1 for art enthusiasts or those interested in art to view the exhibition on a boat, and on November 2 for a special media and VIP round, departing from the Thai Commercial Bank Pier at Talad Noi at 3:30 PM and returning at 4:30 PM. An exhibition about the artist and his works worldwide will also be available at the Thai Commercial Bank Pier at Talad Noi.

For updates on the event details and to register, visit www.facebook.com/sansirifamily

MiquelBarceloBKK #SansiriArts

Thank you for the information from www.sansiri.com