Autoportrait sur Pichet

Material

Bronze, black-brown patina; 89.00 × 21.00 × 30.00 cm

Dating

1998

About the artist

The Spanish painter and sculptor studied two years at the Arts and Crafts School of Palma de Majorca and then, in 1974, at the Fine Arts School of Barcelona. After finishing his studies he joined the Majorcan conceptual avant-garde group ‘Taller Lunatic’, which is well-known for being critical of politics. Furthermore Barceló has always been very committed to questions regarding the environment and nature.
His extensive oeuvre reflects this commitment and is famous for raising questions about religion, anthropomorphism and the environment. Barceló’s complex notion of art plays out in a frequent use of organic materials and action painting. His sources of inspiration range from modern art forms such as Art Brut or Jackson Pollock’s abstract Expressionism to baroque paintings by Diego Velázquez, Tintoretto and Rembrandt. The extensive travels which he undertook during the 1980s became another major influence, especially the impressions of West Africa: the power of its light, the scorching sun and the rocky land- and seascape were a visual experience that may have reminded him of his native Majorca.