Essays, anthologies, guides, anecdotes, graphic novels…2019 has a host of bibliographic novelties on the topic of art. And the day of Sant Jordi is the perfect excuse to buy one (or more) of them. Here are our recommendations.
Ricard Mas
Three Art Books for a Desert Island (1)
In anticipation of the Day of the book for Sant Jordi, we asked our “Mirador de les Arts” contributors which three books they would take with them on a desert island. Their answers are surprising.
The (double) Secret of Víctor Silva
A mysterious artist named Víctor Silva is exhibiting a series of small format painting at the Víctor Saavedra gallery, accompanied by their photographic reproductions in monumental proportions. Why?
Shall We Go on a Gallery Crawl?
When was the last time you stepped inside an art gallery? Can you name, from memory, the names of three art galleries in your town or city? Don’t worry, there is still time to retake the test.
Jordi Baron and snatches of time
Jordi Baron Rubí is an antiques dealer (third generation), collector of antique photos, and fine-art photographer. Each one of these facets feeds in to the other two.
Uri Geller and Salvador Dalí: a paranormal friendship
Not many people know that Uri Geller and Salvador Dalí met in Barcelona and kept in touch for quite some time. One painted the first bent spoon and the other bent spoons using the powers of the mind. Paranormal surrealism?
Sex, books and the lumpen
What connects gimp masks and an abandoned library? The Pink Panther and a blow-up doll? All is revealed in Evaristo Benítez’s exhibition “Décalage”, at Galeria Contrast.
Sense and Sensibility at the CaixaForum
This interesting study, in exhibition format, addresses emotion though western art. Do we feel the same now as we did five hundred years ago? Is art able to lie and be sincere at the same time?
The World of Casas
The painter Ramon Casas was the great columnist for one of the most brilliant and convulsive periods of the history of Catalonia. The Gothsland Gallery has put on a magnificent exhibition of his work, which accompanies the presentation of the first volume of the Complete Catalogue of the artist.
Mercy for the MACBA
To the now classic dilemma of “who do you like best, Mummy or Daddy?” the people of Barcelona have added “which do you prefer, culture or health?”.
The Purge of the Foundations
The artistic and hereditary fabric of Catalonia is extensive…and thinly spread, too thinly spread. Are the recent staff dismissals at the Joan Miró Foundation and the “strategic change” at the Antoni Tàpies Foundation, warnings of future suspensions?
An Explosive Dalí
Dalí rocks! He invented soft watches, the paranoiac-critic method, the museum as a theatre of experience and, even after his death, the exhibition in two acts.
Surcharges in Olot
Political art has a very bad press, when what should really have a bad name is art which says nothing.
Pocket Art Connoisseur, the best art app in 2018
Having the Pocket Art Connoisseur is like keeping the most rigorous art critic in your pocket.
Picasso and Picabia: forced parallels
“Picasso – Picabia. Painting in question” is one of the best artistic exhibits this year.
Bibliophilia and Process
Last Thursday in Barcelona there was an extraordinary auction of antiquarian books and manuscripts. The organisers Soler y Llach, are a reference in this kind of sale. Most of the lots were sold.
Uncertainty, flickering… and a Dramamine to boot
Dalí grumbled in front of a work by Alexander Calder: “if there is one thing you can ask of a sculpture, it is that it shouldn’t move”.