Move over DalÃ
Catalonia has always been proud of its eccentrics. “In the Catalonian mountains a mad wind blows clean through the ears,” goes a local saying.
words by Sally Howard
The Catalonian capital in particular delights in harnessing its inhabitants’ mad artistic winds. From the craggy, jewel-like spires of Gaudí’s Sagrada Familia, to the riotous canvases of artists such as Picasso, Miró and Dalí, and the futuristic Olympic City in Montjuïc Park, Barcelona has honed the sharp edge of Spanish art for decades.
The city’s reputation for breaking new artistic ground may have peaked with the fluid, organic arabesques of the modernistas, but that’s not to say the modern-day residents don’t delight in dancing to their own beat as well. Barcelona’s art scene was piping hot in the ‘90s, when northern European fashion graduates, attracted by Barcelona’s affordable seamstresses, colonised Carrer D’Avinyó in the Barri Gòtic, and independent art galleries and shops mushroomed across the working-class Raval district.
Many of these establishments were set up by educated young Argentineans who fled their country as it spiralled into economic crisis. Catalonians may live and breathe style and design, but in many cases it’s the foreigners (giri) who are shaping the city’s art scene.
Indeed, Barcelona’s boisterous confidence is inescapable – written into everything from the florid graffiti decorating the winding backstreets of Raval (at least until the city succeeds in its efforts to whitewash over it), to the quirky boutiques of El Born, a hot, new district where one-man and one-woman art shops thrive, selling everything from lovingly constructed felt animals, to handmade light fittings in twisted forms straight out of Tolkien. Below, we take a tour of the best of Barca’s backstreets…
Marina Maass
Jupi 4, +34 93 310 6803
www.marinamaass.com
Talented and soppily in love, husband-and-wife owners Marina and Tomas are the sort of gallingly beautiful couple you wouldn’t like to encounter on a bad-hair day. Marina Maass, tucked away from the touristy hustle-bustle in a backstreet of the Barri Gòtic, features a lunatic assembly of bulbous papier mâché blobs, pod-like lighting and chaotic canvases. Tomas, a Brazilian, and Marina, who moved to Barcelona from Argentina four years ago, also delight in customising everything that tumbles into their path. The shop is full of evidence of this addiction – from haphazard furniture to bicycles, T-shirts and tablecloths; little escapes the attentions of a spray can or paintbrush. Pop in with your mobile phone or an old T-shirt and see it brought to life.
Papa Bubble
Ample 28, +34 93 268 8685
www.papabubble.com
Australians Tommy Tang and Christopher King – the former, a brooding Russell Crowe lookalike – dub themselves ‘artists in sugar’. Trained confectioners, the pair set up this artisan sweet shop two years ago with the aim of dragging their craft into the 21st century. And there’s certainly nothing of the fusty old sweetshop here: favourites include shards of rock with personalised messages running through the core and humbugs with melting chocolate centres, all presented in funky, space-age packaging. Further Papa Bubbles venues have recently opened in Tokyo and Amsterdam, and commissions are rolling in for edible hairpieces for catwalk shows, and sugar chaise longues for funky German furniture company Vitra. Success, it seems, is sweet.
Iguapop Gallery
Commerç 15, +34 93 100 735
www.iguapop.net
Facing out on to Barcelona’s posh restaurant strip, Iguapop is a fearless young gallery that’s done much to celebrate Barcelona’s more off-the-wall artists. Among them is Miss Van, the celebrated Toulouse graffiti artist whose exaggerated female forms, with their cushiony faces and Cupid’s bow lips, shot her to fame in the male-dominated world of graphic art. Upcoming exhibitions include Catalina Estrada (pictured below), with her surreal worlds of flora and fauna (until November
18), Stanley Donwood (23 November – 21 December), and the Inoxidable Neopop artists’ collective from Chile (mid-January onwards).
Almacen Marabi Objetos de Tela
Flassanders 30 bis,
www.almacenmarabi.com
Nothing quite prepares you for the sight of a twometre rhino dangling precariously over your head, its grey flanks lovingly constructed from hundreds of pieces of felt mounted on a wire frame. “It’s the king and the queen of fabrics,” says Almacen Marabi, by way of explanation, as I eye the contents of her shop: a cheery homage to the hallowed tela which includes puppets, felt books that peel open to display favourite children’s tales inside (look out for the adorable Little Red Riding Hood), and smaller animals, from penguins to sausage dogs. Marabi, a sparky Argentinian with jet-black hair and a cheery take on life, opened her one-woman operation in 2001, in the up-and-coming El Born district. A koala and a giant manatee are, apparently, next on her list.
Taller Obert
Ferlandina 49, +34 93 441 6474
Taller Obert, meaning ‘open gallery’, is one of the leading lights in the nascent arts district that’s flowering in Raval under the shadow of the ultra-modern Museum of Contemporary Art (MACBA). Proprietor Karen runs children’s arts classes from her endearingly ramshackle workshop, as well as exhibiting witty pieces for sale, among them her covetable pequeños maniques – tiny metal mannequins mounted on wood and dressed in immaculate fabric jackets.
galleries address book
Ob-Art
Enric Granados 9, +34 93 451 0623
www.ob-art.com
A gallery specialising in obtaining and exhibiting cultural objects that comment on modern society.
Galería María José Castellvi
Consell de Cent 278
www.galeriamjcastellvi.com
This white space in the Eixample neighbourhood focuses on the work of quirky young artists from Spain and northern Europe.
H2O
Verdi 152, +34 93 415 1801
www.h2o.es
Situated on the main drag in Barcelona’s hippy-chic Gràcia neighbourhood, H2O focuses on architectural design and has a publishing arm.
Galería María Villalba i Badia
Bailén 110
www.galeriamariavillalba.com
Also located in the Eixample, this slick exhibition space has a strong focus on sculpture. Look out for the organic, female forms of local artist Marisa Ordonez, on display from mid-December.
Base Elements
Calle Baixada Viladelcols 2, +34 93 268 8312
www.baseelements.net
This gallery features modern graphic art and graffiti laced with dark humour. The artists operate under intriguing pseudonyms such as Chiza and Tofu.
Per For Art
Aribau 119 Bajos 2
www.geocities.com/perforart
There’s a strong focus on canvas work here and the current exhibition of work by Lotta Svensson is a swirly pastel riot of portraiture.
CaixaForum
Avenida Marquès de Comillas 6-8 +34 93 476 8600
A converted modernista factory sponsored by the Catalan bank La Caixa, this hosts excellent temporary exhibitions.
art bars
Candela
Hospital 48, +34 93 301 0813
www.candelaraval.com
A funky, ’70s-style café bar in Raval that exhibits photography, video, graffiti and illustrations by emerging artists from this trendy quarter.
Schilling Bar
Ferran 23, +34 93 317 6787
This hip, dark-panelled bar has a lively gay clientele and boasts a changing roster of exhibitions by promising young artists.
Pile 43
Agla 4, +34 93 317 3902
Everything on show here, from the paintings to the bespoke sofas, is for sale, and the contents change as individual items are picked off by the bar’s clientele.
Espai Mallorca
Carme 55, +34 93 442 9193
www.espaimallorca.org
A gallery devoted to Mallorcan art, with bookstore and café serving Balearic wines and sweets.
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