Des potirons (Pumpkins) - Bilbao Fine Arts Museum

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Des potirons (Pumpkins)

Barceló, Miquel

Felanitx, Balearic Islands, 08/01/1957

Mixed media on canvas

200 x 300 cm

Barceló (on the reverse)

1998

Late of the 20th century

02/82

Acquired in 2002

The still life genre is one that Barceló has repeatedly explored. In the case of Pumpkins, painted in the artist's Parisian studio, the main interest of the work lies in its matter. The dense mixture of paint and wood pulp is applied all over the surface of the canvas, achieving a texture characterised by centrifugal rhythms and earthy qualities. Barceló often introduces elements extraneous to painting in his compositions---such as the pumpkin seeds and cigarette ends in this work---that configure a sort of organic vanitas to evoke the transmutation of matter and alludes to the passage of time. Speaking of this painting in March 1998, Barceló said, "My new picture!---of pumpkins. I remember when I used to paint white pictures [...]. It's the same today with pumpkins, onions and tomatoes. It's as if they were suddenly the only things to be painted [...]. The anxiety is the same and the fact of knowing the mechanisms does not make any difference."

Miquel Barceló is one of the most prominent figures in contemporary Spanish art. He studied at the School of Decorative Arts in Palma de Majorca and at the Fine Arts School in Barcelona. He achieved international acclaim at an early age as a result of his participation in the 1981 edition of the São Paulo Biennial and in Documenta 7 in Kassel the following year. His sojourns in various European countries, the United States and Mali have marked a prolific career devoted to painting, sculpture, drawings, prints, set designs, murals, and ceramics. (Marta García Maruri)

Selected bibliography

  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 206.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 206.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2006. p. 206.
  • Adquisiciones 02/07 [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2007. pp. 126-127, n° cat. 54.
  • Reguera, Galder. "Centenario del Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao", Arketypo : revista de arte, arquitectura y diseño vasco, n° 13. 2009. p. 147.
  • Lampert, Catherine. Miquel Barceló : la solitude organisative, 1983-2009 [Cat. exp.]. Barcelona, Fundación la Caixa, 2010. p. 107.
  • Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao : guía. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2011. p. 208, n° cat. 149.
  • Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa : gida. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2012. p. 208, n° cat. 149.
  • Bilbao Fine Arts Museum : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 208.
  • Musée des Beaux Arts de Bilbao : guide. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2014. p. 208.
  • Maestros : Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao . Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 124-125, il.
  • Maisuak : Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 124-125, il.
  • Masters : Bilbao Fine Arts Museum. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 124-125, il.
  • Maîtres : Musée des Beaux-Arts de Bilbao. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2016. pp. 124-125, il.
  • 110 Años 110 Obras [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 300-301, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Ans 110 Oeuvres [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 300-301, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Urte 110 Artelan [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 300-301, sin n° cat.
  • 110 Years 110 Works [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 300-301, sin n° cat.
  • Bilboko Museoaren alfabetoa = El alfabeto del Museo de Bilbao = The alphabet of the Bilbao Museum = L'alphabet du Musée de Bilbao [Cat. exp.]. Bilbao, Bilboko Arte Ederren Museoa-Museo de Bellas Artes de Bilbao, 2018. pp. 291, 293, n° cat. 170.