In 1994, Toni Tàpies opened a gallery space in Barcelona, inspired by his desire to work with contemporary artists as well as show high quality work of art. Over the years, Galeria Toni Tàpies became a significant venue of the Barcelona art scene, showing the work of recognized contemporary artists and of emerging young artists. The fascination for exciting, edgy and risky projects, the love for creation and the respect for the artists became the gallery signature and remained the gallery’s signature of the last twenty years. In order to celebrate this important anniversary, the gallery presents a cycle of exhibitions where outstanding works from our collection are shown in a distinct context and under a different light. These small exhibitions are focused on pieces whose artistic, technical or historic features make them particularly relevant or important, and by unusual or new associations and are compelled to create new dialogues and meanings.
For the third segment of this cycle, and for the first exhibition of the year, Galeria Toni Tàpies is very pleased to present a show wrapped in red. Crimson, scarlet, ruby, burgundy, cherry, tomato, cardinal, beetroot, oxblood, red devil, blood bath, red bull, sporty car, kinky underwear, intense wine, red lipstick and sports club shirt, war, fire and hell. Red is masculine, powerful, erotic, luxurious, intense, violent, bloody and dramatic. Red is the colour of Mars, the colour of tragedy and deep emotions, the colour of Caravaggio and Christianity, the colour of anger, action, desire, passion and ambition. Red is overwhelming and exhilarating. Red is always better dressed in black and white, where it could reigns properly, hide and shine gloriously, at the same time. It has been mastered and used by the greatest painters of all time. Red is the true colour of art.
Four strong artists from different backgrounds and generations are brought together today to stain the gallery with their own personal version of red. Antoni Tàpies, Edward Burtynsky, Jaume Plensa and João Onofre, who have had a strong and continuous presence at the gallery along its history. They are intense artists who have never been afraid to take space, mark their presence physically and engrave our imagination. Through their work, red – still a very manly colour – is revealed as a more cynical and rebellious colour. As the Christ transformed water in wine, here, water becomes nickel, blood is wine, paint is water and crystal is ink. Drama and death becomes beauty, passion is light and volatile, fatality is an opportunity and pessimism is the funniest way to start the day. This exhibition emphasizes on some dramatic perspectives, spiced up with some tricky transformative twists. Red resonates with new vibrations, nothing is what exactly what it seems to be. The human tragedy might inspires the best comedy.
And slowly, by contradiction, red may rises as the new pink. The colour of optimism and enthusiasm. Let’s not forget that today starts the Chinese’s New Year and use the occasion to celebrate even more. Since red is China’s favourite colour, where it brings good luck, and above all, prosperity, there is no better way than to start the new year with a large glass of red optimism…