Barcelona Art Scene – Galeria Contrast

Last week I went to what could be Barcelona’s version of First Thursday. I’m used to the idea of galleries getting together and having opening parties the first Thursday of the month, an organized event. This concept and the organization that goes along with it is not a complete reality in Spain, but nevertheless, some Barcelona galleries do something close to it.

A friend and I went to two gallery openings last Thursday on a street which is lined with galleries. By 9pm, most of these galleries were closed except for three which had openings and a modest crowd of people there for the art and perhaps a few who were there simply for the free wine and crackers. We had been invited to Galeria Contrast, and it was there that we began out evening around 8pm.

The work on display was by Ramon Suau and will be up until mid April. Contemporary, Suau’s work was unique and filled with vibrant colors; his paintings resembling blurred digital photography or a more uniform take on impressionism. I liked them, which is after all, what really counts. Suau’s work also seemed to be cleverly targeted to ‘crisis-mode’ Spain. That is, Spain has been hit hard by the current global financial crisis, and the last thing on most people’s mind to buy is art (not that it was before either, but that’s another story).

So, the majority of Suau’s paintings were tiny; just small canvases perhaps measuring 12 x 6 inches. Each of these compact little beauties were going for a mere €200, which is a steal and also accessible at ‘times like these’. Though they were small, they were detailed and made quite an impact. I toyed with the idea of taking one home, but instead moved on to the next gallery down the street which was inaugurating an ‘installation’ which involved a lot of dry ice and a laser, begging one to ask that age-old question, ‘What is art?’ Decide for yourself at Galeria Contrast: www.galeriacontrast.com

Concell de Cent 281

08011 Barcelona