Provenance: Private collection Switzerland.

Miquel Barceló’s pictorial cosmos thrives on a wealth of nuances of aesthetic and content-related elements, of material and form. Inspired by various cultures, his works reflect his own heritage, appearing at once eternal and archaic, synthetic and organic. Barceló regularly moulds oranges, melons, tomatoes and artichokes from the pictorial support itself. He transforms fruits of the earth into still lifes with adobe, earth, clay, sand and oil colours. The very process of forming, kneading and painting are always perceptible in the final product. “Le Vase avec Oranges” shows the connection of earth and water with Mallorca, his homeland, which are constantly recurring themes in his work.

The artist directs our gaze to the voluminous vase and powerful oranges. The objects in Barceló’s works often dominate the entire picture surface. Plasticity is accentuated through the shaded areas. The oranges appear to bulge outwards; the strong orange of the fruit takes on a sensual note on the dark and rough background. The table indicates a spatial factor. The entire still life is given a dynamic property through the painted colour and the sand which themselves become a theme – areas of colour of a crusty, loamy character. It is the tactile nature of the painting material which dominates in the work of Miquel Barceló.