Barceló 1973–1982. Before Barceló

This exhibition catalogue traces the formative years of Miquel Barceló, capturing the intensity of his pre-canonical period between 1973 and 1982, before his entry into the institutional mainstream. Produced on ultra-thin, almost Bible-like stock — closer to a telephone directory than an art book — its texture alone signals that this is not a conventional monograph. The vivid yellow and black palette unmistakably echoes the Páginas Amarillas, the Spanish Yellow Pages of the pre-digital era, grounding the book in a specific cultural memory of analogue search and discovery. Some pages arrive already softened and bent at the corners — a result of the fragile, papery weight — as if the book itself had been handled in a past life. This is entirely appropriate for a volume devoted to the anti-academic, impulsive early work of Barceló, marked by conceptual gestures, punkish detritus, and experimental forms. With texts by Magalí Arriola and Alain Mousseigne, and rich archival photography by Agustí Torres and Jean-Marie del Moral, the catalogue unfolds as a document of an artist before myth, when everything was still in flux.

Technical Sheet
Title: Barceló 1973–1982. Abans de Barceló / Antes de Barceló / Avant Barceló / Before Barceló
Artist / Author: Miquel Barceló
Date: 2009
Technique / Printing Method: Offset
Medium / Materials: Softcover, ultra-thin paper
Dimensions (cm): approx. 23 × 30
Language: Catalan, Spanish, French, English
Pages: Unnumbered (approx. 200)
Publisher / Editor: Galaxia Gutenberg / Círculo de Lectores; Fundació Pilar i Joan Miró, Les Abattoirs, Arts Santa Mònica
ISBN: 978-84-8109-823-5
Condition: Very Good