We've spent days trudging around the streets and galleries of Barcelona trying to take in as much as possible. In Barcelona, almost everything is beautiful, to the point where it's almost wearing. Anyway, a few things we noticed about art in Barcelona:-Barcelona seems to place a great deal more value on its art than London. Art is everywhere there. Even if you don't go to a gallery, it's impossible to avoid it. Mosaics by Miro (see above) are trampled upon by locals and tourists alike on Las Ramblas. The art in cafes and restaurants is worth looking at. An act of folly like the Sagrada Familia would just never get built in Britain.
-Britain lacks galleries which focus on specific artists and do them justice. For example, Barcelona has three superb galleries focusing on Miro, Picasso and Tapies. Three great Spanish artists given the in depth treatment they deserve in spaces that aim to show their work in the best way possible and to teach the visitor something about them at the same time. Why is there not a permanent Lucien Freud gallery or a Francis Bacon gallery in London covering them in the same depth?
-We visited MACBA (see inset), the relatively new gallery which had a huge exhibition on French and American artists in the post-war years. A short walk around made us realise the true poverty of our nearest comparison, Tate Modern. The Tate just doesn't have enough of the 20th century's best arti
sts. A few of the least interesting Rothkos, a limited Pollock, a few Picassos that don't show any of his variety or depth. It isn't enough. Tate Modern is a fun place to visit but doesn't half show a lot of crap. MACBA showed a true variety of work in a logical, insightful way. The permanent selection at Tate Modern hasn't a tenth of the ambition and range we saw there.
-We visited MACBA (see inset), the relatively new gallery which had a huge exhibition on French and American artists in the post-war years. A short walk around made us realise the true poverty of our nearest comparison, Tate Modern. The Tate just doesn't have enough of the 20th century's best arti
sts. A few of the least interesting Rothkos, a limited Pollock, a few Picassos that don't show any of his variety or depth. It isn't enough. Tate Modern is a fun place to visit but doesn't half show a lot of crap. MACBA showed a true variety of work in a logical, insightful way. The permanent selection at Tate Modern hasn't a tenth of the ambition and range we saw there.All the above isn't to say that one city is better than the other. London has a truly world class arts scene and we saw only the big galleries of Barcelona with no chance to investigate the arts scene equivalent of East London or anything outside the city. But it helped to mark out London's strengths and weaknesses. Anyway, enough rambling-we're off to search for more beautiful things for unpretentious people.
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