Swab
By Daisy Bata
art by Nickolai Zhuk from High Gallery
The 11th edition of the Swab Barcelona Art Fair lands in the city this month. The work of over 300 established artists is coming from more than 60 galleries across the globe for the biggest art fair of the year.
Whether you’re looking for a casual browse of local, global and established artists, or you want to find that perfect picture for your parlor, you’re bound to find something you love, at prices that won’t strain your pockets. Featuring carefully curated selections from Catalan and Spanish artists, plus a whole host of illustration, fine art, street art and sculpture, this is the one-stop-shop to discover, peruse and be inspired.
You’re in for some local treats, as Swab is dedicated to boosting Catalan talent, including outside of the canvas with gastronomic delights, with the collaboration of elBulli Foundation. Opening the show are six Catalan artists, curated by Joan Morey, Inma Prieto and Alexandra Laudo.
Outside of local art, The Desert and the Cactus, curated by Omar López-Chahoud under the theme of preserving nature, features work from six prestigious galleries in New York, bringing us the best on the Brooklyn circuit. Joan Fontcuberta, Pep Vidal and Fito Conesa explore “the domestic in the feminine work, the emptiness as an artistic concept, the deconstruction of the landscape, and the eroticism of the work of the millennials” with young, emerging artists from the contemporary scene, and My First Art Fair sponsors three galleries in Portugal, Germany and Poland.
It’s clear that Swab is dedicated to supporting and empowering new and young artists, galleries and independent spaces, with the MYFAF and Seed programs, so you can expect some fresh new blood and radical, political work, with the first scholarship for three galleries in their first two years of opening.
No matter your taste, or the size of your wallet, you’re going to enjoy a long and luscious day of discovery, innovation and creation. And perhaps you’ll even walk away with a one of a kind, original piece of artwork – perfect for showing off your exquisite artistic taste to all of your friends.