Alzueta Gallery presents, in homage to the iconic Barcelona metro ticket that includes 10 journeys, the new project by artist Iván Franco as part of the T10 series of presentations, on display on the ground floor of Seneca Gallery.

There are artists, perhaps the majority, who strive daily for their work to come as close as possible to their original idea. It’s a race to achieve virtue, a constant and meticulous effort to express in forms, colors, and depths what they wish to convey. Others, however, go in the opposite direction: their goal is to distance themselves from the virtue they have been given, for they feel that it doesn’t lead them forward and that if they simply execute their work normally, they create pieces that do not depart from themselves—they are just reflections of an idea and a virtue, but not as real as they would like.

Iván Franco is one of the latter. We can probably dare to say that today he is one of the highest quality realist Spanish artists, a man of pictorial skill that borders on madness, the unthinkable, the impossible. But he, aware of the time in which he lives, of art history, and the need to evolve and contribute something new, fights against his own virtue, against his virtuosity, to connect with the most radical modernity and be an active part of the contemporary art of his time.

In this exhibition, small in format but enormous in concept, Franco offers us a misty and autumnal vision of the myth of New York. But instead of seeing the majestic and impressiveness of it, he reveals the invisible, the humid air that envelops life, the light of the rain, the texture of warm steam, and the heartbeats of life. This New York is the one you know when you live it, but here the artist has perceived it at first glance and has turned us not into mere observers of the painting but into real characters who walk through the park, open their umbrellas, and look at the neon light of Radio City Hall before heading to the Guggenheim. It is a domestic and loving New York, calm and pure love… Again, his struggle against virtue distances him from the clamor and brings him closer to reality, to real life.

08-07-2024 to 26-07-2024

Alzueta Gallery Barcelona Sèneca

C/ Sèneca 9-11, Int Bajos
08006 Barcelona

Tel: +34 93 238 97 50
info@alzuetagallery.com

Monday to Friday 09:00 – 14:00 / 16:00 – 19:00

Closed from August 1st to August 25th