Pep Girbent, Gabriel Pericàs, and Juan Giralt, with their respective exhibitions, take center stage at Galería Pelaires for a new edition of Art Palma Brunch, an event organized by Art Palma Contemporani, which will take place this Saturday from 11:00 AM to 2:00 PM.
Recent Paintings is the title of the first solo exhibition by Pep Girbent (Sóller, 1969) at Galería Pelaires. It consists of six recent large-format paintings, forming part of a series in which the artist revisits, from a contemporary perspective, a theme deeply embedded in painting tradition: the interior with a figure.
Girbent explains: "I see these paintings as a kind of iceberg tips that, in some way, propose my own exploration of the meaning of painting in the context of the 21st century—our era of the internet, and now also of Artificial Intelligence. A time with a set of rules that I sense are very different from those of modernity."
In his case, he adds, "the impulse that drives me is not a relentless pursuit of originality at all costs; I prefer to repeat, recreate, and vary. I really like the idea of creating within these narrow margins. And my method for creating these works has remained consistent throughout my career—a kind of recycling operation. I take images that are already aesthetically developed and, trusting in the power of painting, which transforms everything it touches, I turn them into something else. Into complex singularities that detach themselves into a different theater and present a new discourse. I also like to see these painted images as ones brimming with humanity, perhaps serving as a counterpoint to the digital image society that surrounds us today."
Ultimately, he concludes, "I aspire for this resulting singularity to have enough autonomy and complexity to set out on its own journey, to tell its own story."
Processionària is the title of the solo exhibition by Gabriel Pericàs (Palma, 1988) at Galería Pelaires, curated by Cristina Anglada. The exhibitions title refers to the pine processionary caterpillar (Thaumetopoea pityocampa), a type of moth larva that grows on conifers and whose appearance—occurring earlier each year due to climate change—is always a springtime event tinged with anxiety and social unease. These colorful creatures are covered in tiny, venomous hairs—some dogs have died after ingesting them due to the swelling they cause in their airways.
In Mallorca, their early arrival has caught security teams off guard, leading to drastic responses, such as shooting at and detonating the trembling silk nests where they develop before descending in their slow, coordinated procession—always in a line, connected by a silk thread.
Gabriel Pericàs artistic practice is based on articulate and persistent research covering a variety of themes—from saliva to lead, to bent wood. Whatever he focuses on becomes imbued with intrigue, activating, through a process akin to osmosis, our own curiosity and wonder via both discursive and material tools. He works with multiple sources, removing hierarchies, while engaging in a study that is both theoretical—his practice often incorporates performative lectures, writing, and editing publications of like-minded artists—and rooted in personal memory and hands-on experimentation in the studio. His works are the formal result of executing protocols; that is, his pieces materialize from analytical processes.
Juan Giralt (Madrid, 1940-2007) was one of the most compelling and unique artists of the generation that marked the turn of the century in Spain. A virtuoso of color, resistant to solemnity, and inclined toward humor and metapictorial play, he exhibited from a young age a desire for exploration, avoiding stereotypes and rigid classifications, which led him to experiment with diverse artistic languages.
In filum is Juan Giralts first solo exhibition in Palma (he had previously participated in group exhibitions, the first being at Pelaires in 1973 in homage to Miró). Curated by Marta Rincón and Marcos Giralt, the exhibition, hosted in Pelaires Cabinet space, serves as a brief introduction to the artists work. For coherence, nine works from a very specific period—the early 1990s—have been selected. This was the beginning of his artistic maturity, a time when he moved beyond the dichotomies of abstraction versus figuration or analysis versus gesture that had characterized earlier stages of his career. He decisively embraced a hybrid approach.
On one hand, the exhibition presents three large acrylic paintings on canvas, in which stereotyped landscapes and other recognizable elements subtly emerge from compositions that are predominantly abstract. On the other hand, in the gallery office, four works—including canvases and paper pieces—show his use of collage in a painterly manner. His work is "painting on the wire", constructed in plain view, marked by synthesis and reconciliation of opposites—intellectual and cool, yet at the same time deeply emotional.
