JOSÉ MARÍA BARREIRO IN THE GALICIA CITY OF CULTURE​

November 30, 2023

Art, a ritual of revolution, a brushstroke that invokes hope at the edge of a blank canvas. Inspiration, an ancient melancholy that reinvents itself again and again in privileged minds, capable of reinterpreting the world. In the case of painter José María Barreiro, representation is the ultimate manifestation of freedom and the transformation of the vulgar into a transcendent work.

José María Barreiro, is a multifaceted artist: painter, sculptor, art collector, and a good and generous human being, author of the EDITORED Editors Congress Awards. His works reflect a singular expression of pure feelings, combining the colors of rain and earth to recreate a wide palette of emotions. More than a simple artist, he is a wise dilettante who ventures, also in music, song composition and interpretation, and poetry. His paintings are full of his daily life, with presences such as cities, bays, boats, cats, mermaids, gramophones, suns, moons, musical instruments, tangos and everyday objects that intertwine in plastic still lifes, a dance of strokes and colors, horizons framed by imagination.

The arrival of José María Barreiro to Santiago and to the City of Culture, as a star pilgrim, in a tribute exhibition to Carlos Oroza in his centenary, entitled “O silencio/ que chove luz/na xanela”, curated by Antón Castro and Pilar Corredoira, is an event that enriches the artistic legacy of the third Pilgrimage center of Christianity, with Jerusalem and Rome. The universal destination city, welcoming, young, university, has been the cradle of intellectuals and movements that led the modernization of Galician culture and is now the cradle of the largest, and in my opinion, the most complete review of the work of the artist from Forcarei.

With sixty years of artistic work, Barreiro has become a reference in Galician and world painting, with exhibitions in cities such as Paris, Buenos Aires, Chicago, Miami, Lisbon or Caracas, and his work is present in the Vatican collection and in collections in Egypt, USA, Mexico and other countries.

The artist arrives at the City of Culture as a humble walker, but as a beacon of creativity, illuminating spaces and minds with his unique approach and artistic depth. The works invite visitors to immerse themselves in a world of colors, emotions and experiences, where each stroke is a window to joy. From this new agora, Barreiro shares his unique vision, fusing melancholy and passion in each frame, bringing his transcendent imprint through the cultural landscape of 20th and 21st century Galicia.

To immerse oneself in Barreirismo is to embark on a voyage of discovery, a journey towards the historical avant-garde -Lugrís, Laxeiro, etc.-. In a magical way, everything becomes present in Gaias and is projected timelessly. It is precisely time that stops, returns and thrives in a whirlwind of sensations that awaken the senses and envelop the soul.

Each brushstroke of this painter is the expression of a subtle echo of experienced soul, of the essence of the painter living in Cela-Bueu.

We are before a testimony of his unwavering that will endure with its guiding light for generations to come, as a vibrant testimony of the transforming power of art; before a milestone in the artistic panorama of Galicia.

With Barreiro were the highest authorities of Galicia, headed by the Presidents of the Xunta and Parliament, Alfonso Rueda and Miguel Santalices, the Regional Minister of Culture, Roman Rodriguez, the Director General of Culture, Anxo Lorenzo, mayors as Brion, and a number of artists, the Gabarron, Cristobal and his wife, plus his son Cris, the most relevant art manager today; Ubeda, Moldes, Quintana Martelo, Acisclo Manzano, Carlos Rodriguez ….The event was attended by more than 300 people, including collectors, gallery owners, businessmen, journalists, writers and friends. A historic event for Galician art that we were beginning to need.

Alberto Barciela, Spanish journalist, is vice-president of EditoRed.

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