Barcelona MACBA (Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona)

The real show at the MACBA is the building itself, Richard Meier's cool iceberg of a museum sitting imperturbably amid the ceaseless scrape and clatter of skateboarders on the Plaça dels Àngels. While the museum has fattened up its holdings considerably since opening in 1995, the shows are often heavily political in concept and occasionally radical to the point of inaccessibility, and queues to enter are practically unheard of. Perhaps aware of this, the MACBA's new director, Bartomeu Marí, has expressed the desire to put the thrill back into art. Given, however, that Marí is an inside man, and formerly the museum's chief curator, the real excitement will probably continue to be the skaters outside.


The exhibits of the Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona cover the last 50 years or so; although there's no permanent collection as such, some of the works from the museum's holdings are usually on display. The earlier pieces are strong on artists such as Antonio Saura and Tàpies who were members of the Dau-al-Set, a group of radical writers and painters, much influenced by Miró, who kick-started the Catalan art movement after the post-Civil War years of cultural apathy. Jean Dubuffet and Basque sculptors Jorge Oteiza and Eduardo Chillida also feature. Works from the last 40 years are more global, with the likes of Joseph Beuys, Jean-Michel Basquiat, AR Penck and photographer Jeff Wall; the contemporary Spanish collection includes Catalan painting (Ferran García Sevilla, Miquel Barceló) and sculpture (Sergi Aguilar, Susana Solano). The Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelona MACBA's new director also wants to expand the museum's works from the 1980s and '90s. Shows include German pop artist Thomas Bayrle and Brazilian Cildo Meireles (Feb-Apr) and a retrospective of John Cage. During the summer months, the MACBA - Museu d'Art Contemporani de Barcelonastays open until midnight (€3.50 after 8pm) and offers guided tours of the exhibitions (8.30pm and 10pm).

Address

Plaça dels Àngels 1
Area Raval
Transport Metro Catalunya.
Telephone 93 412 08 10
Open last wk in June-Sept 24 11am-8pm Mon, Wed; 11am-midnight Thur, Fri; 10am-8pm Sat; 10am-3pm Sun. last wk in Sept-June 23 11am-7.30pm Mon, Wed-Fri; 10am-8pm Sat; 10am-3pm Sun. Guided tours (Catalan/Spanish) 6pm Wed, Sat; noon Sun.
Admission Permanent collection €3; €2 reductions. Permanent & temporary exhibitions €7.50; €6 reductions. Temporary exhibitions €4; €3 reductions. Wed €3.50.