Annette Barcelo
Annette Barcelo: «BELLEZZE», Exhibition view
Image credits: Leah Studinger
Annette Barcelo: «BELLEZZE», Exhibition view
Image credits: Leah Studinger
Annette Barcelo: «BELLEZZE», Exhibition view
Image credits: Leah Studinger
Annette Barcelo: «BELLEZZE», Exhibition view
Image credits: Leah Studinger
Annette Barcelo’s (*1943) spontaneous strokes and distinctive figuration resist easy classification and canonization. She insists that her painterly language remain open and uncategorized. Her approach to the female body is marked by functionality and transience, closely connected to the processes of birth and to the self-image of a woman challenging the patriarchal structures of the Swiss art world of the 1980s.
Barcelo’s work gives rise to a unique universe inhabited by almost mystical figures. Over the course of her practice, she has developed a personal bestiary populated by eerie creatures, witch-priestesses, chimeras, and a wide range of animal forms. Hovering between life and death, these figures seem to possess a particular power over mortality and rebirth. At times, they appear as substitutes for human figures and relationships, yet the female body remains at the heart of Barcelo’s visual vocabulary and is present in almost every work.
Spanning more than five decades, Barcelo’s largely self-taught artistic practice encompasses painting, drawing, and printmaking. She frequently works in series, exploring the connections between different spheres of life: birth and death, flora and fauna, and diverse mythologies. Across these shifting forms and narratives, Barcelo has developed a distinctive visual language that is at once visceral, poetic, and enigmatic.
Her work has been widely exhibited at institutions and galleries including Haus der Kunst Uri, Galerie Anne de Villepoix in Paris, Galleria Madragoa in Lisbon, TANK in Basel, and the Aargauer Kunsthaus in Aarau. Most recently, her work was presented at the Kunsthalle Karlsruhe. Annette Barcelo lives and works in Basel.
CV
Exhibitions, Fairs & Projects
Available works
Annette Barcelo: “Bild-Installation”, 2026, Acrylic on Cardboard, 35 parts, total: 123 × 118 cm
Image credits: Thomas Dettwiler
Annette Barcelo: “Muttertier”, 2006, Acrylic on Canvas, 70 × 50 cm
Image credits: Thomas Dettwiler
Annette Barcelo: “Untitled”, 2007, Acrylic on Canvas, 61 × 50 cm
Image credits: Thomas Dettwiler
Annette Barcelo: “Äffchen”, 2008, Acrylic on Canvas, 24 × 30 cm
Image credits: Thomas Dettwiler
Annette Barcelo: Portrait, 2024, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 40 x 30 cm
Annette Barcelo: Portrait 1, 2024, Acrylic and mixed media on canvas, 40 x 30 cm
Annette Barcelo: “Es geht auch so 3”, 2023, Oil and acrylic behind glass, 25 × 30 cm
Annette Barcelo: “Es geht auch so 2”, 2023, Oil and acrylic behind glass, 25 × 30 cm
Annette Barcelo: “Es geht auch so 1”, 2023, Oil and acrylic behind glass, 25 × 30 cm
