War and (Art) Piece
15/01/2011
A free art route links two old Barcelona neighbourhoods—la Ribera and Barceloneta—using sculpture and installations to commemorate their historical association, forged in 1714 from Catalonia’s defeat in the War of the Spanish Succession.
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Caged in the rain
06/10/2010
Taking a free stroll along Barceloneta’s Passeig Marítim, you might miss seeing one of the artworks in the exhibition Configuracions urbanes [Urban Configurations], unless you are guided where to look. It is Una habitació on sempre plou [A Room Where It Is Always Raining, 1992] by Madrid artist, Juan Muñoz.
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A star’s injured past
05/10/2010
Many sculptures in this free guide around Poble Nou and along Barcelona’s beaches are the result of the urban development undertaken for the 1992 Olympic Games. Eight installations of particular value were unveiled under the exhibition title Configuracions urbanes [Urban Configurations]. This is the case of l’Estel ferit [The Injured Star, 1992] by Rebecca Horn.
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A well-loved couple
16/09/2010
On an unguided stroll around the port, you’re likely to come across this congruent couple by Chilean artist Lautaro Díaz, another photo favourite for those interested in the free sculpture which Barcelona beaches have to offer.
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Comic relief where Columbus set sail
13/09/2010
A perfect place to start your art tour along the beaches as well as being a sculpture mentioned in many Barcelona guides is Barcelona’s Head by North-American pop artist Roy Lichtenstein.
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Marieta of those lively eyes
03/07/2010
Barcelona’s Montjuïc Mountain will unearth a trove of art. It has always been a popular excursion for the residents of Sants and Poble Sec neighbourhoods, its free mineral springs attracting large Sunday picnic crowds throughout the nineteenth and twentieth centuries. The mountain is dotted with many of these springs—works of art themselves—but none so renowned as the Font del Gat [spring of the cat] in the Laribal Gardens.
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In search of the perfect backdrop
16/06/2010
Our route of free art continues from David and Goliath, to the nearby plaça dels Voluntaris, where Robert Llimós’s sculpture Frame, like Botero’s Cat, attracts constant attention: kids to clamber over it and couples to pose for the typical Barcelona snapshot. Yet its inauguration attracted no less controversy.
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No longer an alley cat
08/06/2010
If you want to see Fernando Botero’s art for free in Barcelona, head for the Rambla del Raval, where it’s clear his sculpture now belongs to the people. This ponderous tomcat’s Cheshire smile acts as a magnet of Columbian charm, inviting both adults and kids from the neighbourhood to swarm all over his heavy form.
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A monument to the little people
08/06/2010
It’s big, it’s Barcelona and it’s free. Antoni Llena’s “David & Goliath” is a sculpture representing the struggle for freedom of expression in an urban planning context. Preparation for the 1992 Olympic Games, which began radically to transform the cityscape from the late 80s onwards, appeared to many as a Council-controlled juggernaut, smashing many of the city’s emblematic spaces.
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The Kiss of Death
04/06/2010
Welcome to the city of the dead. No admission charged. In the current times of crisis a visit to Poble Nou Cemetery is a free if slightly morbid excursion for a sunny day. Pick up an itinerary at the gate, which will offer you a route through this necropolis of neo-Gothic and neoclassical extravagance.
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