La Galería Canem Presenta: "Res és el que sembla" de Antoni Marquès

The current exhibition at the Galería Cànem is a selection of my artwork from the last two years. One of the pieces displayed in the show gives the name to the exhibition, “Res és el
que sembla” - Nothing is what it seems - a purposefully unambiguous title, and the same ambiguity flows throughout the exhibition.

Inspired by several art forms such as plastic arts, literature, poetry, cinema, music or eroticism, my aim is to create an artwork capable of creating annoyance with its complex interpretation. I believe that if a piece of art can be explained there is no need to create it. Therefore, the incoherence, the ambiguity and the provocation of the established taste are
basic parts of my work. Only when putting everything at risk it is fair to create art.
The exhibition has an autobiographical component as I have included some of my family photos, a very old one of my great-great-grandmother, another one of my son, as well as
an image of the Ecole des Beaux-Arts of Paris where I did my studies and many art catalogues from ARCO. I have also included some elements from my studio, a stool and an armchair, along with some personal objects: tableware, the back of a chair or a toilet seat. There are also two oil paintings: a mountain landscape of Pedraforca, one of the most emblematic summits in Catalonia, and a seascape of the town of Llançà in the Costa Brava. Both paintings were painted by my uncle and were at my parents' house. There is also a small reproduction of an icon from the 14th century “Crucifix” measuring 30 x 22 cm. The original is 120 x 100 cm and can be seen at the Byzantine Museum in Athens.

The original photos have been enlarged and retouched. However I have included a perturbing element which distorts the original image, suggesting new and different
interpretations in order to create a new piece. This element reminds of a type of doorknob, from different sizes, made of plaster and painted with shellac, both art materials I usually
work with. The shape comes from my old works called “Penetrable” (Penetrables), holes on a flat surface similar to the the four pieces in relief made of polyester resin of different
colours, under the name of “Active Life” (Vida Activa). The doorknobs are the result of filling the space with plaster. They don't the job of opening or closing, even less of pulling, so they are just a distorting element which interferes or conceals the image or the object under it. Some of the pieces are provocative on purpose, for example one that simulates a bench in a museum, but with a large amount of very thin electrical cables, covered with a lid of transparent methacrylate and with one of my shoes underneath. Another piece of art is a tribute to the work of Ubu Roj by Alfred Jarry, to the first word of the play, with the exclamation - Merde - with a washing-up bowl and a painting with its content. The exhibition is presented a year and a half after planned as I suffered a serious fall and broke my feet. It is the representation of my foot resting on an old stool, “reminding of an ex-voto”, according to Pilar Dolz.

October 6, 2017 (Republic Day) / January 2, 2019
Antoni Marqués, Sabadell,1956.
He studied at the Massana School of Barcelona, at the Ecole Nationale Supérieure de Beaux-Arts of Paris and also in Prague. He has had solo exhibitions a the Museum of Sculpture Fundació Vila Casas, at the Art Center Tecla Sala, Hospitalet de Llobregat, at the Sabadell Art Museum, at the Gallery Moriary in Madrid, Gallery Cànem in Castellón, Gallery Balaguer in Barcelona, Gallery Berini in Barcelona, Gallery Cavecanem in Sevilla, Gallery My Name's Lolita in Valencia, Gallery Fucares in Almagro, Gallery Buades in Madrid, at the French Institute in Barcelona, at the Centre Régional des Oeuvres Universitaires in Paris and the Lecture Centre in Reus, Tarragona. Besides many group shows in Spain and abroad, his artwork is now public and private collections such as the Hubert Neumann Collection in New York, the Collection of Contemporary Art of the Fundació La Caixa in Barcelona, Museum of Sculpture Fundació Vila Casas in Palafurgell, Gerona, the Coca-Cola Collection in Madrid, Fine Arts Museum in Alava, Vitoria, Art Museum in Sabadell, Rafael Tous Collection in Barcelona, Sabadell Bank Collection, Universidad Autónoma of Barcelona, Art Center Tecla Sala, Hospitalet de Llobregat. Some of his scultpures are displayed in public spaces, at The Fundación Caixa Sabadell, Valle de Hecho in Huesca and at the Town Hall of Sabadell at the Parque
de Cataluña. Galeria Cànem.- Antonio Maura, 6.- 12001 Castelló de la Plana.- Spain

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