Swab Barcelona Art Fair
October 5 - October 8 2023
It was a pleasure to have had the opportunity to participate in the 16th edition of Swab Barcelona with a solo project by the multidisciplinary artist Carlos Herraiz.
Herraiz presented a continuation of his ongoing exploration with archived textiles from diverse origins, first exhibited in ‘MUDA’, our first joint project in the city of Barcelona; and for him, a welcome departure from the feeling or rigidity and restriction he had been feeling with painting. Through his textile installation, and the myriad processes he reconnected with to create the pieces (sewing, embroidering, braiding, linking, and painting), he felt he was able to build a metaphorical bridge to weave his personal narrative with the collective.
Through this process of discovery he has been experiencing, he was able to return to painting with a fresh perspective, and to approach it with a renewed sense of courage. He wanted to find a way to unify his archaeological-sculptural explorations with the medium that has come to define his practice.
The resulting works are a testament of the connection of the two. He continued to draw from the textile archive from which the works of ‘MUDA’ were created. The canvases upon which they rest have undergone a long and slow process of transformation; being painted throughout the day, only to be painted over again, altered, ripped, or torn, by the end of it.
We were extremely proud to have reached such an important milestone as participating in our first international fair, and were deeply greatful with the Swab Barcelona committee for their trust in selecting Studio Beta for their ‘Seed’ program. It is a global showcase of independent galleries that share experimentation as a common denominator, and want to shake up the contemporary scene.
Herraiz presented a continuation of his ongoing exploration with archived textiles from diverse origins, first exhibited in ‘MUDA’, our first joint project in the city of Barcelona; and for him, a welcome departure from the feeling or rigidity and restriction he had been feeling with painting. Through his textile installation, and the myriad processes he reconnected with to create the pieces (sewing, embroidering, braiding, linking, and painting), he felt he was able to build a metaphorical bridge to weave his personal narrative with the collective.
Through this process of discovery he has been experiencing, he was able to return to painting with a fresh perspective, and to approach it with a renewed sense of courage. He wanted to find a way to unify his archaeological-sculptural explorations with the medium that has come to define his practice.
The resulting works are a testament of the connection of the two. He continued to draw from the textile archive from which the works of ‘MUDA’ were created. The canvases upon which they rest have undergone a long and slow process of transformation; being painted throughout the day, only to be painted over again, altered, ripped, or torn, by the end of it.
We were extremely proud to have reached such an important milestone as participating in our first international fair, and were deeply greatful with the Swab Barcelona committee for their trust in selecting Studio Beta for their ‘Seed’ program. It is a global showcase of independent galleries that share experimentation as a common denominator, and want to shake up the contemporary scene.
