Cristóbal Gabarrón in Cannes

The Gabarron Foundation presents Cristóbal Gabarrón: Mille Formes à la conquête de l´espace (A thousand forms in the conquest of space) from July 2 until September 25, 2016.

Cristóbal Gabarrón in Cannes

This summer the leading Spanish artist, painter and sculptor Cristóbal Gabarrón (Mula, Murcia, Spain 1945) invades the city of Cannes with his major retrospective Mille formes à la conquête de l'espace (A thousand forms in the conquest of space). Formed by over 200 artworks, the exhibit is taking place in ten popular locations such as the Centre d'art La Malmaison, La Croisette, or Le Suquet, among others.

Cristóbal Gabarrón picks up where earlier generations of painters like Antoni Tàpies (1923–2012) and Antonio Saura (1930–1998) left off. Due to its modernity, his paintings and sculptures contribute to the present cultural debate in museology. Hence, he is an active participant in current trends. His work evolves to abstraction mainly based on transformation of the human being. He addresses life, death, justice, peace, and war.

Accordingly, the city and museums of Cannes are bringing a major retrospective exhibition with his artworks that can be seen for the first time ever in both public places and museums across the city. It seems they were waiting for some of the pieces at the Ville Domergue. As if these artworks used to belong in these gardens designed by the artist Jean-Gabriel Domergue. However, it seems some other pieces were coming to Espace Miramar, dedicated to photography and visual arts. Or maybe going straight ahead to the port de plaisance. Still, his monumental pieces go beyond the landscapes in which they are installed, as they are conceived by an artist who, deep in his heart, is overall a traveler.

The show includes 67 monumental sculptures, which will be installed in the streets of Cannes as public art; 41 sculptures at museums; over 80 ceramic pieces and nine paintings—all large-size canvases. One of the highlights is the debut of the painting Cain's Altarpiece, oil and pigment on canvas, measuring 4 x 24 meters. One of the sculptures featured is an installation made for the Cannes International Film Festival, to mark the 100-year anniversary of Nobel Laureate Camilo José Cela's birth, May 11, 1916: Homage to Cinema, with Camilo José Cela in the background. This is a steel and polychrome fiberglass sculpture standing 7.25 meters high