Art in Motion

Bouncing at the knees to live music, Carmen Galofre enters the back room of her expansive gallery to offer a special night of art in motion. The Espai Carmen Galofre gallery is conveniently located at the crossroad of Rambla Catalunya and Consell de Cent in L’Eixample, Barcelona.

In attendance today are musicians Ariel Vigo on the sax, Martin Simon on trumpet, Jordi Griso and Oriol Gonzalez on keyboard and drums respectively. There’s also a full house of local and international music and art lovers, and four debuting saxophonists, promising quite a night.

With her palette and canvas of brown paper readied for painting, Carmen begins observing the scene. She’s also being observed by the crowd who is already immersed the first set. Everyone is enjoying the wine, company and humor of the musicians, in a unique blend of entertainment and art forms.

With no less than six to a dozen paintbrushes in hand at any time, and sometimes one between her teeth, Carmen proceeds to capture the essence of each musician’s face and the tones and gestures of their art in motion. With swathes and strokes of color, still images emerge almost as if in motion themselves. Scenes develop through the gradual addition of detail to each face and form, in unison with the sound of each instrument as it comes to the fore.

Brush handles clank to the rhythm as Carmen jazzes to the music

The sound of brush strokes on paper and canvas are heard intermingling with the music and clapping. The faces on paper start taking on life with each new block of dark color and line of light as the artist connects with the musicians. Stroke by stroke, song by song, Carmen captures the connection between their respective music and instruments.

Changing papers and canvas in between sets, Carmen paints five or six different pieces. This is more than the usual number, she tells me after the concert. In keeping with the gallery’s variety of artists, teachings and art forms, the introduction of new talent delights and captivates the crowd’s attention. Four new musical artists debut their skills during the performance, joined by their teacher in residence, Ariel Vigo. They introduce the crowd to the amazing world and range of the saxophone as few have witnessed. Five saxophonists playing together and yet each distinct certainly impresses and delights us in unexpected ways. The crowd claps loudly in turn as the painter paints and the musicians play. The room becomes standing room only.

Book-ended with snacks, fine wine and enjoyable conversation with the artists and attendees, one almost forgets they’re in a gallery. At least the normal notion of a gallery as a place one visits during the day to appreciate art in relatively solitary silence. In this gallery tonight, art is alive. The artists are vibrantly expressive and the audience is fully engaged in the process.

Capturing the essence

The aliveness and enjoyment in the atmosphere brings me forward, out of my thoughts of time and place. The gradual development of a still image in painting, emerging from the constant motion of a musician in action, lends itself to a necessity to capture the essence—the essential.  The capturing, pointing to, eliciting, and enjoying the essential nature of being is what the art, staff, teachers and artists, workshops, concerts and other activities at Espai Carmen Galofre are all about.

If you’d like to know more about the events offered in this space, check out their website at the link below or you can also just stop by. They invite you to come meet the staff and see the wonderful works from various Barcelona artists for sale. You will find pottery, jewelry, paintings and sculpture. You can also learn about their many other offerings, including classes and workshops in painting, astrology, music, morphopsychology and art history. Additionally, they offer group and private coaching classes for people interested in improving their life experience. Some if not all the staff at the gallery speak English, as well as Spanish, Catalan, and possibly other languages as well. So don’t feel shy to join in the conversation!

Concerts tend to happen here about once per month and the next big event is a 3-day Creativity Weekend. It’s open to all (artists and human beings simply creating the life they were meant for alike)—on May 25-27, 2018.

The Espai’s current address: Carrer del Consell de Cent 331, Barcelona

Hours:

Websites

Gallery site: espaicarmengalofrebarcelona

The artist: carmengalofre.com

Lead Musician: arielvigo.com

Upcoming “Creativity Weekend” Event: humanfactorinstitute.com