Per Barclay’s ‘Fluido’ installation… oil change at the CAC Málaga Centre for Contemporary Art

Norwegian artist Per Barclay (Oslo, 1955) has flooded the main gallery of the city’s prestigious CAC Málaga art museum with 7,000 litres of oil, creating a conceptual installation that wouldn’t look out of place at the Tate Modern or New York’s MoMA.

Entitled ‘Fluido’, the exhibit – which takes the form of a trapezoidal PVC tank measuring 23 metres long and filled to a depth of 5cm with black-tinted sunflower oil – has been specifically designed for the CAC Málaga, with the opaque liquid reflecting the structure of the building as if it were a vast mirror.

“The first impression a visitor gets is that of seeing a smooth, dark, elegant surface which seems very simple,” says Barclay. “Yet at the same time, a sense of depth is created, giving visitors both a sensation of ambiguity and vertigo.”

Per Barclay’s works have been exhibited at the MGM Gallery (Oslo), the Fondazione Merz (Turin), the Palacio de Cristal at the Museo Nacional Centro de Arte Reina Sofía (Madrid), and many other prestigious galleries and museums around the world. He is particularly well-known for his ‘Oil Rooms’ installations revealing his interest in space and the way of occupying and completely filling it.

“This aspect of his work reveals Edvard Munch’s influence on the artist, whose installations arouse emotions such as anxiety, fear of death and love,” explains Fernando Francés, CAC Málaga director. “Even when using other liquids – engine oil, water, blood or wine – Barclay creates a tension that shatters any sense of calm.”

Per Barclay exhibited his first work in Norway in 1984 and currently lives in Turin and Oslo.

The ‘Fluido’ exhibition runs until 4 September 2012 at the CAC Málaga Centro de Arte Contemporáneo

 

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