Robert Barry parks in Barcelona

Parking is the new contemporary art space that opens its doors in Barcelona and transforms a parking lot into an artistic experience. In the middle of Carrer de París, 206, in Barcelona, from November 7, Robert Barry (New York, 1936) will deploy his work 'THE REAL THING' in this unusual space, which will operate 24 hours a day, 7 days of the week, all year.

This parking lot converted into a gallery is an initiative of Moishan Gaspar , the former director of the Gaspar Foundation , who now assumes the programming direction of this ambitious project, a space that invites you to rethink art from unusual places. The idea of placing contemporary art in a parking lot puts tension on the concept of conventional exhibition space and aims to incorporate art into the everyday sphere.

'THE REAL THING' is a piece curated by Mathieu Copeland that synthesizes Barry's decades of experimentation with language. Starting from his conceptual research started in the sixties, Barry confronts here two very recognizable phrases: «TO BE OR NOT TO BE...» and «IT'S THE REAL THING...». These affirmations, almost slogans of contemporary culture, merge into a large-format work that covers the wall with a monochrome red. A visual impact between art and advertising that evokes deep questions about what art really is, what it means to be and what is true in the act of creating.

Barry is one of the great names of minimalism and a pioneer in conceptual art. A graduate of Hunter College, he began by exploring physical phenomena – such as electromagnetic fields and ultrasonic frequencies – until reaching the more immaterial terrain of language and silence. With 'THE REAL THING', Barry continues to investigate the invisible connections between art, perception and words, filling the words he suggests in his works with meaning. Museums such as the MoMA, the Center Georges Pompidou and the Guggenheim preserve his work. The exhibition is also the prelude to the publication of his first comprehensive monograph, entitled Robert Barry, The Defining Of It…, which will arrive in 2025. This work is a tribute to the career of an artist who has redefined art conceptual through the simplicity and boldness of the words.

'Gold circle', Robert Barry (2016)