30 Years of a Gallery – Constructing the Story Day by Day

A gallery is a dialogue, a conversation, a question, a space for debate and interaction, a door open to reflection. It is a space to question meanings, to enter a world which may be irreverent and to shake it up. It is a place which can transgress, which can challenge routines and inertias. We want a gallery which is a transformative space and which follows the lead of the artists that it represents. To achieve this, we want to maintain its innovative, rebellious, revolutionary spirit, with new ideas and outlooks, with new interpretations, uncovering history and writing the future. There are obviously many possible stories, but we firmly believe in a narrative break, in the strength of the origin, in memory and in stressing tradition and, from there, innovating with freedom and boldness. Ours is a space which continues to value the radicals of its time, those who dared to experiment. With these artists, it is not just necessary to open your eyes; you must open your mind. We want to take up their legacy, which for us is a source of inspiration and constant searching.

 

The Mayoral gallery was created in 1989, the year in which our parents founded a space in Consell de Cent 286, in the historic centre of the Eixample district of Barcelona, with the aim of bringing a gallery project to fruition. We are truly grateful for the effort that they made to develop the art gallery and to give us the opportunity to take over the family business, which we have seen being created, growing, and which we love so much. Over these 30 years, the gallery has organized numerous exhibitions,published publications and participated in fairs around the world, always with the goal of promoting our culture.

 

We start from the consideration that looking at our past from the present entails re-reading, making new interpretations, dusting off what may be outdated viewpoints, revising, converting into contemporary a past which does not have to be remote, but rather a living memory, useful for the present. This is undoubtedly also one of our main challenges: to connect with new audiences and for the history of art to go beyond the people of today. We believe that the best way to value history is to keep it alive. What is important is for this historical art to continue to be current. We are aware of the difficulty of making this possible, and we are therefore convinced that a clear commitment to bringing talent together is necessary. Curators, critics, art historians, collectors, artists and their legacies, museums, foundations, collaborators, etc., all bring us this essential talent, day by day, project by project. It would not be possible to discover or rediscover artists with new outlooks without the involvement of the best, without working side-by-side with all of them, always appreciating their contribution.

 

Constructing the gallery’s story is a challenge which we confront with great enthusiasm about the present and about the future. We are aware of the dedication required and that, at the end of the day, of each project or of each fair, we will assess the work undertaken in order to ensure constant improvement. We believe that commitment and a passion for the work that we undertake are the combination necessary to be able to lead the gallery project that we have in hand. We must be alert to changes without losing our identity; we must continue to evolve while being the gallery in which we believe and which we love. We work enthusiastically, with real conviction in the work carried out, in order to ensure that the art from our country is increasingly well-known, recognized and appreciated.

 

And we want even more. More challenges, more questions, more exhibitions, more projects. In the face of complacency and repetition, we need to seek new paths and, for this, we perceive a future in which pioneering creators will be our inspiration. We still have many pages to write, on which poetry, philosophy and a free spirit must be the beacons which guide us. We have been learning for 30 years and we want to continue to flee conventionalism and monotony, developing research and broadening the lines of investigation.