Intersections: Bernardí Roig, No/Escape

Mallorcan artist Bernardí Roig installs six sculptural works in unexpected interior and exterior spaces, challenging visitors to rethink the definition of the museum.

Bernardí Roig (b. 1965) participates in the contemporary art projects series Intersections at The Phillips Collection. Roig draws parallels between his and Honoré Daumier’s works, both of which offer poignant social commentary.

Roig addresses the existential dualities of entrapment and liberation, blinding and illumination, absence and presence. Typical of the artist’s work are the cruel-looking white plaster figures cast from real people, often cornered or crushed against walls or twisting in pain. By including the element of light —whether a single light bulb, neon tubes, or fluorescent lights— Roig’s work blends minimalist forms with highly charged expressions of anxiety and loneliness.

Intersections

Intersections is a series of contemporary art projects that explores —as the title suggests— the intriguing intersections between old and new traditions, modern and contemporary art practices, and museum spaces and artistic interventions. Whether engaging with the permanent collection or diverse spaces in the museum, the projects suggest new relationships with their own surprises. Many of the projects also riff on the nontraditional nature of the museum’s galleries, sometimes activating spaces that are not typical exhibition areas with art produced specifically for those locations.

The exhibition will be accompanied by a catalog with color illustrations and text by Barbara Rose and Vesela Sretenovic, Senior Curator of Modern and Contemporary Art, as well as an interview between the artist and the curator.

In conjunction with this exhibition, The Phillips Collection and SPAIN arts & culture present the event Entrapped in Mallorca with Intersections artist Bernardí Roig on Saturday, October 25th, from 9 pm to 12 pm, at the Former Residence of the Ambassadors of Spain. Learn more about this celebration and get your tickets.