BARCELONA, SPAIN.- The Joan Miró Foundation presents “Pigments and Pixels”, the new cycle of exhibitions in the Espai 13 consisting once again of works by artists from Le Fresnoy, Studio national des arts contemporains in Tourcoing (France). Marie-Thérèse Champesme, exhibition curator, and Pascale Pronnier, head of exhibitions at Le Fresnoy, will again be selecting the works on show this season.

The Espai 13 is the space in the Foundation devoted to young artists doing experimental work. This is also the kind of work fostered by Le Fresnoy, an innovative centre that focuses on an interdisciplinary, exploratory approach that encourages students to go beyond the artistic languages that are still the tradition today – film, photography, video, sound and music – and express themselves through the universe of contemporary technologies: multimedia and digital arts.

Throughout the history of art there have often been artists who took inspiration from the works of past authors or reinterpreted them. Although the artists participating in the cycle use new digital technologies, many of them are familiar through their training with drawing and painting, which often form the basis for their projects. They have a knowledge of the past and of their predecessors, so they are able to profit from earlier technical discoveries and frequently use traditional themes adapted to contemporary language and media.

The curators have called the cycle “Pigments and Pixels” in order to establish this relationship between the minimal pictorial element and the minimal element of the digital language.

Fabien Giraud (France) is showing a piece that could be considered to have references to the Romantic artists; Gregg Smith (South Africa) is equally at home in video and painting; Carolina Saquel (Chile) seeks inspiration in Joan Miró’s art; Antonia Armelina Fritche (France) looks anew at such a classic theme as la toilette; Sebastien Caillat (France) finds his inspiration in the world of Edvard Munch; Cyprien Dedeurwaerder Quairiat (France) analyses the viewer’s role in art; and finally, the Qubo Gas group (France) combine digital techniques with mural painting.

In order to help viewers to get a better understanding of the whole cycle, for the first time we are offering them the opportunity to buy a season ticket for the five exhibitions in Pigments and Pixels at a cost of €8.00, which includes a DVD containing a summary of the 2004-2005 cycle.