News

Tres, an eloquent silence

The Virreina presents a unique exhibition dedicated to the career of the multi-faceted artist Tres, who died just one year ago at the age of 60

Good musicians are very clear that in music, the silences are almost more important than the sounds or the notes. The silences, as in human relationships, can mean many things. Tres, the pseudonym of an artist who never wanted his real name known, made this very clear and he based his entire career, which began in the mid-80s, on the concept of silence, a concept which spread like an oil slick over a multitude of artistic expressions, from painting and sculpture to the performing arts, books, music, photography and installations.

Tres, born in Barcelona in 1956, died prematurely from lung cancer last October. Never a famous artist, not even among the more discreet art sector, his work, full of silences instead, spoke for him.

An artist in the manner that he found the balance between art and life, Tres never had a retrospective exhibition while alive. Now, a few months after his death the Virreina Centre de la Imatge hosts an exhibition that reviews the life and art of the artist, based on documents and works from his home Premia de Mar. The Virreina had already approached Tres some time before his death with a proposal for an exhibition and following his death continued contacts with his family. The decision to go ahead with the exhibition is an attempt to recreate the artistic life of Barcelona in the 80s and 90s as part of an unorthodox vogue shared with other artists such as Joseph Beuys, Susan Sontag and James Lee Byars, like Tres, impossible to classify. In itself the silence was not a zen concept, although the result perhaps was. The silence was more a protest, and as such, its relevance today.

Sign in. Sign in if you are already a verified reader. I want to become verified reader. To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader.
Note: To leave comments on the website you must be a verified reader and accept the conditions of use.