If you are seeking the most innovative of contemporary art, look no further than the new Moco Museum in Barcelona, an offshoot of the independently owned Moco Museum in Amsterdam. It’s a thought-provoking collection of cutting edge works and street art, along with a sampling of NFTs, with some pieces borrowed from the collections of other museums and art lovers.

WHEN ART & VISION MEET

Moco — a play on the words “modern” and “contemporary” — is the brainchild of Dutch art gallery owner Kim Logchies-Prins and her husband Lionel. They bravely opened the Barcelona outpost in spite of the difficulties experienced by Moco Amsterdam amidst the pandemic, when the latter almost had to cut back on staff due to dwindling visitor numbers.

FROM ALL WALKS OF LIFE

Fortunately there was no such shortage of visitors at Moco Barcelona on the day I went, which was an autumn morning so fine that it felt more like summer. Ordinarily, such a day is too perfect for staying indoors, especially when the stylish cafes and the beach are just minutes away. But evidently, many people did prefer the stimulation of art to the other pleasures of life — and interestingly, a lot of them belonged to the Gen X and millennial crowd.

Everything about the museum is a genuine surprise. For one thing, it’s right next to the Picasso Museum, a more traditional Barcelona sightseeing hallmark, in the Ribera district of the Old Town. Talk about older establishment meeting younger and brazen establishment.

Unlike the glamorous Eixample neighborhoods, the Old Town is a hodge-podge of upscale and seedy co-existing creatively together in elegant mansions that once belonged to 18th and 19th century wealthy families. So in this sense, the museum fits right into this neither-here-nor-there district,

MAKING A GRAND ENTRANCE

The Moco Museum Barcelona itself is housed in the former home of the aristocratic Cervello family, whose heyday was in the 1850s. Thankfully, it seems the good old days have returned, as it’s almost certain that this mansion has not seen such a steady stream of enthusiastic visitors in over a century at least.

A giant bear sculpture greets everyone in the courtyard where once perhaps carriages awaited. It’s by the trendy American artist Kaws, a former Disney illustrator, which may explain his penchant for creating characters. Frequent travelers — myself included — have apparently had a similar reaction: “I’ve seen this at Doha Airport!”

KAWS IN BARCELONA

Indeed, a Kaws sculpture is the centerpiece of the massive airport transfer terminal at Doha. Unfortunately the Moco Museum did not have similar liberty with space. The installation team had to take apart more of the bear’s body parts than expected, to get the sculpture through the mansion entrance and set just right by the staircase in the open courtyard.

The museum has a mix of permanent artworks and temporary exhibits. There’s always something new so you definitely won’t get tired of visiting. I’m guessing the Kaws installation is a permanent one or someone is going to have a massive headache in a few months.

After the Kaws bear, the first artwork I saw upon entering the museum itself was to set the tone for the rest of the visit — even if the piece was not part of the permanent collection and merely on loan from British musician George Michael.

DAMIEN HIRST IN BARCELONA

It was a Damien Hirst installation from 2008, literally in the flesh. The heart of a bull with pigeon wings attached to it, covered in gold barbed wire with a large dagger stuck right into it. It spoke to me of pain, hurt and sacrifice; and also of freedom and hope. Never a fan of Hirst, who I always regarded as overpriced and overrated, I was suddenly engulfed with admiration for the imagination and for the unspeakable way in which he chose to shock art enthusiasts.

But most of my admiration is still reserved for Kim and Lionel, who dared to dream of a private museum and to curate it so well that — although less than one year old — the Moco Museum has already made it to the top of so many travelers’ Barcelona bucket list of things to do.

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