Robert Llimós Spanien, b. 1943

Galerie von Opel is delighted to present the work of Robert Llimos, in collaboration with  Museum Mater (Barcelona). The exhibition will be on view in our gallery from October 5 to November 9.

Robert Llimós (Barcelona, 1943) lives and works in his hometown. He studied at the Massana School and at the Sant Jordi School of Fine Arts in Barcelona. His early career began in the context of the New Figuration movement (1965–1968). From 1969 to 1973, he explored conceptual experimentation before returning to figurative painting with a strong expressionist spirit, always granting color a central role.

Beyond painting, his practice spans sculpture, graphic art, murals, and posters. He is also the author of several public sculptures in Barcelona, among them the iconic Miraestels (Port of Barcelona) and Marc (Olympic Port Park). His works are represented in both national and international collections.

The Miraestels project was born as a tribute to the poet Joan Brossa. In 1999, biologist Jaume Jossa invited artists to create works inspired by Brossa’s poem Saltamartí (Tumbler Doll). From this initiative came two exhibitions in 2000 at the Artigas Foundation (Gallifa) and at the Toy Museum (Figueres). Llimós’ contribution was Miraestels, which he later developed into sculptures in bronze, silver, marble, and fiberglass, culminating in the floating Miraestels that today watches over the port of Barcelona: a contemplative figure gazing at the sky while holding a star.

In June 2009, during a trip to Fortaleza, Brazil, Llimós experienced a sighting that profoundly altered his artistic trajectory. Sketchbook in hand, he recorded what he saw: a UFO camouflaged in fog, close to the ground, with windows, columns, and a presence that seemed to scan him. Inside, he perceived two beings, a male and a female, with elongated necks, scaly skin, and regal attire, one wearing a tiara. This encounter deeply marked him. On returning to Barcelona, he began to reflect this vision in his work, convinced that he had been chosen for his artistic capacity to testify to their existence. For Llimós, painting, impossible to replace with photography due to magnetic fields, he believes he became the medium through which to document the unseen. He interprets this experience as a continuation of the dialogue initiated with Miraestels: a figure bridging earth and sky, man and cosmos. For Llimós, the sighting was a response to that sculpture, a connection to the unknown that has since shaped his purpose as an artist.

Today, Robert Llimós continues to develop a body of work that moves between the visible and the invisible, affirming his role as a witness and a bridge between worlds.