This project, the work of the artist Antoni Miralda, has been made possible thanks to the generosity of the artist and the gallery owner Moises Pérez de Albeniz, the former being the author of the work and the latter the mecenas in charge of the production. Together they have produced this edition as a gift to Todolí Citrus Fundació. It is a work intended for direct sale by the Foundation, and the profits from its sale are destined to support the research, dissemination and educational work carried out by the Foundation.
Miralda (Terrassa, 1942) is a multidisciplinary artist and perhaps one of the most versatile and brilliant Spanish avant-garde artists of the last fifty years. He lives and works between Miami and Barcelona. His projects, in many cases, are strongly linked to gastronomy, food, ingredients and the social act of eating. All of them are based on research and are developed over long periods of time with the participation of numerous collaborators and the cooperation of the spectator himself.
ADN-DNA began in 2020, when during the months of confinement due to the COVID 19 pandemic, Vicente Todolí, president and founder of Todolí Citrus Fundació, decided to send some friends some boxes with a selection of citrus fruits from the El Bartolí Botanical Orchard, the Foundation’s headquarters. A gesture with which he wanted to be close to them and make the moment more bearable.
Among the recipients of those boxes of fresh fruit were Miralda and Montse Guillen. She cooked with the citrus fruits and made jams and liqueurs. Meanwhile, Miralda made and documented a series of ‘choreographies’. Playing with them, he created totems and other sculptural forms. These still lifes, which he then photographed, were printed on silk paper.
To give some context, it is worth mentioning that in the mid-19th century the practice of preparing citrus boxes for export shipments by wrapping each orange individually in silk paper began, fetching high prices when sold by the piece. The silk had the function of protecting and hiding the defects of the skin, at the same time as preserving them by preventing the possible contamination of one fruit from spreading to neighbouring ones through the spores of the fungi that cause their rotting. Later, in the 20th century, only a few wrapped oranges were placed in the top of the box. By then, the silk paper acquired a decorative function, as an element of communication and direct marketing, as the logo of the exporting company was applied on it, becoming a distinctive sign of quality.
In the process of creating the work ADN-DNA, each sheet of silk paper with the photograph of the citrus fruit printed on it is crumpled up one by one by the artist. Through a performative action, he transforms them into balls, which remind us of those oranges wrapped in silk paper that were sent in boxes. With this act, Miralda leaves his imprint and with it he signs each work with his hands. The project consists of 15 editions plus 6 AP (Artist’s Proofs) and 2 HC (Hors de Commerce / Out of Commerce), each edition including 7 works that are presented rolled up like a ball inside a poplar wood box.
The action of the viewer, or in this case that of the receiver of the work, is required to unfold the work out again, revealing the fruit it contains and thereby returning the silk to the original paper size of 62 x 88 cm. Although it is up to the individual to choose whether they wish to do this and frame the edition or alternatively keep it in its box, just as they receive it.
When the ball is unfolded, with painstaking care and patience, the wrinkles that the silk paper has acquired gradually reveal a rough texture, like that of some citrus fruits, which gives a three-dimensional caracther to the representation of these fruits.
Each work is numbered and signed with a stamp designed for the occasion. In addition, the complete edition is accompanied by a certificate issued by the Moisés Pérez de Albeniz Gallery and signed jointly by Miralda and Vicente Todolí, as representative of the Todolí Citrus Fundació.
For more information and to find out which works are still available for sale, please contact us via email.
