The SuiteLife weekend blog Vol 1.  - Art from Barcelona

After walking through the streets for endless hours looking at all the famous touristic attractions I started noticing all these small stores, bars and other places which are highly underrated and deserve a lot more exposure than they are getting. For this reason we at SuiteLife are creating a new weekend findings blog where we will expose these amazing stores and venues to you. This Saturday afternoon I headed over to El Born because I was in desperate need of a new pair of shoes and had already spotted Al Carrer skates shop. On the way to the store still feeling hungover of the night before we were also craving some quality fast food, we ended up in a super small but great restaurant where we ate some amazing piadina at Santa Piadina. After having fuelled up for some shopping we walked over to Al Career Skateshop where I directly found a pair of shoes within my budget.

Maxó Gallery

But now comes the real treasure I found this weekend. While already tired of shopping we decided to head over to park Cituadella to relax and enjoy the things we bought. While on our way to the park walking through Carrer del Portal Nou all of a sudden a gallery on my left side caught my attention. I decided to have a quick look inside and was directly amazed by the first pieces of art I laid my eyes on. Simple wooden picture frames with 3 dimensional art created within, of places around the city of Barcelona. These pieces of art were designed by Maxó to give you the feeling of being there. The Maxó galleria was originally opened by Maxó Renella so that he would have a place of his own where he can work on his art and also display it to the public to enjoy. Over time he has gathered more artists which also work and display their art in his gallery. One of the special aspects about the gallery is that all the art inside is made by hand in the gallery, nothing is made in bulk amounts to keep everything authentic and original.
While walking further into the gallery I started noticing that the art on display in the gallery wasn’t the only thing to be enjoyed while in the store. The entire ceiling of the gallery is covered in tiny white arms reaching down grasping the attention of the visitors of the gallery. Another really cool feature of the gallery are the two train tracks which run along the walls of the entire room constantly taking your attention as you can hear them running in circles.

The workshop

To be honest, the store is beautiful and the art displayed inside is amazing but it simply can't match the details found in the workshop of the gallery which is located in the backside of the gallery. Even though as a visitor of the gallery you might not get to see much more of this workshop than a quick glimpse, I think it shows what this gallery is all about. Almost every single Sq cm in this workshop is used to store something. In this place you will find objects from vintage to toy car wheels and statues of maria which the artists utilize to create the incredible pieces of art which are on display in the gallery. Two of the things I like the most about the workshop are the way they store all their tools and the wall of camera's on the back wall. The vintage camera's on the back wall give that feeling of authenticity that this entire gallery has.
The workshop is located all the way at the back of the gallery on a higher level so that the artists can work in peace but have the ability to keep an eye out on the visitors admiring their work on display.

On display

Currently there are multiple styles of art on display in the gallery all made by the artists that work in the gallery. My favourite one is called "The Calm & The Chaos" by Maxo Renella this exhibition shows 2 different styles of people, even though their faces might be the same their minds are completely different. The pieces of "The Calm & The Chaos" series are all one of a kind which adds extra value to the painting. It is also possible to request a certain theme and have your personal calm and the chaos paintings made.
My second favourite are the small 3 dimensional pictures along the right wall of the gallery. All the pictures on the wall are made in Barcelona which makes it a perfect souvenir for tourists and real Barcelona Lovers. The pictures are made in such a way that you are being taken into the picture which gives you the feeling of actually being there. By adding multiple layers, the picture lures you closer and closer and you'll start to see more and more hidden details in deeper layers of the frame. The frames and pictures are lightweight which makes them easy to hang on the wall with blu-tac or other sticky materials. Also the prices of these pieces are not too high which makes them perfect to buy as a gift.

Collectables

Besides the art created by the artists the gallery also has a cabinet which is stuffed with some amazing collectable toys. Think of vintage toy cars, action figures and more. These pieces just as the 3D picture frames are perfect for room decoration and are also another playful feature to the gallery.

Words from the Gallery

The dream

To have the most well known gallery to buy original art from Barcelona

For love

Galleria de Maxó aspires to give tourists a unique experience through an unparalleled atmosphere to purchase original art in Barcelona. By providing affordable art as souvenirs, presents home-work decorations and collections, our gallery can help people appreciate art all over the world. The success of the gallery allows artists to consistently work with limitless inspiration and continually produce a product that locals are proud to call their own. (more pictures of the gallery below) If you are interested in original art from Barcelona be sure to check out the Maxo Galleria  We hope you have enjoyed reading this first edition of the SuiteLife weekend Blog. If you have any suggestions or know a place of which you think it deserves some extra attention write a comment below and we will feature it in one of our future Suitelife weekend Blogs! Samuel- Some more picture of the Maxó Galleria