Memoria de Lápiz

With Memoria de Lápiz, Enrique Barro delves into each of the pencil tips that, chapter by chapter, sketch the story of our lives, highlighting all the edges, comings and goings, ups and downs through the use of the pencil—an instrument deeply rooted in our earliest memories. A learning tool that every child uses in their process of integrating into the world and that, in one way or another, also forms part of our own memory: “My father had a printing shop on Entença Street, in Barcelona, during the 90s. He made all the invitations when Bulgari or Ripley arrived in the city. I used to go there all the time.”

Perhaps the pencil is the most recognizable material in his work, but his art encompasses many more elements and nuances. “I always work with organic materials,” he explains to me at Salón Acme during Mexico Art Week 2025 where, in addition to his already recognizable artworks, he presents three new pieces displayed in their respective plexiglass cases: “They are silk cocoons. It is a reflection on the idea of a refuge where metamorphosis also takes place,” he explains. “This is something very powerful because it seems like nothing is happening inside.”

Barro presents his work not only at Salón Acme but in Galería Santa & Cole, both in collaboration with the Catalan firm. This marks a reunion with the city where he lived for a while. “After five years in México, I settled down—I had a partner, an apartment, a somewhat normal life. “I was about to board the plane from New York for a project and we didn’t get on due to an earthquake in México. I was with Penique Productions. We made inflatables. Sergi suggested we work together. I went to Europe, and I never returned.”

Before that, in Barcelona—his hometown—he worked with Xavier Corberó. “He had quite a temper. I mostly carved marble, granite. But when you walked through his house with him or when he explained things, he paid great attention to detail. I took away from that the idea of finishing things really well.” No one can deny the solidity of Barro’s career, yet the artist himself seems unwilling to take himself too seriously. “I enrolled in an advanced sculpture degree at La Massana, which was incredibly rigorous. I had already come from the artistic baccalaureate there, which was superior compared to the rest. It was also a great time when the school was very public, and you had to pass an entrance exam.”

His work stands out for its versatility in the use of basic materials and tools, which he repurposes to create diverse forms, colors, and textures. The artistic approach of Enrique transports us to new microcosms that invite pure and primal contemplation, allowing us to appreciate the fragile beauty hidden in the smallest details of our world. 

If a sense of humor is a sign of intelligence, Enrique is not lacking in it. His eloquence is on full display at the official presentation of Memoria de Lápiz at Galería Santa & Cole + Díez Company, where he oscillates between information and reflection in a playful tone. “Sometimes I fall in love with a pencil from a corner store. I see it there, gnawed at, because the person has probably been using that pencil for twenty years, and it has the shine of a stone in a river,” he reflects during the event, as we discuss the decline in use and decreasing production of pencils.

The exhibition space launched a year ago together with Díez Company,  roots Santa & Cole as more than a design editor and raises its facet as an art curator by the Neoseries program: These art editions include works by contemporary artists and great masters, as well as sketches and drawings of classic figures from the history of design and architecture in Spain.