as I see it: Tasneem Salam

Tasneem moved to Barcelona five years ago, although she travels a lot and spends about half her time away from the city. Born in Bangladesh, she moved to the UK when she was four and grew up in London. As well as running her gallery, Tasneem works as a consultant in social and economic development, and is the founder and trustee of La Fuente Foundation, a UK-registered charity that aims to help young adults on global issues with a local dimension using the language of art, which she believes can play a role in creating greater understanding between cultures.

Favourite art galleries and museums in Barcelona
There are four commercial galleries that I like in Barcelona: Ignacio Lassaleta for the sheer elegance of gallery space and quality of the art. In this gallery you can see some of the great Catalan artists of the 20th century; ADN for its roster of cutting-edge artists; Kowasa gallery which specialises in photography and also has a wonderful selection of books on photography; and Pergamon Quatre, which is run by two of the nicest art dealers in Barcelona who have a down-to-earth way of dealing with high quality art, making it more accessible to people. Museums I like include: Miró in Montjuïc for the beauty of the space, not to mention the art itself! CaixaForum for a programme that is really wide-ranging and international; their exhibitions are always well curated and very informative. I also highly recommend Fundació Vila Casas which promotes Catalan art and also holds interesting talks. It has four gallery spaces in Catalunya, two of which are in Barcelona—the quality of the presentation is excellent. Casa Asia for just reminding us that there is a bigger world than Europe out there. Fundación Foto Colectania also has very well-curated exhibitions which makes one think in a more profound way of photography as art.


Upcoming art shows in Barcelona that I’m looking forward to
Watch out for the programme of the Gremi de Galeries Catalunya (the Guild of Catalan Galleries); it is organising a very exciting series of exhibitions with its members in the autumn.


Future plans and projects
This year my gallery will host exhibitions by local artist Anthony Pilley (opening September 16th) followed by a solo exhibition of the Burmese artist Htein Lin (inauguration November 19th). In 2010, the gallery will show the exhibition ‘Antipersonnel’ by Raphael Dallaporta, an unusual way of depicting the sinister world of land mines. Following this will be a collective of Vietnamese art, to open on St. Jordi’s Day, then a collective of African art and this will be followed by a collective of Catalan sculptors.


Other Barcelona recommendations
Restaurant: Tapas 24 (Comerç 24); Laie café—it’s just great to go past the beautiful bookshop to have coffee (Pau Claris 85).
Shop: Julie Sohn for elegant but funky clothes (Diputació 299).
Other suggestions: The rooftop terrace of the Majestic Hotel for cocktails with a view; Circulo de Lectores for the literary scene.

 

Tasneem Gallery
Castellnou 51
www.tasneemgallery.com