In a small passage on Villarroel street, between Mallorca and València, a contemporary art gallery, the Yoko Art Gallery, has just opened. Commanded by Xavi Sellés, this new artistic venture is born with clear ideas. "We believe that art can transform reality or at least explain it. Therefore, apart from promoting works and artists, we want to be part of the cultural engine of the city," he defends in his letter of introduction.
It is not the first time that this half-hidden space in the Esquerra de l'Eixample has energized Barcelona's cultural life. Sellés has inhabited it for some time. For the last four years, this 100-square-meter venue hosted Parking Art, a place where painting was taught, with training and workshops, but also organized extracurricular activities for the little ones. The change of direction occurred during the pandemic and Sellés simply reasons that he felt like promoting a gallery. "I thought: now is the time," he points out, ignoring the fatalistic predictions of the new crisis.
After an investment of 16,000 euros, Sellés, self-taught and "art lover," has launched the Yoko Art Gallery, where "everything can be seen." "We do not place ourselves in any specific discipline or style, in any specific territory, in any age range... But, beware, we don't like everything either, we are demanding and we like authenticity," states the letter of introduction. Sellés defines it as an "honest and fresh" criterion. "We are not closed to anything, but not everything is valid," he remarks. The first artist exhibited has been Barcelona-native Felipe Almendros (1976), a realist and underground artist.
Beyond its criterion, the Yoko Art Gallery wants to be different from other galleries, always painted white and sober. The premises have been renovated by rescuing its original walls and respecting the characteristic Catalan vault, thus maintaining its industrial air. And it is that this space had been an old fish warehouse, isolated from the noise of the city in a passage that is hard to see if you pass by.