Artist Barcelo unveils €18m ceiling at UN

SPANISH artist Miquel Barcelo unveiled his lavish, $23 million (€18m) ceiling painting at the United Nations, a project that has evoked controversy over its hefty price tag.

In a ceremony with Spain’s King Juan Carlos and UN secretary-general Ban Ki-moon, Barcelo gave the world its first glimpse of the 16,000 square foot (1,500 square metre) elliptical dome full of bright colours and torn aluminum. The most striking element may be the hundreds of small icicle-shaped pieces that dangle down from the ceiling.

“On a day of immense heat in the middle of the Sahel desert, I recall with vivacity the mirage of an image of the world dripping toward the sky,” Barcelo says. “Trees, dunes, donkeys, multicoloured beings flowing drop by drop.”