An exhibition of the African works of the Spanish artist Miquel Barcelo, widely regarded as one of the most important artists working today, opens to the public at the Irish Museum of Modern Art on Wednesday 25th June 2008. Miquel Barcelo: The African Work focuses on works inspired by Barcelo's frequent stays in the Dogon area of Mali, where he has visited regularly since the early 1990s. Comprising some 90 works, the exhibition ranges over the entire period of his association with West Africa, presenting works on paper - some being shown for the first time - large and small-scale paintings, sculptures, ceramics and sketchbooks. The exhibition presents a number of large-scale works linked to Barcelo's experience there.  Barcelo is renowned for the extraordinary diversity and originality of his work, which has ranged from a series of spectacular terracotta murals for a chapel in the cathedral in Palma de Mallorca to a mesmerizing performance piece/living sculpture with the Hungarian/French choreographer Josef Nadj and he is currently creating a ceiling painting for the Human Rights Hall at the United Nations offices in Geneva. More than half of the exhibition is made up of works on paper, a medium which is central to this aspect of Barcelo's oeuvre.