curriculum Javier Mariscal (Valencia, 1950) Estudio Mariscal (Barcelona, 1989)
Javier Mariscal is, above all else, a creator of images who develops his work using all kinds of supports and disciplines (comics, illustrations, graphic, industrial and textile design, painting, sculpture, multimedia, animation and interior design). In 1971, he moved to Barcelona and studied graphic design at the Elisava School. He founded the Rrollo Enmascarado, an underground comic. He published his first works, which included his first characters, El Señor del Caballito and Los Garriris. He started his professional career with several artistic exhibitions at the end of the 70s, including “El Gran Hotel” in the Galería Mec Mec (Barcelona 1977). During the same period, he also started his work as a designer in areas as diverse as textile, graphic illustration, furniture and interior design (Bar Duplex, Marieta, Tráfico de Modas). He published in numerous magazines and some books, such as Abcdari Il.lustrat (Barcelona 1978). He designed the poster Bar Cel Ona, which was to become one of the icons of the city (Barcelona 1979). He has offered multiple collective and individual exhibitions over the years. Notable collective exhibitions include “Memphis, an International Style” (Milan, 1981); “Objets du xxème Siècle” at the Georges-Pompidou Centre (Paris, 1987); Documenta (Kassel, 1987), “Les Ciutats Il.lustrades” (Barcelona 1994). His first retrospective exhibition was “100 Años con Mariscal” (Valencia, 1988) which was taken to Barcelona in 1989, where it was renamed “Cent Anys a Barcelona”. These have been followed by, amongst others, an itinerant exhibition in Japan, sponsored by the Takashimaya Art Gallery (1992); the retrospective exhibition “Mariscal à Paris” at the Musée Galerie de la Seita (Paris, 1994). Actually Mariscal is exhibiting “Drawing Life” at the Design Museum (London, 2009). He designs furniture, textile and porcelain collections for companies such as Memphis, Akaba, Bidasoa, BD Ediciones de Diseño, Moroso, Nani Marquina, Cha Cha, Pamesa, Vorwerk, Equipaje, Alessi, Sangetsu, Magis, Cosmic, Amat3, Santa & Cole, Yamakawa or Lalique.
In 1988, Cobi was chosen as the mascot for the Barcelona 92 Olympic Games. The following year, Javier Mariscal founded the Estudio Mariscal in Palo Alto – an old tannery in Poble Nou in Barcelona – with a team of collaborators able to develop his work in a broader way. Of the projects carried out by the Estudio Mariscal we could mention, amongst others, the children’s interactive area Acuarinto in the Huis Ten Bosch amusement park (Japan 1992), with Alfredo Arribas Arquitectos, a project which combines architecture, graphic image, sculpture and animation. It designed and developed the new image for the Swedish Socialdemokraterna party (Sweden 1993). In 1994, it created the corporate image for the postproduction company FrameStore (England). In 1995, it won the international selection process to create the mascot for the Universal Exposition in Hanover in 2000, called Twipsy. In 1997, it created the new image for Barcelona Zoo; the graphic image of the University of Valencia, the graphic image and the interior design of Lighthouse – Scotland’s Centre for Architecture, Design and the City in the old Mackintosh building in the centre of Glasgow– and the signs for the Arata Isozaki building Gran Ship, (Arts and Convention Center) in Shizuoaka (Japan). In 1999, it produced Colors, a multimedia show that was premiered at the Peralada Festival, that opened the Autumn Festival in Madrid and was on at the Teatro Victoria in Barcelona. In 2000, it directed the collectable series Diseño Gráfico con Mariscal, published by Salvat; and did the graphic image for the film Calle 54, by Fernando Trueba. In 2001, it designed the image of the urban channel Bussi in Valencia, and the logo for the Olympic pre-candidacy of Madrid 2012. In 2002, it did the project for the integral design of the Gran Hotel Domine Bilbao, as well as the corporate image of Gran Via L’Hospitalet (Barcelona). In 2003, the amusement park Felisia in the south of Italy opened, for which it did the concept, the graphic image, the signs and the two multimedia shows. Calle 54 Club in Madrid also opened its doors, for which the studio did the integral design. It designed the graphics for the album Lágrimas Negras, by Bebo Valdés and Diego el Cigala, which opened the Latin Jazz collection of Fernando Trueba’s record company.
In 2004, Javier Mariscal was commissioned to design the interior of the dome of one of the halls of the Spanish Pavilion in the Aichi Expo (Japan), held in 2005. For CosmoCaixa, the new science museum in Barcelona, it created two educational areas for children: Flash and Clic. In 2005, it finished the interior design project of the 11th floor of Hotel Puerta America Madrid (for the Grupo Hoteles Silken), on which it worked with twelve other designers and architects of prestige. The visual identity was also done by Estudio Mariscal. It developed the graphic concept for the America’s Cup regatta. It also created the new visual identity for the bank, Bancaja. During 2005, the pieces designed for the Me Too collection, by Magis and the Miralook chair for Amat went on sale. In the audiovisual field, we should mention the “wipes” for the television channel, Antena 3. In 2006, he displayed the sculpture Crash at Arco (Madrid). In Tokyo, he inaugurated the Camper for Hands brand and shop. In London, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Design Industry. And in Valencia, he displayed the work done for the America’s Cup at the IVAM. In 2007, Graphic design finished the 32nd edition of the America’s Cup and was then buried in the image for the next edition. The new image and communication for Sant Joan de Deu Hospital, to make children’s stay in hospital more pleasant and less traumatic was also done. The design of the recipe book “1080 recetas de cocina”, by Simone Ortega, published by Phaidon, was a very personal project, with more than four hundred illustrations. The cutlery set for the newspaper El País managed to bring Mariscal’s designs closer to a broad, diverse public.The creation and production of the cartoon Chico y Rita also went full steam ahead. In 2008, Mariscal travelled all over Spain with the itinerant Bombay Sapphire Design Exhibition. It was shown in Barcelona, Madrid, Valencia, Bilbao, Seville, Malaga and Salamanca. He opened the sculptural pergola for the Río Hortega Hospital in Valladolid. And he opened the new H&M shop in Portal de l’Àngel in Barcelona. The production of Chico y Rita is going full steam ahead. In 2009, three highly personal pieces of work marked the year. The exhibition on Mariscal and the Estudio’s entire career, called Mariscal Drawing Life, which was shown at the Design Museum in London from June to the end of September. At the same time, a monographic book of the same title was published by Phaidon. Another book, this time dedicated to his artistic work, Mariscal Sketches, published by Nova Era, was launched on around the same date. A website for the portal of the Hospital Sant Joan de Déu allowed us to continue working with children in mind. The full-length cartoon Chico & Rita is in its final phases as it will be premiered at the end of 2010.
As a designer of objects, Mariscal is the author of a collection of porcelain for Rosenthal (Selb, 1994) and two collections of furniture for Moroso, Muebles Amorosos and Hotel 21 (Milan, 1995/97). Swatch, as the official timekeepers of the Olympic Games asked him to produce a sculpture-clock which was six metres high and made of aluminium (Barcelona, 1996). In 2002, he made the collection of Domine lamps produced by Santa & Cole (Barcelona). In 2003, he received a commission from the production company Magis (Italy) to design pieces for its Me Too collection of children’s furniture. In 2005, he designed the armchair Miralook for Amat 3. In 2006, he designed the Wok armchair for Andreu World and the Algas bookshelf for Celda as well as extending the Me Too collection. In 2008, he directed and designed the Uno Design collection. In 2009, he designed outdoor furniture for Vondom and more articles for Uno Design. As an illustrator he sporadically publishes in the magazines Apo (Japan), Aldus, The New Yorker, El País Semanal, El Mundo and Casa Vogue (Spain), L’Officiel (France), Time Out and Blueprint (Great Britain). In the field of animation, it produced, amongst others, four advertisements for the advertising campaign in Japan of the multinational company 3M (1996). The Festivals of Granada and Peralada commissioned the Estudio Mariscal to do the scenery for Falla’s opera El Retablo de Maese Pedro, staged by Ariel García Valdés (1996). In 1998 it produced the cartoon series Twispsy. In its multimedia facet, the studio designed a whole host of websites, including the website for the Barcelona Boat Show, Gran Hotel Domine; Ikea Restaurant; Lágrimas Negras Restaurant; Barcelona Plató; Calle 54 Club; Club Estrella, Amigos Capaces, “The Magic House” and “Landscape” for Fundació “la Caixa”, Hoteles Silken, the internet office of Bancaja tubancaja.es and Félix Viscarret’s film, “Bajo las Estrellas”. Javier Mariscal has never given up on the more artistic side of his career and his works have been exhibited in a considerable number of shows throughout this period. He also gives conferences in different parts of the world, shows his work and tells students from various disciplines about his personal experience. In 1999, he received the National Design Award from the Ministry of Industry and Energy and the BCD Foundation. In 2006, he was made an honorary member of the Royal Design Industry.
About thirty professionals work at the Estudio Mariscal. If you would like to consult us or get to know the studio better, please visit us at www.mariscal.com or www.mariscal/blog or facebook
Pellaires 30-38
08019 Barcelona
T. 34 933 036 940
F. 34 932 662 244
estudio@mariscal.com
www.mariscal.com