When we look up to the sky at night, we are getting a sense of sparkling peacefulness. Everything seems to be stable and static. Not moving. We all have a need for stability. Even if we are creative spirits. Save coordinates create a space to unfold.

This, however, is an illusion. Earth turns around itself at a speed of 1.600 km/h. It swirls around the sun at an even higher speed of 100.000 km/h. And our solar system moves around its center at a speed of 1.000.000 km/h. We are living on a cosmic roller coaster. At the same time we realize, that there is no ticket to get on it. No entrance and no exit. We are just on it. There isn’t even the famous smallest part of matter which logically puts everything together.

The closer we get to the tiniest dimensions, the more they dissolve. Matter and energy are two sides of a coin. The closer you get, you realize that even that coin doesn’t exist. All of this is mirrored and reflected in human beings. This strange world is reflected in us. There are no save coordinates. No wonder that people feel confused. They react in different ways to this folly. Some start a quest for truth. Some are horrified and turn into denial. Both navigate turbulent waters. But if nothing is stable even these turbulent waters may not be real. Even we may not be real. We live on a surreal rollercoaster within uncertain dimensions.

Art is supposed to capture life. To mirror the reality. To inspire and elevate us. What we wonder now is: there simply is not one reality. There is a world beyond the reach of our five senses. How do we deal with such a vibrant, confusing flux of life? Let’s ask the expert. Let’s ask the artist. Let’s ask Rafel Bestard. He tells us to ignite our sixth sense.

This is the sense of friendship. Friends are stable coordinates. We feel embraced and taken care of when our friends stay with us. They are like the sparkling stars at the night sky.

Rafel Bestard is a man of this sixth sense. He is surrounded by friends who jointly challenge the most twisted realities. This body of work is a celebration of friendship. Every piece of art shows a friend of Rafel. But they are not posing like for a picture at Instagram. They are captured in moments of joy, of confusion, of frenzy, of love and desperation. Each one of them tells his or her story like sharing food at a joint buffet. By sharing these moments these individuals become something new. They turn into an evolved state of dissolution. They become the coin that vanishes. All of a sudden they find themselves in a broader reality, beyond the reach of the laws of physics and the laws of proper behavior. This is the true place for celebrating life. Like this

the individual pieces of artwork of Rafel Bestard start to communicate with each other. The friends step off the canvas, fill the room and invite all of us to join the folly.

His style of painting matches the quality of old masters. It seems to be real. Down to earth colors, real down to earth people caught in activities that range from sharing down to earth moments to the most absurd contortions. People who try to escape gravity and at the same time show gravitas. People who make fools out of themselves and at the same time seem to be the wisest prophets. All sharing with each other creating a never ending flow of riding the waves of life. What we see is the cornucopia of Rafel Bestard’s observations and experiences, thoughts and emotions, earth and sky. This abundance in combination with his artistic mastership does not only create canvasses but it creates spaces which we can dwell in. Spaces of celebration and joy and peace on an ever swirling roller coaster.